Info

Working in an orphanage is probably one of the toughest and most rewarding things that you can do.

The orphanages we work with are well run but often the staff are busy and have little time to interact with the children. Your job will be to simply spend time with the children and pay them some attention. This will involve playing games, sports and helping the children develop interests. You might start an art club, get the children interested in nature, put on a play or simply run around chasing a ball.

Some of the orphanages we work in are for children whose parents have died of AIDS or AIDS related illness, many have simply been abandoned by parents and relatives.

Two examples of our projects:

Ghana

Most of our orphanage volunteers are working in the Elder Lords Children’s Home in Wawase-Twifo Aramakwamoano, a small village about an hour away from our centre in Cape Coast.

The principal, Micheal Sikansuo, founded the orphanage in 2006 with four children. Since then the orphanage has grown and he, and his dedicated staff, are now responsible for 55 children.

There are only two teachers who look after the 55 children so you can appreciate why they need help. They desperately need help to care for the children and help teach them English.

Cambodia

Our orphanage projects are based in the rural town of Takeo, 50 miles south of Phnom Penh.

The orphanage we work with has about 60 children of a mixture of different ages.

The older children go to school during the day and they are particularly keen to have someone teach them English. The ability to speak just little English gives them access to so many more employment opportunities and increases their chances of escaping the poverty trap.

In the afternoons when the children come home, we'd like to have volunteers with keen interests in sport, music, drama, etc to bring their interests to the orphanage and engage the children in after school activities.

The orphanage is also desperate to have women who can act as role models for the teenage girls at the orphanage. Many of the teenage girls are about to leave and enter the job market. Many of them have had a very sheltered upbringing and so the orphanage is keen to have female volunteers who can teach the young women life skills, employment skills and help make the girls more self sufficient.

Kindness and compassion are necessary prerequisites for all of these projects.

Note all projects working with children require a background check. This is an extra cost of about £10 but we will make the necessary arrangements. Parking tickets, speeding fines, and some criminal convictions will not prevent you from joining us; we simply check if you have any prior convictions relating to harming children.

Also placements in Mexico and Tanzania

Duration

2 weeks to 6 months. You can choose how long you go. Most join us for one month.

Start Dates

Throughout the year. You can choose when you start.

Costs / Benefits

A language or culture course is included in the programme.

Requirements

Note all projects working with children require a background check. This is an extra cost of about £10 but we will make the necessary arrangements. Parking tickets, speeding fines, and some criminal convictions will not prevent you from joining us; we simply check if you have any prior convictions relating to harming children.