Get Prepared and Learn New Skills!
Working alongside children and teenagers with special needs requires certain skills and sensitivity. To ensure that you are fully prepared for your volunteer experience and to make you at ease within your role you will receive on location training when you arrive at the orphanage.
All volunteers are required to follow a special training course that teaches you what it is to be blind and how to attend to the needs of blind children. During the first week at the orphanage you will undergo a one-week training program, which covers the following:
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Mobility Training. How to walk, assist and guide the blind
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Teacher Training. A creative approach to the Montessori teaching system used at the orphanage. Ideas and resources for effective lesson planning
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First Aid Training. Half a day class on basic first aid, taught with the special needs of each child in mind
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Inside Training. A one day class on the history, future, policies and programs that make the organisation what it is
At the end of the training volunteers will be able to:
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Guide and assist the children according to their respective personal handicaps
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Understand the charity; what their mission, vision and policies are and basically; the way they roll
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Know who is responsible for what. Where to get the answers to basic day-to-day questions
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Teach a class without using books, but by using speech, touch, dance, songs and other key teaching methods
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Know your roles and responsibilities for your time at the orphanage
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Name the kids!
How Can I Help?
You will not only be a volunteer but also an ambassador for the charity and it's expected that you undertake your roles and responsibilities both seriously and passionately.
Upon arriving, you will receive a full orientation into volunteering given by VPC Coordinators and the orphanage staff, so you are clear about every aspect of the running of the charity and how you will be involved in it.
During a typical day at the orphanage you will teach the kids in the morning, help look after the animals during or after-lunch and dinner, help write the children’s newsletters in the afternoon, join them for a walk at around three, take them for a ride on the tandem bike at around four, and pick fresh ingredients for your dinner from the farm at five. In the evenings you may assist in reading stories to the children, singing songs with them or playing games.
Basic volunteer roles at the orphanage include, but are not limited to:
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Teaching English, 5 classes per day (or French if applicable)
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Assisting in sponsor management and fundraising
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Organising extra-curriculum activities for the children
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Representing the organisation during events, bazaars and fundraising activities
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Working on the farm
A Typical Volunteering Day
9:30-10:00 English: Tiger/ Ginko class
10:30-11:00 English: Panda class OR
10:20-11:00 Office/farm work
11:10-11:50 English: Sunflower class
12:00-13:20 Lunch
13:20-14:00 English: Special Education Kids
14:10-14:50 Office/farm work
14:10-14:50 French: (if applicable)
15:30-16:30 Playtime with the kids
17:00 Dinner
18:00 Story time
What's Your Special Skill?
If you are qualified in a particular area and you feel that the organisation could benefit from it, it's possible for you to undergo an internship throughout your time at the orphanage as a 'Specialist Volunteer'.
Specialist Volunteers will still undergo normal volunteer roles but a part of your schedule will be dedicated to working in your specialist area.
This is a way for you to get your hands on some meaningful experience in your area of expertise!
Specialised fields which are sought after include:
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Translator (English, French, Chinese)
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Pediatrican
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Optometrist
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Dentist
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Psychologist
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Counselor
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Fundraiser
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Specialized Educator
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Speech Therapist
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Physical Therapist
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Graphic Design
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Agricultural Expert
If you are qualified in another area which you feel you can focus your placement around, please send us an enquiry!
