Child development program in Rio de Janeiro

I was volunteering in Rio de Janeiro for only two weeks. My plan was to travel afterwards, so that’s why I only stayed in Rio for such a long time.
I had a great time! It started by getting picked up by Felipe at the airport, while we were driving to the hostel he explained me a little bit how the program works and what’s there to do in Lapa and Santa Teresia. I was volunteering with an Irish Couple and I thought it was really nice so I didn’t have to go somewhere by myself.

Volunteering with child development

The volunteering itself was absolutely amazing, we were playing ball games with the children, rope skipping, drawing, we did some painting as well and they loved it! There were around 10 to 20 children each day, I don’t know on what it depended if they were coming or not, but mostly it was school I think. The children were between 2 and 14 years old, they could get a bit wild at times, but they were all very sweet and always really excited to see us.
I would definitely recommend this program, but in my opinion, two weeks is way too short! If you can stay longer, do it! It’s definitely worth it. Also, try to get some basics in Portuguese, I could already understand and speak a little bit, but sometimes it was very hard because not everyone speaks English and they really do appreciate it if you try.

Rio is an amazing city

Rio is an amazing city, I totally fell in love with it! At first I was a little bit scared because everyone told me it’s such a dangerous city, but in my opinion it’s just like every big city and you should listen to people living there on where you can and where you can not go. I never went out by myself when it was dark and I never felt unsafe, but I think that’s mainly because I listened to what Felipe said, like don’t behave too much like a tourist, don’t take any valuables, etc.
If you’re still not convinced, trust me: just go!

• Katrijn, 22 years old – 2016-10-11