ZAI007 - Childrens Home

Duration: Min 4 weeks max 52 weeks
Dates: Available at any time of the year year. (Christmas especially)
Location: Empangeni, KwaZulu Natal. (160km from Durban)
Background Information: The organisation acts as a transition home/ place of safety/ orphanage for abandoned and orphaned babies.
Project Aims: *A place where abandoned babies and AIDS orphans could find a place of shelter, but mostly love.
*To provide a family home environment with house parents assisted by volunteers and 'care givers' to provide Holistic care: including HIV/AIDS testing with anti-retroviral treatment; clothing; nutrition; childhood development assessments and recreational activities that are culturally appropriate. All provided with the love and care that is usually found in the safe environment of a family home and not very often created in an institution.
* The aim is to ensure that the developmental games and activities are played in an environment that is rich with learning experiences, as would have been enjoyed in their own homes.
* and finally to ensure that each child is successfully adopted by families forever or else provided with foster care if necessary.
Project Tasks: Volunteers are needed to assist with the following areas of concern:-
* Child care:- To provide their support for the care of new orphans.
* Day Trips:- So the children have the opportunity to meet people outside of the orphanage and build relationships.
* The Kitchen:- To assisting with cooking the children's food and feeding them.
* The Home's Office for Administration: Assistance is needed with the following: Entering data into a computer; Making photocopies: Duplicating literature; Putting together mailings, and completing many other office tasks.
*Grant Writing Research - The orphanage would like to contact the foundations and organisations that would be interested in providing funding for the expansion of our our efforts for orphans. This requires gathering information of suitable possibilities and their requirements. Assisting in the preparation of proposals for appropriate foundations and companies to consider.
*Local Fundraising Coordinator:-. Helping to develop events to introduce people to the needs of the orphanage and find opportunities to meet the people and raise the necessary funds. Events might include a concert, a walk-a-thon, student car washes, or a dinner. Maybe organise arts and crafts or sporting activities, a sing along or a dance that the kids might participate in too.
* Electrical Maintenance and Service: The organisation needs to extend their facilities which requires assistance in this area.
* Construction, Handyman, Painting.
* Plumbing: Maintenance and Service.
* Gardening: assisting with development of the vegetable garden to produce the kitchen's needs as a cost saving venture. As well as general garden maintenance of lawns and flower production areas so that any surplus might be sold for local fund raising.
Who Can Participate?: Any volunteer is welcome as long at they want to assist children. Volunteers need to be emotionally strong enough to be working with children and babies that may have HIV/AIDS.
Placement Costs: Food and accommodation is provided with families at no cost to the volunteer, who could purchase some small items of food for their host family as a gift.
Accommodation: Accommodation is comfortable as most volunteers will stay with families who live in a 3 to 4 bedroom house, where the volunteer would have their own room. Some may need to sharing a room with another volunteer. Otherwise the host families will usually have everything the volunteer needs.
Transportation: You can be meet at Durban Airport, or bus stations.
Required Items: Volunteers will need to provide a current police records check to IVI to be able to assist at this placement.
Language: English