Improve the Skills of Children with Disabilities

The program

Volunteers provide much-needed support and assistance to children based at a centre in Badulla. The vocational training center offers formalized classes that aim to improve the skills of children with disabilities. The centre is in desperate need of willing volunteers to help with all types of roles and tasks at the center. Suffering from a severe shortage of resourcing and staff, the centre welcome volunteers from different backgrounds with valuable skills they can impart - whether it’s artistic, technical, or any other kind of vocation. Volunteers can share their enthusiasm, skills and experience, working alongside youngsters for whom free formal vocational training is often not available. For volunteers who truly want to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children, this program serves to protect and care for those who need it most. 

Goals of this Project:

• Provide essential childcare to vulnerable children in Sri Lanka
• Improve the future prospects of disabled children in Sri Lanka
• 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 to teach these disabled children, as unfortunately the school is severely understaffed and underfunded and in urgent need of additional help. Volunteers will help greatly on day to day care for the children, including feeding and attending to their daily needs. They will also help greatly by simply spending time with the children – giving them one on one attention – something the children greatly appreciate. Reading to, playing with and socializing with the children would be time extremely well spent with these amazing children. To get to the centre, which is based in Badulla, volunteers will need to take a 12 hour scenic train ride from the country’s capital, Colombo. The train leaves every day except Sunday at 5:30am from Colombo Fort Train Station, and costs approximately Rs1000 (US$20). Love Volunteer’s local representative can reserve tickets upon request. Volunteers will be met at the airport and assisted onto the train. This journey will take volunteers through some of the most amazing scenery this beautiful country has to offer, and is highly recommended!

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

• Help to teach disabled children
• Attend to and interact with disabled children
• Create activities and entertain the children with games and songs, etc
• Spend time socializing with the children and boosting their confidence
• Helping with other activities as skills allow at the center – from admin to maintenance

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:

7:30am Breakfast at your accommodation

8:30am Travel to the program site

8:45am Pre-start meeting with the program supervisor

9:00am VOLUNTEERING DUTIES START

Lunch is provided at the Volunteer Centre, normally from 12:00 - 1:30pm.

4:00pm VOLUNTEERING DUTIES END

Volunteers may wish to take part in optional activities after 4pm including sporting activities, awareness programs and cultural shows.

7:00pm Dinner at the Volunteer House

Evening Free time to relax