Support Disabled Children

The Project

For this project, volunteers will care for people with special needs in a suburb of Antigua in Guatemala. During the project, volunteers will work in a center that is part of a nursing home for people with physical and/or mental disabilities. At the center, there are about 70 patients, including children, teenagers, and some adults who are wheelchair-bound. The center has a nurse, doctor, dentist, and a couple of physical therapists. The main goal of the volunteers is to help make the residents have a good day through a series of stimulating activities to increase their emotional, physical, and intellectual development. Due to the lack of staff in Guatemala’s healthcare system, the center heavily relies on volunteers.

Your Tasks

Throughout this project, you will support the center’s nursing staff with their daily work and routines. One major part of this task is trying to make the patients smile. 

 On a typical workday, you will help take care of children. This typically includes playing with them, feeding and bathing them, making their beds, accompanying them on daily excursions, and coming up with educational activities to stimulate their senses and motor skills.

 You may also be able to work in the physiotherapy department where you will assist the physical therapists when they train the patients. In addition, you might be asked to do some repairs, such as repairing wheelchairs.

You can discuss your work priorities with your volunteer coordinator on-site and, depending on your interests and prior knowledge, you will be sent to work in an appropriate area.