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VOLUNTEERING AT CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
The blending of the great African culture with Arab, Asian, and European cultures has made Zanzibar one of the world's most rich and glorious places to visit. Its architecture, music, art, beaches and food—are appreciated throughout the world. It is an ideal place to experience this great nation in all its variety and complexity.
As a volunteer you will also experience why Zanzibar is known as the spice island. You will spend a semester in Zanzibar developing your Swahili skills; living in a local village; studying Zanzibar traditions and contemporary issues; and working 20-30 hours a week in an established Non Government Organization. Your volunteer service immerses you in the culture and deepens your understanding of Zanzibar society in a way that goes beyond that experienced in traditional volunteer abroad programs.
For you first timers to Africa, you will encounter a variety of new experiences, both remarkable and bizarre. We have an anagram we use when interesting things happen; like the power going out, an ant invasion, a glorious sunrise, a majestic sunset or whatever strange mishap occurs; we say T.I.A. (this is Africa), and we try to approach life with a sense of humor and recognize blessings and opportunities. As is typical in Africa we are subject to power outages and water shortages at the discretion of the government.
We do our best to provide volunteers and students with a good, clean, safe and conducive learning environment. However, because we are located among the villagers, you will find that chickens and the occasional goat may wander into the classroom. For village people, this is considered a normal way of life, but we try to discourage the animals from attending classes! Many residents have not been exposed to traditions that the western world considers “the norm”, thus, culture shock will be temporarily experienced by both sides. Part of the volunteer experience is to share and learn cultural differences. Always remember you are a cultural ambassador for our home country.
Volunteer to Teach Languages, Art or Computer skills and IT, Pre school, Music, Visual and Performing Arts Classes are taught in English and Swahili. As a volunteer you will be given an introductory language course and are encouraged to practice with the community. There are several areas in which a volunteer can use his/her special skills. Among them are English instruction, computer skills training, visual and performance art, art/craft production, gardening, building and furniture construction, curriculum development, administrative tasks, just to name a few areas . We encourage new ideas and solutions. The ideal volunteer should be at least 20 years old and have completed at least two years of University study. It is not necessary to have teaching experience if you have a willingness to try and are flexible.
FEES AND EXPENSES Daily fee: room and board for one night is U$30. Monthly fee: volunteers for one month are charged U$720. Semester fee: volunteers for 3 or more months is U$600. per month Government volunteer visa: U$500. for up to two years
Fees include: all instruction; room and board; meals, service placement and supervision; administrative fees. We provide sheets, towels, mosquito nets, (pay as you use) internet service. A portion of the fee is used for supplies, local salaries, maintenance of facility and sustainability of the program.
Personal expenses not covered by fees include: Visas, restaurant meals, extra snacks, alcoholic beverages, personal laundry and incidentals; airfare; books; meals when not on the compound; spending money; and local travel and transport.
"Philanthropic Ventures Foundation " and note on the "memo" line on the check - "Creative Solutions Zanzibar Fund."
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Volunteer Opportunities |
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You can download a copy of our handbook online: Just Google Creative Solutions Volunteer handbook
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT AIDA: Email; aliceayers2000@yahoo.com Phone: 011- 255 -773 309092
Semester dates for 2011 are as follows:
Fall 2011: 09/01/2011 - 12/22/2011
Spring 2012: 04/01/2012 - 07/30/2012
However we welcome Gap Students anytime of the year! |
