Volunteer Work with Children

Empower young minds, create lasting change

Imagine helping a child develop and grow, and seeing the positive impact you’ve made. As a childcare participant with Projects Abroad, you’ll play a direct role in creating a brighter future for children in need while learning valuable new skills.

Our childcare projects are available across the world, from Mongolia to Mexico. Wherever you go, you’ll join a team working alongside local communities to give children more opportunities in life.

When you participate in a Childcare Project, you can expect to:

Work within a community-based care system
Get to know more about Early Childhood Development, and how to implement it
Plan and run activities and games to teach things like motor skills and teamwork
Learn directly from the professional teachers and caregivers you work with
Get a deeper understanding of the global challenges children face

Our childcare opportunities are flexible and can be adjusted to your level of experience. It’s a safe and sociable way to support communities, or get real work experience with children.

Let’s connect now to start planning your trip and get help choosing the best programme for you.

Choose a Childcare project

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is volunteer work with children right for me?

Our Childcare Projects are ideal for volunteers like you who care deeply about helping children in developing communities.

You don’t need previous childcare experience, just the drive to help every child access the care that many of us take for granted. Our staff will be there to make sure you have everything you need to succeed at your placement.

Volunteering with children can also give you the childcare work experience you need to push your studies or career forward. Having international experience will strengthen your CV and will give you great discussion points in interviews and essays. It can also help you to decide if you want to pursue working with children professionally.

If you want to work with children, but feel a Childcare Project isn’t right for you, you may be interested in:

See a full list of our volunteer abroad projects.

What will I gain from working with children?

As a volunteer working with children, you’ll give back to a community that needs extra support while developing your own skills.

Here are just some of the benefits that our previous volunteers talk about:

Soft skills like teamwork, leadership, resilience, organising, planning, and time management.
Experience in childcare and Early Childhood Development (ECD).
The ability to work and empathise with people of different cultures and backgrounds, helping to develop a ‘global mindset’.
Confidence from pushing past your comfort zone.

All of the above will enhance your CV, university applications, and your personal development.

Why does volunteering with children matter?

Early childhood development, educational support, and specialised therapy can be areas of real need in developing countries. In many communities around the world, children and those with special needs – some of the most vulnerable groups in society – lack access to these services. By working with children abroad, you can be part of our long-term mission to change this and make the world a better place.

How are our Childcare Projects different?

At Projects Abroad, our first aim is to benefit the communities we work in. You can be assured that your project is ethical, well supported, and part of a better future. Here’s just a few elements of our work that set it apart from other volunteer projects:

Be fully supported by staff

We don’t expect our volunteers to be education or childcare experts. On our Childcare Projects, you’ll work alongside members of the local community and Projects Abroad staff. They will help you plan your work and be on hand to advise you as and when you need help. You’ll also be part of a wider network of volunteers. In each project, there is a full-time member of staff who job it is to support our volunteers.

Projects that have an impact

All of our projects where we work with children are well researched, targeted, and sustainable. We aim to make a difference to the local community for the long term.

We’re about a lot more than pitching up and pitching in. We stand apart from other volunteer projects, as we’re guided by annual reviews and thorough needs assessments which are brought together in our Management Plans. For us, bringing this level of professional strategic thinking to each project is a crucial part of making sure that our volunteers and the communities we serve both get the outcomes they need.

Where can I volunteer abroad to work at an orphanage?

With Projects Abroad, you won’t be able to volunteer at an orphanage. In the past, our volunteers have worked with children at orphanages and residential care homes. They’ve done incredible work at these placements and helped improve living conditions there. They worked hard to create opportunities for children by supporting their education and care.

However, we’ve decided to move our focus away from orphanages and homes toward community and family-based care. This is because we believe stable family environments are best for the children we work with.

This means that instead of volunteering in orphanages, our volunteers work in placements like:

Daycare centres
Kindergartens
Schools
Support groups for the elderly and mothers and babies

This helps Projects Abroad build stronger relationships with local communities and – most importantly – help families stay together and flourish.

Learn more about Projects Abroad’s views on orphanage volunteering.

Our Child Protection Policy

We take the safety of the children and young people we work with very seriously. That’s why we’ve put together a comprehensive Child Protection Policy.