ENVOL (TGO-1)


Type: Health: Disability - Country: Togo

Brief description and main aims

Medico-psycho pedagogic institute l’ENVOL (L’Institut Médico-Psycho-Pédagogique l’ENVOL) is in line with educational programme and pre-professional training of mentally handicapped children of Togo initiated by the Consortium of churches of Togo in order to find answer to the problem of socio-educative and professional and integration of people who are mentally handicapped.
 
In each centre, there are more or less 40 students aged of six and twenty years. The students are grouped into four groups with a rising level and 2 sections: educational section and professional section. From the groups one to the third, are teached different subjects: French, Mathematics, Psycho-motorics, Autonomy, Geography, History, Arts and Sports.
 
The fourth and last group works in the school garden. The students of this group are responsible for raising plants. In addition, they take care of the animals who live in the school garden.
 

Main Activities

The project offers several and varied activities to volunteers who provide much support to teachers. The working hours in this Project are from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. or from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from Monday to Friday. By working in this project, volunteers can enlarge their communication skills. They will get to know a lot of ways to express themselves because they have to make the mentally handicapped understand them, even if they don’t have a common language with them. The students at the centre specially at the third group, learn to communicate in French, to count, to resolve easy summation and subtraction tasks, to become more flexible, to get a better orientation and so on. 
 
The main activities of the volunteers in the centre are giving sport lessons keeping the lessons of the teacher up and finding activities for students when the teacher does not works with them. In the morning, volunteers support the teachers to survey students to clean the rooms and courtyard. When they make Sports, the volunteers have to help the students to change their clothes. After the lesson, the volunteers organize the games with the students.  While the break the volunteers play with all students of the first to three groups.
 
Here, the volunteers have to help the educators at each level to make practice and assimilate the teachings delivered, even replace them in the subgroups for the purpose of keeping the handicapped (working).

Volunteer tasks

Before the lessons start at eight o’clock, all students have the possibility to brush their teeth. The volunteers bring the toothbrushes, the toothpaste and bucket of water with some cups at the schoolyard. They are responsible to give every student the right toothbrush and to survey the tooth brushing. Every volunteer works in one of the first three groups. They support the teachers and undertake lessons.
 
In addition, the volunteer normally spend the breaks together with the students.
 
The learners of institute divided into groups attend the courses in plastic art, coloring, painting, graphics, self-sufficiency and in do-it- yourself. Here, the volunteers have to help the educators at each level to make practice and assimilate the teachings delivered, even replace them in the subgroups for the purpose of keeping the handicapped (working).
 
At specialized activities such as psychomotivity, the volunteer supports the educators in the subjects such as lateral lesson, spatial structure, body image, temporal orientation...

Volunteer requirements / Skills

French is spoken the school. It would be much appreciated or a plus if the volunteer is able to communicate in French. In addition, the volunteer should be motivated to work with children, be able to work independently, bring enthusiasm, creativity and motivation for the project.
 
Experiences in working with children will be helpful. It will be easier if the volunteer already worked with mentally handicapped persons but it is also possible to do the work without having previous experience.
 
The volunteer should be matured and be ready to work. Above all, the volunteer should have patience or be willing to be patient.

Location

ENVOL is located in the compound of a catholic primary school along the road that leads to the village of Hanyigba.

Hosting Situation (Board and Lodging)

The volunteer will be living with a host family.

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