Childcare
Uganda has an extremely high number of children living in poverty and many of these children have lost one or both of their parents as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The purpose of the Childcare project is to provide support to under resourced centers that are providing care to children within poor communities.
CHILDCARE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
- MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT TO THE LIVES OF UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN
- COORDINATE & ENGAGE IN FUN ACTIVITIES ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS
- LEARN ABOUT LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY
- EXPERIENCE THE VIBRANT & FASCINATING UGANDAN CULTURE
- AMAZING DESTINATION FOR SAFARI NATIONAL PARKS
If you’re someone who loves working with children and is happy to provide support wherever your assistance is most needed, you will be well suited to this project.
As a volunteer on this project, you will work within in day care centers, nursery schools, children’s homes and kindergartens to assist local staff in the day-to-day running of these centers and ensuring they operate effectively.
Activities vary across the different centers with typical tasks including Bathing, feeding changing of diapers for babies, educational activities and basic teaching of English, Math, Health/Hygiene, Reading and Writing. Other activities include play therapy and games, cleaning, reading stories, dancing, singing, arts and crafts, as well as assisting with feeding and daily chores.
As you will be volunteering alongside our local placement staff, you do not need to have previous childcare experience to participate on this project but high energy levels and a willingness to help out wherever your help is most needed is a must.
Transport to the childcare volunteer in Uganda project is not included in the Program Fee. Some of the childcare volunteer in Uganda projects is within walking distance from the Volunteer House, but many are further afield. In these latter cases, you will be required to take a Taxis (local bus) to placement.
You should budget up to 10 GBP per week for getting to/from the project. It can take up to 45 minutes to travel to your volunteer work in Uganda. Our local team will guide you through the local transport methods during your in-country orientation. You can also always ask them if you are unsure of how much you should be paying for a journey.
OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER WORKING WITH CHILDREN IN UGANDA
Resources – On the childcare project in Uganda, resources can be very limited. Volunteers are recommended to bring materials to the project each day to maximise their productivity and day to day involvement. It is therefore important for volunteers to prepare well in advance to get the most out of their childcare volunteering experience in Uganda.
Project Locations – Childcare and teaching participants on the Uganda Child Care Program are sometimes based at the same site. In these instances, volunteers will be able to travel together accordingly. At the volunteer project, teaching volunteers will tend to work with slightly older children. Childcare volunteers will work with children of preschool age. Although similar in nature, they each follow different daily itineraries and setups.
Important Visa Information – On-arrival into Uganda you will need to obtain a Tourist Visa. This costs 100 USD (100 USD for US Citizens). You do not need to worry about this in advance since this can be purchased at the airport on arrival. Please bring US Dollars that have been issued from 2006 onwards to pay. Card payments will not be accepted.
Yellow Fever – Recently, the Uganda Embassy have changed legal requirements for the Yellow Fever Vaccination. The government now states that this must now only legally be obtained by:
• Individuals who are travelling from a country with risk of Yellow Fever transmission
• Individuals who are transiting through one of these at-risk countries for 12 hours or more
However, some participants outside of these parameters have still been asked to show evidence of the vaccination upon arrival into Uganda. You may, therefore, wish to still obtain this vaccination to avoid any confusion or difficulties upon arrival into the country. To obtain this vaccination, you must ensure you allow yourself plenty of time to arrange this before you go.
There has been a lot of debate on this issue. However, from the V2U team’s experience, we have always been asked to show proof of our Yellow Fever Vaccination. We therefore strongly advise all our volunteers to do so as well to avoid any complications on-arrival.