AVIF Volunteering - Brazil, Belem

Program Description

AmazonArt & Activities

AmazonArt was founded by the world renowned cellist Diego Carneiro and seeks to employ music and the Arts as educational tools to raise awareness of the areas' local traditions and environment, specifically the survival and importance of the rainforest and river.

2011 has been recognized by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of the Forests.

The communities we serve are reachable only by boat, approximately 40 minutes from the city of Belém in Northern Brazil. Since 1998, a small but inspiring education centre has evolved in the community of Combú Island striving to provide social and cultural development for the residents and children unable to access facilities in the city. The school soon became the heart of the community and provides education centered around music and art, inspiring the understanding of and promoting the protection of the rainforest and river.

You will also visit and stay at the Escola Bosque - “the Forest School”, sponsored by the Prefeitura de Belém. Here you can assist the children with music and English lessons. You will also meet with an English translator who runs the permaculture group that assists the children in learning about the rainforest, protecting it and also maintaining it, on site. There are other Escola Bosque sites around the surrounding islands, including on Mosqueiro Island where another Institute exists that you can visit.

Highlights

Volunteer with an institute that emphasizes music and the arts as a means to raise awareness
Volunteer at an inspiring education centre
Experience life on the banks of a river

Qualifications

You should have some previous relevant experience in:

Independent travel or living/working overseas
Residential voluntary work or community/voluntary work

Volunteer Types

What`s Included

Upon arrival at the airport, you will be met by members of AmazonArt and can rest at their homes before your voluntary placements begin.

You will visit the island community by boat and can also stay with a family in a brick house by the rivers edge. Here you will have everything you need - toilet/ shower/ bedroom with bed or hammock and can live and fully understand what life is like living by the river. Your host family will provide everything you need but you must ensure you cover all your costs. We will let you know an amount to ensure this. We will also ensure you have mosquito nets or you can bring your own.

In Escola Bosque, "the Forest School", you will stay in dormitory bedrooms and have full use of the bathroom and dining room facilities, which are excellent.