Tsige Tadesse Orphanage Centre, Ethiopia - Teach, Care for Children, Assist in Project Mangement

  Ethiopia

Addis Ababa

Durations of Program: 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months, 7-12 months, 1-2 years and over 2 years
Typical Duration of Program: 3-6 months
Dates: ongoing

Description: Tsige Tadesse Orphanage Centre was founded in 1986 by Tsige Tadesse and her husband. Together they had 14 children of their own. People in their village began leaving children with Tsige, knowing that she would care for them. The couple used money they inherited and their savings to start caring for a small number of children in their village. Today, the orphanage center cares for 106 children, ranging in age from 1 to 16 years. The center is fully funded on family members' contributions, and through selling family belongings.

The organization is non-governmental, non-religious, and non-political. The orphanage is located in a small town about an hour's bus ride away from the capital city, Addis Ababa. The orphanage has no electricity, and they fetch water from a recently donated community water pump. The climate is variable, ranging from around 10 degrees Celsius in the wet season, to above 30 degrees Celsius in the dry season.

Tsige Tadesse Orphanage Centre need self-motivated and mature volunteers who want to help our children. We do not require any special skills, except for a dedication to making the lives of our children a little bit better. We ask that volunteers come ready for a challenge and willing to put in hard work.
Please be aware that the level of English spoken is very minimal and volunteers will need to use their initiative in order to integrate themselves into the project. We suggest that initially, only volunteers with previous volunteering experience in a developing country undertake to volunteer at this project, as it will require a level of confidence and ability to adjust to minimal comforts of life.

The main role of the volunteers will be to teach supplementary lessons for the children at the orphanage. The ability to speak English gives children a head start in life, increasing their chances of continuing education and eventually finding work. Volunteers are asked to assist with lessons Monday to Friday in the morning and afternoon. These classes are generally only 1 to 2 hours long. Volunteers can also teach other important skills, such as fine and gross motor skills, sports, computers, music and singing. The children are very eager to learn. Volunteers can also be a great help by assisting with the daily tasks of the orphanage, such as cooking, washing, cleaning, helping to bathe the children, and farming. Apart from teaching and general household duties, the organization needs a lot of help. Volunteers could be very useful in helping Tsige Tadesse Orphanage Center to develop as an organization. The directors are in need of assistance in accounting and financial planning and reporting, fundraising and grant writing, and general administration.

All meals are provided. Volunteers may be expected to share a room with one or two other volunteers.
Volunteers pay a donation of USD $300 on arrival at the project to assist them with development and to cover their food costs. Accommodation is in the local guesthouse which charges $5 / day (ie. $150 per month). The orphanage is currently looking at other options to provide volunteers with suitable accommodation during their stay. Toilet facilities are very basic.

Qualifications: Volunteers must have a love for children and a strong motivation to work hard to better the lives of children. Experience in teaching, tutoring, lesson planning and assessing, and/or project management would be very beneficial but not totally necessary. We suggest that only people who have experience volunteering or living in a developing country come to volunteer, because it is difficult to adjust to living so basically while working hard.

Cost in US$: Initial donation of USD $300 then $5 per day

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: KIDS Worldwide volunteers are typically people who care very much for children and have the motivation and initiative to create changes that they wish to see.

Age Range: 18+

This Program is open to World Wide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Ethiopia Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently Or in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network

KIDS Worldwide's Mission Statement: Kids Worldwide seeks to improve the quality of life for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. We provide nurturing care and educational programmes based upon the universal concepts of Neo-Humanism, which are tailored to the needs of the children in our projects. We run orphanages as well as provide services to already established orphanages and childrens' projects (such as struggling primary schools and kindergartens) through our volunteer outreach programs. Our volunteer programs are notable in that we only request a small donation for food and accommodation that is paid directly to the project itself when the volunteer arrives. There is no administration fee requested to sign up through the program as we have volunteers doing all the web design and co-ordination for free. We ask that each volunteer give US $350 for their first month's food and accomodation and $100 thereafter. That is all - compare this to other volunteering sites on the internet!