Description

Ethiopia is a fascinating country in which to volunteer with orphans and disadvantaged children in Africa. Only two decades ago, Ethiopia was ravaged by massive famine and cruel conflicts that left many hundreds of thousands of children orphaned. Today, the onslaught of HIV/AIDS combined with desperate poverty means that many children are left to fend for themselves. The need for volunteers cannot be over-emphasized.

Despite the rapid growth of the capital, Addis Ababa, and the emergence of a small Ethiopian middle class, over three quarters of Ethiopians still live on less than one dollar a day. A placement on one of our volunteer Care projects is sure to be challenging but there will not be a single moment when you doubt that you are needed, or valued.

You can experience volunteer development work on a Care placement in Ethiopia as part of a gap year in your education, a college summer vacation, on a career break, as part of an extended holiday or during your retirement. You could be a trained professional or totally new to the field. All we ask is that you have a passion for and a commitment to the work and to the people you are there to help.

Volunteering on a Community Development Project with Orphans in Ethiopia with Projects Abroad

Projects Abroad is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. Located in the center of the country at an altitude of 2400m, Addis Ababa is the third highest capital city in the world.

Care volunteers in Ethiopia work in orphanages, day care centers, kindergartens and care homes in and around the capital. The homes provide full-time care for orphaned or abandoned children and are places where children are given friendship and support while they wait to be adopted. The children who have made it to these homes and centers crave the love and affection that volunteers have the time and energy to give. This is where your help is most needed. Volunteers also organize occasional trips out from the orphanage and sometimes assist with fundraising events.

We also work with a local organization that arranges activities like games and sports for street children. These extra activities usually run a couple of times during the week and on Saturdays and all our volunteers in Ethiopia have the opportunity to be involved.

Volunteering Abroad in a Day Care Center in Ethiopia

Day care centers and kindergartens provide a safe haven where children can be free to play and learn away from the stresses of their home or street lives. Apart from fundamental childcare activities such as feeding and dressing the children, you will find yourself getting involved in other essential activities. Whether you are helping a child learn to count, organizing a game of catch or letting a child braid your hair, volunteer work in Ethiopia will make a difference to the quality of the children's daily lives.

Many placements will appreciate you providing an extra dimension to the children's education by giving them some informal English lessons. With Ethiopia increasingly becoming a tourist destination for visitors from the developed world, this will be a valuable skill for young people trying to find jobs.

Highlights

During the weekends, you can take time off from your volunteer work to explore the attractions of Addis Ababa. It's fascinating to see the mud huts basking in the shadows of lavish high-rise hotels. Priests in traditional dress hurry along the streets alongside suited businessmen chatting on cell phones, avoiding the passing donkeys and speeding Land Rovers.

The choice of entertainment is equally varied with plenty of activities to choose from. You can spend hours exploring the Merkato, one of the largest markets in Africa, visit a tej beat - a traditional local pub - or catch the latest Hollywood blockbuster at a movie theater. Addis Ababa is also home to some of the best museums in Africa as well as great restaurants, serving some of the most highly seasoned food anywhere on the African continent. Popular traditional Ethiopian specialties include the stew-like wat and the staple bread, injera.

At the end of your international volunteer experience, you can take the opportunity to travel to Lalibela, a place of pilgrimage with churches hewn straight out of the bedrock, located 2630m above sea level. Although Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's main visitor attractions, it still remains very isolated and you'll feel like you've traveled back many centuries.

Independent travel in Ethiopia is hugely rewarding, even though the infrastructure of the country is fairly basic. You'll get used to the curiosity that you attract as a Westerner and you'll make many warm and genuine friends here.

This project offers the opportunity to become fully immersed in the culture in a manner which even the most hardened of backpackers could never hope to do.

Qualifications

none.

Languages

• English

Cost in US$:

Please go to our website for prices.

Cost Includes:

• Emergency evacuation services
• Food
• Housing
• In-country orientation/Training
• In-country staff support
• Medical insurance
• Medical services
• Pre-departure orientation/Training
• Written materials abroad
• Written materials pre-departure

Experience Required

no

Volunteer Types

• Childcare/children
• Orphans
• Social Services, Social Work
• Street Kids

Age Range

16 and up

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Home-stays

Participants Travel

Independently

Typically Participants Work

Independently or in Groups of 2-5

Application Process Involves

• Letters of Reference
• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Typically The Application Process Time is

10 days

Post Services Include

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Re-Entry Debriefing at Home

Projects Abroad's Mission Statement

As part of the global economy, Projects Abroad helps create local employment wherever we send volunteers. Employing local staff overseas and using their talents and knowledge is important to us. This local knowledge and support enables the organization to channel the skills of the volunteers from more affluent countries to regions around the world where they are needed. Volunteers also learn from their placements and the people they meet, and they gain experience in a chosen field. In the 21st century, we believe this mutual respect is what cultural exchange is all about.

Year Founded

1992