Your Arrival

Get ready for a warm welcome to Portugal! Your adventure begins the moment you arrive, with our airport pick-up on Sunday. To ensure a smooth transition, we’ll provide you with all the necessary arrival and contact details when you book your program. The local team will be waiting for you, ready to transfer you to your accommodation where you’ll meet fellow volunteers from around the world.

Your Accommodation

Your accommodation is included in your package from Sunday night until Saturday morning of your last week, so you can rest assured that you’ll have a comfortable place to call home throughout your journey.

You will be accommodated in our center which is located in Cascais.

You’ll be staying in shared rooms with other volunteers, giving you the perfect opportunity to make lifelong friends from around the globe. And don’t worry about gender issues, we’ve got that covered too! You’ll be accommodated in single-gender dorm-style rooms, ensuring maximum comfort and privacy.

But that’s not all – we’ve got your meals covered too! You’ll enjoy three delicious meals per day from Monday to Friday, and two meals per day on weekends.

You can find anything you require such as ATMs, supermarkets, pharmacies, etc. closer to the accommodation at a walking distance.

Local Sights

Discover the LX Factory: Spend your free time exploring the LX Factory, a vibrant creative hub located in an industrial complex. Browse through art galleries, boutique shops, and trendy cafes. Don’t miss the vibrant street art that adorns the walls of this unique cultural space.

Relax at the Beach: Lisbon is blessed with beautiful sandy beaches. Head to Cascais or Estoril, both easily accessible from the city, and unwind on the golden shores. Soak up the sun, take a refreshing dip in the Atlantic Ocean, or indulge in water sports activities.

Taste Pastel de Nata: No visit to Lisbon is complete without savoring the famous Portuguese custard tart, Pastel de Nata.

Head to a local bakery, such as Pasteis de Belem, and indulge in this delicious treat.

Pair it with a cup of freshly brewed coffee for an authentic Portuguese experience.

Explore the LX Market: If you happen to be in Lisbon on a Sunday, don’t miss the LX Market in the Cais do Sodre neighborhood. This vibrant flea market offers a treasure trove of vintage items, handicrafts, antiques, and unique souvenirs. Take your time to browse through the stalls and find a special memento to bring back home.

Take a Tram Ride: Hop on one of Lisbon’s iconic vintage trams and enjoy a nostalgic journey through the city’s narrow streets. The historic Tram 28 route is especially popular, taking you through picturesque neighborhoods and past major landmarks.

Visit the National Tile Museum: Delve into Portugal’s rich ceramic heritage at the National Tile Museum. Explore the beautifully decorated tile panels that depict historical and cultural scenes. Gain insights into the art of tile-making and its significance in Portuguese culture.

Indulge in Portuguese Cuisine: Use your free time to discover the diverse and flavorful Portuguese cuisine. Sample traditional dishes like bacalhau (salted codfish), grilled sardines, and caldo verde (kale soup). Don’t forget to pair your meal with a glass of Port wine or Vinho Verde.

Enjoy Fado Music: Experience the soulful sounds of Fado, Portugal’s traditional music genre. Visit a Fado house in the Alfama or Bairro Alto neighborhoods and immerse yourself in the heartfelt melodies and poetic lyrics. Let the melancholic tunes of Fado transport you to the essence of Portuguese culture.

These are just a few suggestions to make the most of your free time in Lisbon. Whether you choose to explore its historic neighborhoods, relax on its beaches, or indulge in its culinary delights, Lisbon has something to offer every traveler. Enjoy your time in this vibrant city and create lasting memories.

Lisbon Food Shop in Portugal

Fight against food waste by feeding those in need, both families and individuals. Food waste is a real problem on a global scale and the number of people in need has been increasing for the last few years, so let’s do something about it! Our food shop project is located in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, where you can explore the historical places and enjoy the view of the river. You will fight against food waste and at the same time help those in need, by delivering the good food that would be thrown away in the trash.

Currently, the big cities registered an increase of homeless and families in need. In the past four years, the homeless increased by 78% in Portugal due to a real-estate crisis and the increase of drug addictions. Also, food waste is a real problem on a global scale.

This project has the purpose of fighting against food waste and contributing to the feeding of the population in need. Everyone wins: good food is not wasted, people do not go hungry, citizens can donate a small part of their time to change the world, local companies can activate their duty of social and environmental responsibility and everyone can actively participate in a circular economy that produces a social good in their own local community.

Your role in this project is to help your efforts contribute to this cause: collect good food that would be going to be wasted at restaurants and deliver meals to people in need. Your task may include some food preparation, serving families and individuals organizing the background plus cleaning up. In this program, you will help several families in Lisbon.

Your role as a volunteer

Help and assist in food basket preparations.
Prepare Food Ingredients.
Organize and store the food donated.
Serve meals to local people.
Maintaining cooking equipment and storage clean.
Maintaining kitchen areas clean and sanitized.
During the Program Activities
Work at the placement for a minimum of four hours a day.

You can participate in two different shifts. There may be a change of time and schedules so please be patient and respect the advice of your local program coordinator.

Aims & Objectives

Assist the local staff with extra hands at the food shop;
Lisbon families in need can continue to be provided with hygienic, healthy food
Good and Healthy food is not wasted

Schedule

Monday
Welcome to Portugal! Arrival orientation and introduction to Portuguese traditions and culture, house rules, and code of conduct
Basic Portuguese Lesson
Walking tour around local interest spots
Dinner

Tuesday to Friday
Breakfast
Depart for the placement
Assist in the preparation of food baskets, working in the kitchen, cleaning the area, and serving food.
Lunch
Assist in the preparation of food baskets, working in the kitchen, cleaning the area, and serving food.
Possibility to collect or distribute food.
Dinner

* This schedule can be changed and/or amended depending on weather conditions, local conditions and unforeseen circumstances.

Lisbon Childcare in Portugal

Join the childcare project and contribute towards the education of kids and help them to build a healthy development. You will provide education, assistance, and childcare during the day to young children between the ages of 2 and 6 years old. Our childcare project is located in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, where you can explore the historical places and enjoy the view of the river. You will provide education, assistance, and childcare during the day to young children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old.

Kindergarten is an educational response considered to be the first stage of basic education. There are many social awareness responses linked to the Catholic Church in Portugal and the kindergarten is one of them. Is not mandatory that your belief would be the same as Portuguese people to participate in this project.

The main objective is to help the children develop their growth in a healthy and balanced way. Your role is to provide education and childcare services along with the teachers during the day to young children between the ages of 3 to 5 years old. You will help and work closely with the children and teachers. You will be involved in their basic routines (nap, lunch, activities…) and lesson planning and preparation, as well as administrative tasks as required by the class teacher.

We encourage you to bring your own ideas and creativity to the program and help children develop their English skills through fun and engaging activities. Besides the English teaching and basic cognitive exercises, this kindergarten encourages you to teach socio-emotional abilities such as critical thinking, expressing ideas, how to be grateful, sharing, being generous, being empathetic, and acknowledging how the other may feel. You can contribute to this using board games, drawing and coloring pictures; physical activities; short stories, poems, and songs.

Aims & Objectives

Engage with the local children and teach them basic English.
Gain practical experience in teaching young children.
Assist and support the local teachers and staff.

Schedule

Monday
Welcome to Portugal! Arrival orientation and introduction to Portuguese traditions and culture, house rules, and code of conduct
Basic Portuguese Lesson
Walking tour around local interest spots
Dinner

Tuesday to Friday
Breakfast
Caretaking/ Teaching Activities at the kindergarten
Lunch
Caretaking/ Teaching Activities at the kindergarten
Assist the class teacher in planning the next lesson and preparing the materials.
Dinner

* This schedule can be changed and/or amended depending on weather conditions, local conditions and unforeseen circumstances.