Working with children in Sal

Hi Valentina,

Welcome to the CV forum. Regarding a visa, European visitors typically obtain a visitors visa at the airport. It costs about €50. It is typically issued just for a few months. So you aren't really supposed to stay here for an extended period on such a visa. To stay for a longer period, you have to apply for a resident visa which is initially issued for up to a year at a time. But to get one of those, you should start your own business (it's really easy and cheap to open a small business on paper...it's about €200). Or you need to get a job offer from a local company. You might also try just applying for a resident visa after you arrive, and you might get one even if you don't have a job or your own business. But you must prepared to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to support yourself during your stay. A resident visa costs another €50.

As far as associations that work with children, these are typically those that are charities/NGOs which assist orphans, the poor, or the sick/disabled, e.g., Aldeia SOS (soscapvert.blogspot.com), or Acarinhar (Facebook.com/pages/ACARINHAR/226807707361981). You typically won't find these kinds of associations on Sal. It is too small (population is only 25,000 and half of those are local workers who came to Sal from the other islands to work in the tourism industry). You're more likely to find such associations on Santiago (half the population of CV, or 250,000 people, lives there) or São Vicente (pop. 70,000). However, most of the help is needed in the schools. So you might also look into volunteering in the local schools.

You're right in your assumption that living here won't be easy. Living here is totally different that spending a short vacation here as you did 2 months ago. It's like the difference between a summer fling and getting married. If you haven't lived in Africa before, whether or not you think you love it, it takes some getting used to. It's not the same as African studies. I just want to make sure your expectations are properly set before you come. Be sure to do your homework and study well about ALL of Cape Verde's islands. There is a ton of information and discussions here on the CV forums and in the CV blogs that you must read.

If you want to have more contact with Italians, you're much better off heading to Boavista than Sal. There are a lot more Italian-owned businesses in Boavista. And the tourism sector in Boavista is outpacing that in Sal. So you are more likely to get a job in the tourism sector in Boavista (where tourist visits are rising) than in Sal (where tourist visits are falling).

Now, if you really just want to focus primarily on working with kids, you're much more likely to find opportunities in Santiago than either Sal or Boavista, but they will likely be volunteer opportunities. But you might be better able to get a job teaching English or French in Santiago than anywhere else. And you'll get a better integration into Cape Verde's culture in Santiago.

Finally, I couldn't tell whether you speak Portuguese or not. If you don't speak the language, it will be even tougher getting used to living here. But since you speak several languages, it may not be too bad.

Angelo

P.S. If you need personal contacts in the tourism business in Boavista or in the associations that work with children in Santiago or Mindelo (i.e., names, email addresses, phone numbers), send me a private message. I'd be happy to share some of my contacts with you. I don't know anyone in Sal (but my contacts in Boavista can share their Sal contacts with you).

valep86 wrote:

Hi!
My name is Valentina and I'm going to move to Sal by the first days of March. I visited the island two months ago and I fell in love with it. I'd like to work with children and I hope to find a job there. I taught English, French, foreign literature and tourism management for 2 years here in Italy, in a high school. I also worked as a guide in Venice.
Could you suggest me something?Some associations working with children?
I know that living there won't be easy,but I feel that it's an experience that I want to try. I've always loved Africa and also studied African Literature at the University.
Thank you in advance for your help.

Valentina

P.S. I also need some info about visa. My Cape Verdean friend told me to ask for the visa once I'll be there,at the airport