Child Caring Assistant

The program

Volunteers will work with Moroccan youth, teaching and assisting them to learn crucial life skills that are often taken for granted. For example, volunteers may give basic language lessons, help with computer skills and mathematics, as well as organizing education and recreational activities such as music, theatre, arts and crafts, as well as outdoor games. Although some experience working with children is preferred, a responsible, enthusiastic and compassionate attitude goes a long way. Working with children in Morocco can be challenging but having some understanding of French or Arabic will make this an extremely rewarding experience for all involved. Volunteers supply critical support to the teachers at the school, who are greatly under resourced. There are simply not enough teachers in the facility, which is why volunteer help is essential. The children greatly benefit from the support and attention that they receive from volunteers, who are greatly appreciated by the local teachers and children. 

Goals of this Project:

• Provide essential care to vulnerable children in Morocco
• Improve the future prospects of children with a solid education
• Give impoverished children quality care, compassion and a sense of hope
• Enable inter-cultural exchange which benefits both locals and international volunteers alike.

How you can help

Volunteers play an essential role in helping disadvantaged children through this program.  Volunteers will spend their time teaching and supporting young children from impoverished backgrounds, and help them to achieve a solid start to their educational future. A flexible attitude is a must as there are a number of other tasks that volunteers can help with, from helping the children with their homework, to preparing food, cleaning, and assisting with chores. Volunteers on the program are encouraged to use their skills and interests to assist local teachers in developing activities for the children, such as music and dance, sports, arts and crafts, etc. Other activities might include basic teaching of the alphabet, numbers and counting, reading and storytelling, as well as health and hygiene.  This project provides an insight into the life of Moroccan children, who are always very excited about the presence of volunteers.

Volunteers will contribute in a number of ways on this program and can expect to undertake the following tasks:

• Help to feed and care for the children
• Help to teach the children
• Attend to and interact with the children
• Create activities and entertain the children with games

A volunteer’s work day on this project will generally last between 4 and 6 hours and while we ask all volunteers to be flexible in this regard, a typical daily schedule is likely to go something like this:

7:00am Breakfast at the volunteer house

7:30am Walk to your project site

8:45am Pre-start meeting with project supervisor

9:00am VOLUNTEERING DUTIES START

A tea break and lunch break will be fitted in during the day, but often the timing of breaks will change based on the needs of the local staff and number of volunteers on hand.

3:00pm VOLUNTEERING DUTIES END

3:15pm Debrief with project supervisor

3:30pm Walk back to the accommodation

Evenings Volunteers are free to explore the local area, check out the multitude of local restaurants, bars and cafes, or relax with the other volunteers.

Rabat is a modern city with wide boulevards, gardens and light, white buildings, for the most part a far cry from the hectic warrens of the other Imperial cities of Marrakech and Fez, but no less steeped in history with its origins going back to the 7th century. The King of Morocco lives here in his palace amid trees and flowers..Ohh! Being an administrative capital, the city is somewhat conservative and serious, but there is some local color to be found in the old part of the city, the Medina, and the Kasbah, where there is a more relaxed atmosphere. Recreational opportunities abound too and a few lovely beaches at hand.

With the city center of Rabat being very compact, all the points of interest are in walking distance. Local Bus services can be very useful and they are marked very clearly. Petit and Grands taxis can be found at the airport, the train station and at Boulevard Hassan.

Rabat Ville’s main train station is right in the middle of the Ville Nouvelle, just a few minutes’ walk to most of the hotels, so it is best to arrive in Rabat by train. There is even a bureau de change and a car rental office on the station platform. The main bus terminal is situated in Place Zerktouni - three kilometers west of the center by the road intersection for Casablanca and Beni Mellal Grand taxis from Casablanca and Fez will drop you off at the main bus station. Rabat’s airport is seven kilometers km north of Rabat and although grand taxis are the only public transport operating from here, it isn’t difficult to catch one. Rabat is a seriously cool place to volunteer!