Childcare in Special Needs & Disabilities

The program

Volunteers on this program provide much-needed support and assistance to children and young adults at various childcare facilities for children with mental and physical disabilities in Rabat. Government and community support for children with disabilities in Morocco can be seriously lacking. As a result, most children with disabilities are destined for a life of poverty. This also puts incredible stress on the children's families. These projects are severely understaffed and underfunded, which is why they are in urgent need of volunteers. The children are always happy to see international volunteers and are very welcoming to participants on this program in Morocco. Volunteers are truly needed and appreciated at this project. 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 of Rabat, Morocco
• Improve the future prospects of disabled children in Morocco
• 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

This program’s aim is to simply help make the lives of disabled children happier and healthier.  Volunteers play an instrumental role to achieving this.  By giving their time, volunteers are showing love and compassion for children who society has largely forgotten.  Volunteers will gain wonderful hands-on experience caring and educating children with special needs, which promises to be a hugely rewarding experience. There is always a high demand for volunteers on these projects, where duties mainly involve teaching the children English, organizing and helping out with extra-curricular activities, as well as simply playing games with the children. The children require a lot of care, attention and most importantly, companionship.  Volunteers on this project can choose to be accommodated either with one of the program’s friendly local host families, or at the private and comfortable volunteer house.

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

• Help to teach vulnerable children in Morocco
• Attend to and interact with disabled children
• Create activities and entertain the children with games and songs, etc

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!