Last week the Projects Abroad UK office was proud to welcome Projects Abroad Jamaica Director Bridgette Barrett over to our shores for the first time. It was really good to meet someone from one of our newer destinations, particularly one which has made such an impact in so short a time; the destination was only set up in April 2008! It was also interesting to meet somebody who had never travelled on a train before, allowing us to speculate about how much more well-adjusted each of us might be had we never had to put any of our faith in Network Rail...
Projects Abroad Jamaica has some excellent placements, and none deserve a mention more than the Care placements set up by Bridgette and her team. As well as working in orphanages and care homes, volunteers in Jamaica have the opportunity to work on our Child Advocacy and Parenting projects.
If you found yourself in the Child Advocacy role, your work is likely to be close to that of a counsellor or social worker, depending on your previous experience. On this project we work with "at risk" children, in partnership with a number of high profile government institutions and community groups. On the Parenting Project we work with an organisation which aims to promote the development of young children in rural areas, by providing them with physical and mental stimulation, whilst supporting their parents in group workshops and one-to-one sessions.
Receiving updates like this from our overseas staff allow us to see how far Projects Abroad has come as an organisation. For example, our Care projects have grown so much in recent years. We still place our volunteers in orphanages and kindergartens – as we always have done - and they continue to do incredibly important work here. But they are now being placed in such diverse organisations as HIV/AIDS centres, respite care homes for children with disabilities, schools aiming to promote the integration of ethnic minorities and Equine Therapy centres. Which is why we firmly believe we offer the best Care placements of any voluntary organisation, anywhere in the world.
Care placements are for volunteers of all abilities and levels of experience, and are available in all 24 of our destinations: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Romania, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand and Togo.
Care
