Blue Med Africa Project
Child Care and Orphanage
Child Care and Orphanage Volunteer
Overview
- Volunteers are placed at orphanages and care centers where they are assigned to different duties on rotational basis.
- Volunteers will spend time providing companionship to both orphans and children in the larger communities.
- Volunteers will help the children organize activities and also have the opportunity to listen to the life challenging stories of the kids and serve as a mentor.
- Volunteers will be able to share stories in a private one-on-one context, and potentially pose as a true role model for the orphans.
Child Care and Orphanage
Activities
- Task to be performed:
- Teaching and helping in daily life skills
- Help with learning concepts such as English and mathematics
- Instruct in internet/computer usage and skills
- Creative play/art, eg. drawing/sketching, etc
- Music and dance
- Participate in and teach new types of sports and games
- What to Expect:
- Blue-Med volunteers who work with orphan or group home children can encounter different challenges. Due to the nature of their situations, the children can behave, interact, and speak in different ways than you may be used to. Usually, almost all of the children are extremely friendly, playful, and excited to interact with our volunteers. There are, however, often some children who are more aggressive, violent, and difficult to deal with, so one must always be prepared to deal with challenging situations.
- Blue-Med volunteers will be teaching and mentoring children who may otherwise not receive a proper education and will have the chance to promote healthy living habits. Volunteers generally teach English (speech, writing, and spelling) and mathematics (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). In the past, volunteers have also undertaken bigger projects, such as creating a sustainable garden with the help of the children to provide food for the orphans. There are usually around 35 children (mostly age 7-12) at the orphanage. Most children understand English but often many don’t speak English. Usually the older children interpret and translate for the younger ones.
- What they have:
- The children at the orphanage have a whiteboard, benches and chairs, sometimes markers, crayons, and a few old coloring and children’s books. However, the orphanage is often without working markers or crayons and the books become worn-out and destroyed.
- Volunteers in the past have bought paper and pencils for the children, with which they solve problems or receive homework. There are no textbooks so teachers will often have to make up lessons and problems on their own. The children also have few toys, including a few worn-out soccer balls, a basketball, and jump ropes.
- What to Bring:
- If you would like to help at the orphanage, school supplies would be very helpful. These may include paper, notebooks, pencils, crayons, white board markers, and erasers. The children would also appreciate coloring books, children’s books, or textbooks from which to learn. There are also in need of clothes, including shirts and shoes, and toys, such as soccer balls or stuffed animals.
Child Care and Orphanage
Role
- Working directly with the kids with supervision of a staff where you are offered hand-on projects. Volunteers are working more than just observation.
Child Care and Orphanage
Requirements
- High school students, undergraduate students, graduate students, students taking a gap-year(Pre-Med, Medical students), families (including children under age 16 if with parents), any other volunteer in good physical condition.
- Start date:
- Programs begin the first week of the month. It is therefore recommended that volunteers arrive during the end of the previous month or the first week of the following month. The minimum duration of volunteering is 2 weeks. However, volunteer length of stay is flexible. Our staff members are available to help you arrange your preferred dates of arrival. Please contact us at +233243380168 or info@bluemedafrica.org.
Child Care and Orphanage
Group Volunteering
- Coordinating a group of students, community groups, or colleagues to volunteer can contribute a large impact by planning additional projects not included in the original program. Blue-Med Africa will support and organize these special projects and experiences if interested. There are special discount for groups. If you would like to send a group on a trip, please email info@bluemedafrica.org to discuss your ideas and interests further.
Child Care and Orphanage
Individual Volunteering
- Apply as a solo volunteer and join other international volunteers from different part of the world in Ghana. You would meet the wonderful team and the staffs as a family.
