Care for Children in Orphanages Project in Bolivia

We work with many different orphanages in Bolivia. Some are for very young children and babies and others are for older children. At the orphanages for younger children and babies there are trained carers, so you are there to help them and give general support where needed.	Download and print additional information on this project ►in .pdf format ►in Word format
Your support helps the carers as well as the children because it frees their time to concentrate on other areas, such as obtaining financial support and working on administration and legalities of running an orphanage.
By playing games with the children you also encourage confidence building for the children. It also encourages children to use English in an informal way, and even with the younger children it gives them exposure to the language at an early age. For many of the older children you are able to integrate education into games and also help with homework etc. Where children are not taught at the orphanage you will help these on their return from school in the afternoon. About your work: Your work here will be to help the carers with the day to day running of the centers, and general care for the children. Most of your work will be to help and assist the carers with their daily rounds. You will also be asked to help clean equipment and various areas within the orphanage. It is difficult to be specific about the day-to-day work you will do, but you will get a good general feel of the orphanage by working and/or observing. The type of work you will be allocated will depend to an extent on your own abilities and capabilities, which is understandable given that you will be dealing with children’s health and safety. Your hours may vary, but normally you will work from 9-5 Monday to Friday. However, you may sometimes work evenings or nights, sometimes over weekends, etc., but you will have time off on other days instead. The level of education of the children is generally very poor, and it will be up to you and the Director to explore how best to use your skills. This may mean taking sport and game lessons or offering care for children, it may well be in the form of informal English or vocational teaching which is one of the biggest privileges to receive. You should be supervised all of the time while you are there, and you will be given help and directions. Your work load will depend on yourself and your attitude, with more work becoming available as you grow in confidence; and the staff with you. Your work as a volunteer may include: Preparing food for the children. Bathing the children Helping the children eat Helping carers and caring for the children Occasionally taking the children to the hospital for immunization, treatment etc. General cleaning of the compound and the orphanage. Washing clothes and the children Teaching informal English, Arithmetic and sports to the children Organizing and facilitating games and plays for the children What do you gain? As a volunteer you will gain the following: Skills in working with the needy children Knowledge of the Bolivian society and life styles of its people. Experience in working with children in difficult circumstances Infinite satisfaction that you are benefiting the children - this is a very worthwhile project. What does the Project gain? As a result of your volunteer work, the orphanage, the workers and the society at large will benefit directly or indirectly as follows: Will get an opportunity to interact with you and learn about foreign cultures Have access to free workforce and services Will have their traditional knowledge and skills of doing care work supplemented with initiatives from you and our other volunteers. The children will receive your love and care ... and this is fundamental for their growth and development! STREET WORK: We also work with some projects which approach important issues with children and families from the street. They try to create awareness of issues such as health, and try to educate the street children and their families with the aid of play, music, drama, feeding, sharing information, listening, and having discussion groups. One such project has arranged for over 190 local girls to be involved with projects which can contribute economically to their families. Such projects involve producing cards and goods and running a gift store. They also have a café that they are encouraged to work in to help give them exposure to the world.	SPECIALS, EXTRAS & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Bolivian children with Llama!
COACHING SPORTS
It is possible for volunteers to coach at various schools, orphanages, and with special arrangements it will also be possible to coach a local team. Children in Bolivia really are a joy to teach; their enthusiasm for sports really knows no bounds. Although for the vast majority coaching won’t have a direct impact on their lives; indirectly it has immeasurable effects. Personality changes, health awareness, increased confidence and social skills are all benefits from the coaching they might otherwise fail to receive. SPORTS COACHING MANUALS: Our Travellers Sports Officer has put together very useful Sports Coaching Manuals and these will be provided to you for use on your placement, together with other useful documentation such as a manual of Warming-Up Exercises and another containing Fun Games to play with younger children. These excellent Sports Coaching Manuals are made available to you for free in sports such as Football, Volleyball, Rugby, Cricket, Basketball. FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO COACHING WEBSITE As a volunteer teacher/sports coach with Travellers, we have arranged for you to get a year’s free subscription to a Coaching website: www.grassrootscoaching.com. With this membership (which normally comes with a price tag of £39.99), you automatically become a member of the International Coaches Association (ICA) and join a community of coaches from over 65 countries. The ICA is rapidly growing into one of the largest coaching organizations in the world. This subscription will allow you access to over 4,000 pages of the best interactive, online soccer and football coaching information.
SPANISH COURSES
If you would also like to teach and learn Spanish, we provide a 1-Week Intensive Beginners Course in Spanish. This can be done prior to starting your project. . If you already have basic Spanish and would like to improve your language skill while on your placement, we can arrange a combination placement for you. The combination course will integrate your teaching/work experience placement and your 20-hour Intermediate Spanish Course during your stay. These courses are both normally in groups with a private teacher.