Child Care

Overview

Child Care: The Childcare Program in Uganda lies under volunteerism. It is a great way to help the underprivileged children in the region. Volunteers joining this program under Pamoja Health Initiative get a unique opportunity to understand the country and its problems as well as express love and affection to the kids from extremely underprivileged backgrounds.

The childcare volunteer program of this initiative helps to provide children with basic necessities such as:

• food
• medical care
• education
• shelter
• proper clothing
• The initiative also helps malnourished kids suffering from deficiency diseases

The impact of child care volunteerism

Volunteering with children provides a platform for gap year travelers to make a difference in the lives of many underprivileged children.
Volunteers can be of great help at these centers as the local social workers lack proper assistance and sufficient manpower resources. The best part of the project is that the children leave the center once they find a sponsor for their education. This encourages  the kids’ further growth and attainment of opportunities. As one of the most impactful projects offered, this project is well rounded and leaves a great scope for meaningful volunteering contributions.

Program Requirements

1. Volunteers must be 18 years or older at the time of joining the project.
2. Participants should have an open mind and flexible attitude for working in a new and different environment.
3. Volunteers need to be flexible, open-minded and have a passion for working with children.
4. You should also be proactive and have the ability to take initiative.
5. All volunteers must provide a clean criminal background check report prior to joining the program.
6. A parental consent form shall be required for Under 18 participants joining the program.

Volunteer Roles & Responsibilities

Joining a volunteer project for childcare in Uganda comes with a high level of responsibility and dedication. A volunteer, typically, will be required to execute the following tasks;

• Take care of the children
• Help out in lessons
• Create a loving and fun atmosphere.
• Help children in painting, doing and arranging activities, doing art & craft, teaching basic languages such as English/ Maths/ French etc.
• Spend time with these children and play with them to make them feel wanted.
• Engage the children in whatever activity or skill you possess, such as dancing, singing etc
• Working with children with special needs and spending quality time with them, playing, organizing, teaching and doing art & craft activities, singing and dancing.

Volunteer Schedule

The Childcare Volunteer Program can be located in different parts of the country especially those that are remote.  The accommodation for this project is either within the premises of the childcare center or a nearby guest house. The schedule for the volunteers is as follows;

• Arrival in Uganda and transfer to the district of interest
• An orientation session will be conducted by the local coordinator, covering topic areas; such as safety, culture, language, places to visit, behavior, food, and other suggestions about what to do in Uganda.
• Volunteer work
• Working hours at the placement (depending on the program)
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Weekends – Free to explore the city

When you book your safari with Pamoja Tours and Travel and are interested in Volunteering in Child care, we can arrange a flexible schedule for you to engage with the children in a flexible manner.

Major volunteer activities in Child care

Providing food to the children

In Uganda, we have many children in village schools who go to school and spend the day without anything to eat. This is because they do not have the money to afford a meal which forces them to wait till dinner back at home with their families.

You can book a safari and Pamoja Tours and Travel and engage in contributing a small fee to buy one or more children a meal for lunch.

Medical Care

Many vulnerable children in the remote areas of Uganda do not have medical attention when they fall sick. They rely on local herbs which many times do not even work for them causing many deaths and complications which would otherwise be prevented.

You can, however, engage in contributing to their medical care by providing the local clinics and hospitals with medical equipment like gloves, cotton, medicine and many more. Mothers also face a big challenge when delivering due to lack of essential items such as pregnancy kits, cotton and others. The situation can be improved by donating to maternal care projects that are run by the initiative. 

Education

You can engage in school activities like dances, lessons and other activities with the children as you encourage them to stay in school. The girls need to hear real life experiences that will encourage them to stay in school and avoid early pregnancies and becoming school dropouts. Additionally, you can take part in the distribution of sanitary pads among school going children. Many girls fail to attend classes during their menstruation periods due to lack of sanitary pads and emotional support or sensitization about proper hygiene habits.

You can also contribute to school materials for the children like books, pens, pencils, text books and others.

When you book a safari with Pamoja Tours and Travel, you can engage in lessons like these with the children.

Shelter

Usually, when our clients want to volunteer in childcare shelter provision, they can start by contributing a fee to building of classrooms and dormitories for the children. Most of these children in remote areas study under trees or unfinished buildings with no roof. When it rains, they get fully soaked in water and their school materials get spoilt.

Whenever our clients book a safari with us,  5%of our profits go to these schools to help in buying reading and writing materials for the children.

Proper clothing

Children in various remote areas of Uganda usually lack clothes/uniforms. There are many scenarios where you may find that even when these children have to go to school, most of them will end up wearing wet clothes which they washed the previous night so as to be to attend the classes for that day.

Therefore, a volunteer can contribute to this initiative a small fee to buy one or many children school uniforms or any other proper clothing for them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, when you book your safari with Pamoja Tours and Travel, volunteering can be part of the highlights during your stay in Uganda. With child care, you can make a big difference in these children’s lives by helping them to go to school, feeding them, providing shelter to them, medical care and several others. Do not miss an opportunity to sponsor a child during your safari. You can do this termly or annually and provide a bright future for the children.