Volunteer Violin/English Teacher
Where: Calcutta, India.
What: Teaching music and English at Udayan. Udayan is a home for 300
children of leprosy sufferers. The children are aged 5-19. Most of them were
born in leprosy colonies and the majority of their parents are beggars. The
children themselves, however, are healthy. To find out more information about
Udayan, you can take a look at Dominique Lapierre’s website (www.cityofjoyaid.org).
The royalties of his book, City of Joy, fund Udayan.
When: After March, 2000. A commitment of at least six months would be
greatly appreciated.
How much: A local salary will be paid to the teacher. However, it is
still considered a volunteer position, as the salary is very nominal. It will
only cover very basic pocket expenses. The teacher will have room and board here
at Udayan, which is situated in a little village, 1.5 hours north of the city.
Unfortunately, we cannot provide airfare for the teacher. Udayan is a charitable
organization and we simply do not have the funds.
Notes from the current teacher:
My name is Jill Wiwcharuk. I have been here since the end of July, 2000 and
I’ll be here until the end of March, 2001. One of my capacities is that of a
music teacher. I started the violin programme here in 1998 during a one month
stint of volunteering. I did some rudimentary teacher training and an interested
local violin teacher took over once I left. When I returned, I expanded the
programme and I now have 16 violin students who are doing exceptionally well and
are a lot of fun to work with. I am teaching them the Suzuki repertoire in a
modified Suzuki approach (modified in that we don’t have any tapes). I’ve
developed a way in which they are still learning the pieces by ear. Of course
they are learning how to read music as well. I also have a choir/music
appreciation class. We sing English songs, listen to music, and play percussion
instruments. I have recently started 18 small children on the recorder as well.
Despite my lack of knowledge on the instrument, we do have fun!
I also teach English. I have total freedom as to what I teach, how I teach
it, and who gets taught (ie: age groups). There is no curriculum to follow and
no principal breathing down my neck…everything is up to me. I teach the children
as well as the staff. No formal training in ESL is necessary at all. A native or
near-native English speaker with lots of enthusiasm and the capacity to learn as
they go is what we want.
Recently, Udayan acquired a computer. The children and many of the staff had
never even seen one before. I am presently training one staff member in basic
computer techniques. It would be a huge asset if the next teacher here knew
their way around Windows, MS Word and the internet.
Above all, my most important capacity here is that of a caregiver. Most of
these children see their parents three times a year and are desperate for the
love they are missing. Having fun with the kids, giving hugs and kisses
goodnight, and cuddles when there are tears are my biggest priorities.
Despite the lack of remuneration, watching my violin students progress so
rapidly and having kids come up to me and say “I love you, Jill Auntie!” is
worth more than any paycheque I’ve ever received. Being invited to students’
homes and learning the intricacies of this incredibly rich culture is
compensation in itself.
Interested? If you are at all interested in filling this position, or
if you just want to find out more about it, please contact the school:
Udayan
PO Box 10264
Calcutta 700 019
India
www.udayan.org
Letters from Calcutta
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