Libélula is a non-governmental organization located in the Brazilian town of Itacaré, along the "Cacau Coast" in the state of Bahia. We work to create a safe space and provide psycho-social support for adolescent girls in the area and to supplement their education with various classes provided at our center.
Itacaré is a small beach town that has recently–within the past decade–seen a huge surge in tourism due to its beautiful beaches and overall natural beauty. This tourism–in spite of bringing many economic benefits for the residents of Itacaré–also has significant cultural and environmental impacts on the town, and contributes to various socio-cultural problems in the community. Many of the girls we work with assume domestic responsibilities in their houses at a very young age, as they often stay home to care for their younger siblings to allow their mothers to work. The girls are often initiated into sex very early, and sometimes subjected to violence and abuse. With very limited access to sexual education, condoms or contraceptives, teen pregnancy is very common. The educational system in Itacaré is substandard, and in general the girls we work with come from poorer families, with few opportunities for a better future. Our goal is to help them delay pregnancy and protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections (STIs) while pursuing education and employment skills that might give them a better chance for success in the local economy.
In addition to this work, every year we participate in Itacaré's local carnaval. Our "bloco" uses the theme of recycling to create our costumes: that's right, we make elaborate costumes and masks out of garbage. It's a bit party and lots of fun, but takes plenty of preparation, and we can use all the help we can get.
Skills/Qualities
- experience in clothing construction or design
- sewing or crafting skills
- generally artistically oriented
- hard worker
- patient
Bonus
- though not absolutely required, we prefer people who speak at least some Portuguese, as most of our staff and all of the women and girls we serve are Portuguese speakers.
Requirements:
- Arrive at least by January 25th 2013, which would give you two weeks before carnival.
- Stay here in Itacaré for a minimum of two months. As we mentioned above, volunteering requires a certain amount of time just to get a sense of how we work, and what we do, before you can get started on contributing. What with the training and orientation that each new volunteer requires, we ask that they commit at least two months to us.
- Be at least 20 years of age.
- Fluent in English.
- Ability to take initiative and complete projects without supervision.
- Very organized.
