Want to share your time, energy and enthusiasm with children across the world? As a childcare volunteer in Bali, you can make a positive impact in the local community of Tabanan. From supporting daily care, organising crafts and creative activities, to teaching English through songs and music. You’ll have the opportunity to volunteer with children in Bali between 1-8 years old, giving them an amazing head start before they begin formal schooling.
BACKGROUND TO THE CHILDCARE PROGRAM
In Bali, it can be difficult to afford a high standard of care or education for their children, particularly for families in the relentless farming and fishing industries. Therefore, as a childcare volunteer in Bali, you can support struggling families and childcare centres. By complementing the work of local staff members, we can ensure that these children receive the attention and support that they deserve.
Increased tourism in Bali has meant that local people who are able to converse in English with foreigners have far more prospects than those that can’t. As a result, education at this level will allow them to improve their future and that of their families.
It has been suggested that pre-school years are the most important years of a child’s life and an ideal time for learning a foreign language. Above all, this makes time with international volunteers invaluable. Subsequently, as a childcare volunteer in Bali, you can focus on educating the children with very basic English skills. For example, speaking and vocabulary, such as colours, shapes and animals. If you need motivation for gap year ideas, then our volunteer projects in Bali provide some fantastic options.
CHILDCARE VOLUNTEER PLACEMENT EXAMPLES
Akasa Bali Foundation Daycare - In September 2011 Ketut from our local team, developed her own Community Learning Centre in Tabanan called the ‘Akasa Foundation’ to provide underprivileged children in the area with free after school education and activities. This program has been Ketut’s devotion and passion to this day and with the support of volunteers she looks forward to developing the Akasa Foundation further into the future. The Akasa project hosts up to 55 children between the ages or 4-6 who are full of energy and ready to share this with our volunteers!
Out of all our childcare placements this one is the most structured. If you were torn between teaching and childcare this is a great place to be as the children are still very small but also eager and ready to start some learning! They love to learn the basics of English through songs and playing and really start to appreciate the presence of the volunteers.
Mutiara Ibu Daycare - This centre was founded by a local Balinese couple aiming to provide affordable childcare, hosting up to 40 children per day. In the morning volunteers will aim to introduce structure to the children by running activities and games. The ages of the children can vary greatly so it is good for volunteers to lead some English Teaching lessons in creative ways for some of the older children as this will start to prepare them for school.
In the afternoons, our volunteer’s work in Bali will often be spent with the children aged anywhere from as young as 6 months to 13 years. Volunteers will usually lend a hand during mealtimes, to encourage the fussy eaters and clean up the messy ones! In addition, assistance is also often required during bath times. However, help is appreciated in all aspects of the centre. As a result, each childcare volunteer in Bali may be asked to spend time with the older children, or even assist staff members in daily chores.
Immaculatta Daycare - Located around 10 minutes from the houses, Immaculatta was founded by a Christian Church to provide childcare for working families and provide basic English lessons when old enough. As a volunteer, you will help to keep the children busy by leading engaging games and activities. While the staff takes care of the more basic needs of the children, you will be there as the entertainers! The morning session will last around 3 hours and then volunteers can leave them for nap time whilst they recharge their batteries for the next lot of volunteers in the afternoon!
Timeus Kindergarten - This project was founded in 2009 by a Christian church. Each day, the centre can receive up to 60 children and the care provided here is free of charge. With up to 20 children in each class, the children can sometimes be a handful to manage alone! Consequently, as a childcare volunteer in Bali, you can provide invaluable assistance to the quality of care that the facility can offer.
Children attending this centre range from the ages of 6 months to 6 years. In the morning, the facility cares for children up to the age of 4. During this time, your volunteer work in Bali will involve helping to run basic English lessons for the toddlers, in preparation for starting school in the future. You can also expect to help with feeding and playing with the children, naptime and anything else the local team may ask for assistance with.
In the afternoon, children aged 4-8 visit the centre after school whilst their parents remain at work. Meanwhile, volunteers will usually lend a helping hand with the youngest of the children, aiding the staff with bath-time, and entertainment. There is however the opportunity on your Bali volunteer program to spend time with the older children, especially those who may need some additional help with their studies.
OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER WORKING WITH CHILDREN IN BALI
Return Airport Transfer - Your return airport transfer is not included in your Program Fee. The most common method is to use a ridesharing app or private taxi service. Participants can often be travelling across their final few days and therefore are not necessarily heading back to the airport directly from our accommodation. The costs depend on your method of transport and your final destination. This can often be split across multiple participants if you are travelling with someone else on the program.
Major Holiday Destination - With Bali being our most touristy destination we often find that volunteers would like to travel as part of their trip to Indonesia. Being in a more affluent and holiday destination means that our volunteers often do not feel as engaged in the project work as much as they can in more developing locations such as Ghana, Tanzania and India where they feel a clearer need for international volunteers. Therefore, we recommend participants to potentially sign up to volunteer for a shorter period to allow the chance to potentially travel as part of their experience and if the volunteer project is of particular importance then to perhaps consider a more high impact location.
Resources - On the childcare project in Bali, resources can be very limited. Volunteers are recommended to bring materials to the project each day to maximise their productivity and day to day involvement. It is therefore important for volunteers to prepare well in advance to get the most out of their childcare volunteering experience in Bali.
Placement Settings - We do not provide volunteer opportunities in orphanages in any of our locations. Research and studies have shown that visiting and volunteering in orphanages has the potential to generate an industry that separates children from their families. In turn, putting children at increased risk of neglect and abuse. Therefore, we do not support these institutions with our volunteer network.
Instead, we focus on offering alternative childcare volunteer opportunities whereby children come to and from the placement setting each day. In other words, our local teams collaborate with childcare projects which do not offer any form of residential care. These are safe, responsible, and vetted projects, where participants continue to provide valued assistance supporting local staff.
Weekends - Your project work in Bali runs from Monday-Thursday and weekends are free (Friday-Sunday). You are welcome to relax and hang out at the volunteer accommodation but most participants will use this time to travel and explore the country. As a result, you can check out our Bali Weekend Travel Guide for top tips on how to spend your weekend. We also run two separate weekend trips which you can sign-up to before you depart for Bali. We offer the Gili Paradise Island Trip along with the Ubud Trip with opportunities running every month.
