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The EduMais Volunteer Family

EduMais would be nothing without the wonderful volunteers willing to give their all!

Our volunteer team is passionate about guiding and teaching underprivileged children and teenagers.

They are selected based on their beliefs, strengths, experience, and educational skills.

The volunteer team is trained in Positive Discipline by the EduMais founder, Diana Nijboer (Certified Positive Discipline Classroom and Parents Educator).

They create a loving and safe place for the children to explore, experiment and learn while feeling connected and valued.

Educating is an act of love. Volunteering is an act of love.

Volunteers EduMais

The current volunteer team

The people taking EduMais forward

Role: English

Motivation: “I sought new areas to make a difference, leading me to EduMais in Brazil to support talented individuals.”

Leo Perrota

Australia

Roles: English

Motive: “Grateful for safe upbringing, committed to helping children have bright futures with abundant opportunities..

 

Sarah Briel

Deutsch

Roles: English.

Motive: “I believe that education is an extremely valuable tool for empowering individuals, creating economic opportunities, and enabling social mobility.”

 

Lejna Pandzic

DEUTSCH

Role: English

Motivation: “I want to join Edumais to be a part of something bigger than myself. I want my semester in Rio to be purposeful, and this organization will fill my cup through helping others!

Brigitte Pinochet

USA

Roles: English

Motive: “Volunteering at EduMais allows me to give back by helping children access opportunities I’ve been so fortunate to grow up with.

 

Pauline Schuber

German

Roles: English.

Motive: “I chose to volunteer because I want to help children gain English skills, offering them better opportunities for the future.”

Torben Weidtmann

DEUTSCH

Role: English

Motivation: “I love working with youth and believe there is nothing more meaningful than fostering a fun environment where children love to learn!”

Tessa Yell

USA

Roles: English

Motive: “Passionate about education and social impact, I’m really excited to join Edumais in Rio. Helping kids and inspiring them to dream big is something I care deeply about!

Antonia

Belgian

Roles: English.

Motive: “To help the kids gain practical education and learn more about the world and its people.”

Roland

USA

Role: Extracurricular English

Motivation: “I believe that the best way to help people is to provide them with skills that empower them in the long term, and this is something that EduMais does.”

Stephen

British

Roles: English  Motive: “I am passionate about empowering underprivileged children in Brazil through education. Joining EduMais allows me to make a meaningful impact and create brighter futures together..”

Pete

British

Roles: English and Entrepreneurship teacher.

Motive: “The individual values their education and travel experiences, and believes in equal opportunity. They feel a responsibility to support children lacking the same chances.”

Thais

Brazilian

Role: Extracurricular English

Motivation: “I believe that the best way to help people is to provide them with skills that empower them in the long term, and this is something that EduMais does.”

Robin

French

Roles: English & Social Media

 Motive: ” In short, I think the world would be a much more beautiful place when there is more equality. I see education as a force of change and believe all children deserve to have the same opportunities in education.

Sieta

Dutch

Roles: English teacher.

Motive: “After a month in Rio, I spend free time at beaches surrounded by people I can help. Researched teaching opportunities in favelas, found purpose in EduMais.”

Theo

French

Role: Extracurricular English

Motivation: “I believe that the best way to help people is to provide them with skills that empower them in the long term, and this is something that EduMais does.”

Alizee

French

Roles: English

 Motive: “Contributing to the EduMais mission is the most special way I could experience the power of a safe learning environment on children’s lives, what a way to graduate!”

Magali

Dutch

Roles: English and Entrepreneurship teacher.

Motive: “I’ve been privileged to receive a good education and to travel abroad. Equal opportunity is what motivates me and we should all feel obligated to help these kids who aren’t given the same opportunities.”

Jake

British – French

Roles: English Teacher Online and Winter Camp Teacher

Motivation: “I believe that the best way to help people is to provide them with skills that empower them in the long term, and this is something that EduMais does.”

Juliette

British – French

Roles: English Teacher and office support

Motivation:”Opportunity for inspiring children to develop skills and emotional intelligence. Edumais welcomes volunteers, interns, professionals!”

Alice

French

Roles: Grant Writing

Motivation: ” To contribute to making education available to those who would otherwise go without.”

Timon

British – Dutch

Roles: Entrepreneurship teacher, marketing advice

Motive: “Education expands your vision. And the more you envision, the more you can reach.”

Roberto

Brazilian

Role: Entrepreneurship teacher

Motive: “For me it is a great pleasure and honor to be able to transmit some of my knowledge to the kids and hopefully it will help them in their lives.”

Albert

Dutch

Roles: Summer Camp, English Teacher Online

Motivation: “I wanted to give back to our community and teaching gives me the opportunity to do.”

Henrique

Brazilian

Role: English Co-teacher Online

Motive: “I’ve been a student for 4 years at EduMais. By helping teachers and teaching English I want to be an example for other kids that you can learn to speak English.”

Izabely

Brazilian

Roles: English Co-Teacher Online

Motivation: “I know the importance of good education and I always wanted to volunteer. Now I can give back.”

Jan Willem

Dutch

Roles: Communication and management support, new website designer, English teacher and webmaster.

Motive: “I have been very fortunate with my educational opportunities and want to give something back to those less privileged.”

Zac

British

Former Volunteers

The people that helped make EduMais what it is today

These people gave their love, dedication, time and knowledge to our kids.

We are forever grateful to them for spending such an important period of their lives volunteering with us!

Roles: English and Entrepreneurship teacher.

Motive: “I’ve been privileged to receive a good education and to travel abroad. Equal opportunity is what motivates me.”

Anna

New Zealand

Role: Online English teacher 

Motivation: “I’m Nigerian-American and a current resident in the United Arab Emirates who has taught across the US, China, Australia, and Dubai.”

Mr Ola

Nigerian – American

Role: English teacher

Motive: “Education is a powerful tool to help lift people out of poverty.”

Esteban

American

Roles: English, Winter Camp, and Recruitment.

Motive: “As an exchange student in Rio, I think getting involved in local life is important.”

Noemie

French

Role: English teacher & Recruitment Manager

Motivation: “I want to give back to the community that I’m living in and positively impact kids in the same ways that my teachers impacted me.”

Hanne

American

Role: English Teacher.

Motivation: “I grew up with all I need in life, so I want to give something back to the community and help children to grow, achieve their dreams and improve their lives.”

Niclas

Germany

Roles: English

Motive: “”I believe education is the best way to empower children to feel confident in themselves and in control of their future, and I would love the opportunity to make an impact.”

Dina

American

Role: English teacher

Motive: “I am excited to be part of Edumais and give the kids the same opportunities with the language as I had! No words can describe the feeling of improving someone’s life.”

Alice

Brazilian

Role: English teacher

Motivation: “One way to play a productive role as a native English speaker is to help unlock the potential of youth by bolstering their English skills.”

Sam

American

Role: English Teacher

Motivation: “Knowledge is power. I am privileged to of had a great education. I want to help kids who do not have the same opportunities as I had.”

Chelsea

American

Roles: Communication, Recruitment and English teacher

Motivation: “Education is key to the future. I want as many kids as possible to access it.”

Toscan

French

Roles: Winter Camp

Motive: “Helping kids thrive and giving them fun moments in Winter Camp.”

Justine

French

Role: English teacher

Motive: “Knowing English will help kids advance in their studies and overcome the educational inequalities that create unequal opportunities.”

Mahan

Swedish

Volunteered as an intern with a focus on the After-school Program, English and office support. In 2020 Eva joins us again to teach English Online.

Eva

British

Roles: English and Summer Camp teacher, recruitment and onboarding of volunteers.

Motive: “Education is fundamental.”

Coen

Dutch

Roles: Social Media, Campaigns and Newsletter

Motive: “I’ve been privileged to receive a good education and to travel abroad. I want these kids to have the same opportunities.”

Emma

British – French

Role: Managing Social Media and After-School Program

Motive: “Education is the perfect instrument to create a better future and I want to make my personal contribution”

Sofia

Italian

Role: English Teacher

Motive: “I thought it was important to give back to the local community through volunteering to help those less fortunate.”

Jessica

England

Roles: Summer Camp Teacher, English Teacher

Motive: “At Edumais, the enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge emanating from each child gives me hope.”

Laura

American

Role: Managing Social Media

Motive: “The vision of EduMais as a whole is something that I really believe in, and I hope to positively impact as many people as possible!”

Brianna

American

Role: English Co-teacher Online

Motive: “I’m a student and at the same time I’m a teacher. It’s a way for me to give back what I receive.”

Ariane

Brazilian

Roles: English Teacher, Coordinator English Online Program COVID-19.

Motive: “I believe in the power of education to drive communities forward.”

Emily

American

Role: Entrepreneurship teacher.

Motive: “Education is key to a better future and it’s nice to give something back to society by volunteering.”

Renata

Brazilian

Role: English Teacher.

Motivation: “I have been lucky with opportunities for studying and learning languages. Now I would like to give back to other people.”

Katalin

Swedish

Role: Summer Camp

Motive: “I think we have to take care of the seeds of the future and education is the best weapon to change the world.”

Lilli

British

English teacher.  “Young people are the future. The more educated people are, the more opportunities they can create for themselves.”

Victoria

American
Motivation: “I like to share my educational background to empower underprivileged children setting up visions and reach their goals.”

Daniel

Canadian

Karin volunteered in the English Classes, Entrepreneurship and Enter to the Labor Market.

Karin

German

Role: Summer Camp

Motive: “I think we have to take care of the seeds of the future and education is the best weapon to change the world.”

Julia

Russian

English teacher community classes.  Mel’s motive:  “Young people are the future. The more educated people are, the more opportunities they can create for themselves.”

Mel

Australian
Fabian volunteered as an English teacher.
Motivation: “I like to share my educational background to empower underprivileged children setting up visions and reach their goals.”

Fabian

German

Lukas volunteered in the Summer Camp edition 2020.

Lukas

German

Role: Summer Camp

Motive: “I think we have to take care of the seeds of the future and education is the best weapon to change the world.”

Caio

Brazilian

English teacher community classes.  Mel’s motive:  “Young people are the future. The more educated people are, the more opportunities they can create for themselves.”

Stefany

Brazilian
Fabian volunteered as an English teacher.
Motivation: “I like to share my educational background to empower underprivileged children setting up visions and reach their goals.”

Camille

French

Lukas volunteered in the Summer Camp edition 2020.

Charlie

British

Role: English teacher

Motive: “Every child deserves the same opportunities, and  I wanted to contribute to the future of these amazing children.

Eline

Dutch

Roles: English teacher, new website designer, management advice and webmaster. Motive: “Education is the key to progress.”

Daan

Dutch

Role: After-school teacher. Motive: “ There are days or moments when we need a push to take the first step or continue with what we are passionate about

Natalia

Colombia

Role: English teacher

Motive: “I believe it’s important to support underprivileged kids by communicating self-worth and strengthening their belief in their own abilities.”

Julie

German

Role: After-School Program

Motive: “I think we have to take care of the seeds of the future so humanity does not make the same mistakes again, to evolve as people.”

Irene

Argentina

Role: After-school teacher. Motive: “Volunteering is important to me because it allows me to give back and try to make a difference in this world!”

Harriett

American

Role: Extra Curricular English teacher Motive: “By learning a new language, we can connect to different people, discover other cultures, and see new points of views!”

Ana

Brazilian

Roles: English teacher and English curriculum redesign.

Motive: “Volunteering at EduMais gives me the platform to make a tangible difference in the lives of at-risk children.”

Melina

South African

Roles: Community English teacher and coordinator.

Motive: “Education is key to a better future and it’s nice to give something back to society by volunteering.”

Nikola Grace

British

Roles: English, After-school, and Summer Camp teacher.


Motive: “There is simply no reason not to do it.”

Ed

British

Role: English Teacher Motive: “Making a significant impact in the lives of kids living in underprivileged conditions by contributing to untap their full potential.”

Pol

Spanish

Role: English Teacher Motive: “EduMais provides the unique opportunity to do something meaningful with long-lasting impact on the life of children.”

Marcel

German

Volunteered from March – December 2016 with us. She had a vivid way to encourage and engage with students who didn’t believe they were capable of speaking English.

Yui

Australian

English teacher, September – December 2016. Taught 4th and 5th grades and 1st year of High School. Built English curriculum for 2nd year High School in January and February 2017.

Kim

American

Office support volunteer, September 2016 – January 2017. Responsible for social media and assisted the team with the first Web Design course.

Marianne

Austrian

She worked online from Vienna.
She loved to contribute to our social media and communication.

Bettina

Austrian

Holds a degree in tourism and communication. Supported EduMais with social media.

Estee

Dutch

Volunteered from September 2016 – May 2017 as an English teacher in the community classes. Loved to include art in her lessons.

Janelle

American

Volunteered as a Web Design teacher. Learned to code by herself and now runs her own company in Web Design.

Paula

Brazilian

Volunteered from March 2016 – January 2017. Loved to challenge our English students by putting them into role plays.

Bridget

Australian

Volunteered July 2017. He taught English and the kids loved him.

Bruck

German

Lives in Paris where he teaches English. Volunteered from January – June 2017. At EduMais, he taught English to all the age groups.

Dominic

British

Volunteered from April – July 2017. Language student who was passionate about teaching our children English, as well as social and life skills.

Elsie

British

Volunteered from April – August 2017. Passionate about the After-School Program and the impact that the teaching of social and life skills has on the children.

Hannah

Dutch

Volunteered in 2017. Sponsorship and PR. Former Procter & Gamble Manager and Business Graduate. Passionate about learning, sharing and helping.

Natalia

Polish

Volunteered from April – July 2017. For Nia, volunteering with EduMais was an opportunity to “love the children, help them, and give all the knowledge that I have to empower their talents.”

Nia

American

Volunteered in July 2017 with us. He brought great energy to our After-school Program, which had a major impact on the boys.

Andre

Brazilian

Passionate about communication, especially storytelling. Volunteered for one year with us.

Rachel

British

Volunteered almost a year. Passionate about social and emotional learning for children. Helped with Web Design courses and supported the Positive Discipline Workshops.

Matylde

Polish

Volunteered in August and September 2017. Assisted in English classes, website support, and with video and photography classes.

Emma

Britsh – French

Assisted with the After-school Program for 3 months. For him, volunteering with EduMais was “a rewarding challenge, i.e paving the way of these lovely kids towards a better future.”

Florian

Italian

Volunteered from April-December 2017 in office support. After many years in the corporate world, she was glad to get fulfilment by seeing the direct impact around her.

Adrienne

American

Volunteering with EduMais, for Tim, was a chance to be a part of the community, learn from it through the youngest generations, and to contribute slightly to its future.

Tim

Dutch

Volunteered from August 2017 and taught English in our community classes.

Patty

Peru

With her extensive experience in social work in favela communities throughout Brazil, she was an effective educator on the After-school Program.

Laura

Brazilian

Volunteered from July 2017. Always in a good optimistic mood, she supported where she could: office support, classroom assistance, helping everything and everyone stay on track.

Demi

British

Volunteered as an English Language Teacher.

Yana

American

Volunteered on our After-School Program and the boys adored him. He loved to work with our kids and challenged them.

Gabriele

Italian

Volunteered on the After-school Program.

Giulia

Italian

Role: After-school teacher

Motive: “Edumais allows me to give underprivileged kids an opportunity to thrive and be successful in whatever is that they want to pursue.”

Ruth

American

Volunteered as an English teacher to our students.

Sally

American

For Hanna, volunteering with us was “a wonderful opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the lives of underprivileged children and youth with love, attention and dedication.”

Hanna

Swedish

Volunteered as an English teacher.

Donal

Irish

Volunteered as a classroom assistant and fundraiser.

Hamish

Scottish

Volunteered as an English teacher and was extremely passionate about applying social and emotional learning to our students.

Eira

British

Volunteered as an assistant teacher and on our Education-Based Football Program. She impressed the kids by scoring a superb goal in the first training.

Pernille

Danish

Volunteered on our Education-Based Football Program.

Steven

British

Volunteered in office support, social media, as fundraise coordinator in the Netherlands, and much more!

Iris

Dutch

Volunteered in office support and translated our old website into Dutch and Brazilian Portuguese.

Sarah

Dutch

Volunteered in office support as an online marketing consultant.

Freimut-Johannes

German

Volunteered as an English teacher.

Colleen

American

Volunteered as an English teacher, as well as on the After-school and English Summer Camp Programs.

Mary Lou

Dutch

A former professional soccer player, Mads volunteered on our Education-Based Football Program.

Mads

Danish

He was a teacher on our English and Community English programs.

Dominic

American

She was a volunteer in our Summer Camp of 2019.

Loes

Dutch

She was our English teacher for a short while.

Alexa

American

Her roles were: After-school teacher and fundraising coordinator for the Americas. She wanted to give something back to the PPG favela.

Hannah

American

Her roles were: Extracurricular English and Summer Camp teacher. She believes that every child, regardless their background, is entitled to quality education.

Rebeka

Canadian

Her roles were: English and After-school teacher.

She want to make the world a better place and give others the opportunities she could take for granted.

Carmen

Spanish

His role was: English teacher. He was our volunteer during the start of the new school year of Solar/EduMais for our regular English classes.

Gabriel

American

Role: After-school teacher

Motive: “I love working with kids! Combining education with a fun and active space is so effective and important. Seeing them smile is the best reward.”

Shamsa

American

Role: After-school teacher

Motive: “The children of Rio are the future of the city, in order to move forward we must educate the youth.”

Sofia

Mexican

Role: After-school teacher

Motive: “it’s important for kids to have access to an environment which promotes healthy habits. By providing this, you improve the future of the community.”

Levi

American

Roles: Community and Extracurricular English teacher

Motive: “I’m volunteering at EduMais because I think that it’s important to have an active role in the community.”

Liam

American

Role: English teacher

Motive: “Since I arrived in Brazil I had the wish to help around me. EduMais gave me that possibility.”

Romain

French

Roles: Intern working on a research assignment.

Motive: “I really support the mission and vision of EduMais and I would like to contribute.”

Cisko

Dutch

Role: English teacher

Motive: “I want to support children from deprived backgrounds and making a positive impact in their lifes and their future.”

Anna

German

Role: English teacher

Motive: “EduMais is an engine of education, love and happiness, providing those who need it most with the chance to turn big dreams into reality.”

Jessica

Portuguese

Roles: Marketing support and Summer Camp teacher

Motive: “When living in Rio, you understand that a little help can mean a big difference in kids’ future life.”

Audrey

French

Role: English Teacher

Motive: “Teaching children English connects them to the wider global community and opens up a world of opportunities.”

Sasha

Australian

Role: Design and Marketing

Motivation: “Teaching and learning languages is a way of building bridges between people and their societies.”

Marta

Spanish

Roles: English and Summer Camp teacher, social media Motive: “Good education gave me so many opportunities now I can share that privilege with less fortunate children”

Lola

British

Role: English teacher

Motive: “Joining EduMais means, for me, fighting against social injustices through high-quality education.”

Tarquinia

Italian

Roles: English teacher

Motivation: “Taking part in children’s education to offer them better opportunities in the long run and learning from them at the same time is incredible.”

Violette

French

Role: Web and Game Design teacher.

Motive: “It’s incredible how much you learn from kids.”

Felipe

Brazilian

Join the EduMais Family! Volunteer for free in Rio de Janeiro!

Are you passionate about the education of at-risk children and teenagers? Do you want to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged young people by volunteering in the favelas?

Volunteer with us