India: Volunteer Care-Work with Children 

• Placement locations: Madurai and surrounding districts
• Types of care projects: Adoption centres, children’s homes, hospices, orphanages, special needs centres
• Age of children: 2 - 22
• Number of people cared for: Variable
• Role: Assisting with local staff including playing with children, basic teaching and giving general help
• Accommodation: Host families, on-site volunteer accommodation
• Price: From £995
• What’s included? Food, accommodation, transfers, insurance, personal webpage, induction and orientation, 24/7 support, social activities
• What’s not included? Flights, visa costs, spending money
• Length of placement: From two weeks
• Start dates: Flexible

As a volunteer on a Care project in India you will have an important role to play, whether you are a trained professional offering us the benefit of your experience or a volunteer on a gap year or career break looking for some experience of development work. Everybody is welcome, provided you are willing to work hard and be committed to the role and the children you are there to help.

Voluntary Orphanage and Special Needs work with Projects Abroad

The orphanages and care centres in India that we work with are located in and around the city of Madurai and in the surrounding districts of southern Tamil Nadu.

The centres cater for orphans, children in care and children with disabilities aged from 2 - 18. In many cases your day will begin early when you will be required to help the children get ready for school. You might have the middle of the day free, or you might like to stay on to help out with other social care activities.

We also have a care placement working in a hospice for poor people with terminal illnesses. This placement can be quite harrowing and includes helping to feed the patients, clean wounds, change their clothes and simply spending time with the patients coming towards the end of their lives.

In whichever volunteer Care project you find yourself, you need to be ready for a challenge. Many of the children are desperate for attention and there will be many present who have health problems or who require special attention due to disabilities.

Volunteering abroad on a Care Project in India

For the younger children there is often a nursery attached to the home where you can help, or perhaps you might even go with the children to school and help teach a little English. When the older children come home at 4.30pm you can help with their homework or organise games and activities for them before dinner.

Some care centres are more inclusive in their approach, teaching both life skills and handcrafts to the older children. As a volunteer, if you are good at art, crafts, sports or even gardening there's a lot you can do to help on a social level. Interaction, friendship and support are the most important things you will need to be able to offer the children we work with.

In most cases volunteers stay in accommodation at the care centre where they are working. This gives you the opportunity to get involved with the children throughout the whole day.

This project is available for two weeks if you don't have time to join us for a month or more. This project has been selected by our local colleagues as being suitable for short term volunteering for both the host community and the volunteer. Although you will gain a valuable cultural insight and work intensely within the local community please be aware that you may not be able to make the same impact as someone volunteering for a longer period.

If you are keen to get more involved in work within the local community, you may be interested in our Conservation & Environment project.  Our volunteers are helping to encourage conservation and sustainable organic agriculture in local villages and schools.  To find out more detailed information please go to our Conservation & Environment in India page.