Childcare

In July 2007, I boarded the plane to Romania without any idea of how much I would grow to love it. My three month stay passed so quickly and before I knew it, it was time to fly back to England. After working at a hospital and two family homes, coming back to my old job was a real shock and it wasn’t long before I was planning another visit to Romania. I missed being welcomed at the door by the children from the hospital, thinking of games to play and things to make for the children at the family homes. I missed their smiles and their willingness to be involved in everything. It seemed the most natural thing to return…

This time, I wanted to do a project as I knew the children and more of what to expect when I arrived. In the summer, I had worked at Dale family home; a home for older boys with mental disabilities. They had spent a lot of time in the garden which was overgrown, very dull and contained lots of chairs,
wheelchairs, pieces of wood and metal. I decided to make the garden my project.

As I only had one week it was straight to work the morning after I arrived. I spent the morning with the boys and in the afternoon, I went to buy all of the paints. All day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I worked in the garden, painting the fence blue, green and yellow. When the carers had a spare ten minutes, they would join me and bit by bit, the garden became a much brighter, happier place to be. Read the rest of this entry »

Laura offer who went out in April 2008 for three months has emailed this to us;

I can hardly believe I’ve been here more than 3 weeks, it only feels like a week or two! I’ve been really busy, so I suppose it’s understandable that the time flies by, but even so! I want my 3 weeks back!

I spend my mornings in the children’s hospital in the respiratory ward, which I love! I play with the children and give them their hugs! The children in the hospital aren’t orphans like at my other placements, but often their parents can’t afford to travel to the hospital with them, especially if they have other children at home. The nurses are overworked and poorly paid so they hardly have time to feed them and administer their medicines, let alone get them out of their cage-like cots and play with them. That’s where I come in. I take them to play therapy at the beginning of my shift, and look after them while they play with the toys in there, and then later, when the doctor does her rounds, I play with the babies in their rooms, and take the toys around for them. I adore my hospital babies; it’s so good to see them smiling. Read the rest of this entry »

Due to recent media coverage the awareness about Tibet has grown. Zoe Barnett (2008) was there and she writes: To hear first hand from children the things they have experienced is quite shocking.

A typical day for me would start at 9.30am waiting for a micro bus alongside locals surrounded by the smells of spices and rubbish. I would arrive at the Tibetan Reception Centre. Once in the compound I would be greeted by shouts of ‘tashi delek’ and my hands would by grabbed by lots of little hands, dragging me nearly running up the stairs to the classroom. Read the rest of this entry »

When I arrived in Romania in July 2007 I was not expecting the temperatures to rival that of my stay in Tanzania from February to June 2005. However, the soaring heat wave followed by torrential downpours was not dissimilar to the warm months and rainy season that I experienced in Tanzania.
On arrival in Tanzania the stark differences to home are more striking than those in Romania. Romania is, after all, now a member of the EU whilst Tanzania remains one of the poorest countries in the developing world. However, in both countries you will experience significant cultural differences, which will affect you throughout your placement in a variety of ways. Some of the more difficult aspects to deal with are the more archaic forms of discipline that you may witness in Tanzania within the school system. In Romania the attitudes of the carers towards the children and of society as a whole towards disabled children can be distressing. However, the cultural aspects that you can become involved in and share with the local people, such as ritual parties and feasts, food and music, far outweigh and enhance your time in both your host countries.
Your accommodation in Romania is great and located in the beautiful town of Brasov. It is well kept and not so different from home.
In contrast Tanzania could not be further removed. There are few creature comforts but this is undoubtedly part of the experience and provides many moments of hilarity.
During your placement in Tanzania you will be faced with a classroom of 100 children to which you need to effectively teach English. In Romania you work in family homes of around 10 children. You will play, change nappies and help with feeding. Both placements allow you to use and develop invaluable life skills. It is vital that you embrace your placement with energy and enthusiasm from the start if you are to have a rewarding experience. From the very start in Tanzania we ran a club every day after school. Art, sports, and a choir can all be easily implemented and thoroughly enjoyed by the children and many of the adults. In Romania ask what you can do to help as soon as you arrive and use your initiative at all times. Any previous experience with disabled children will be invaluable. Just your presence will significantly improve the quality of these children’s lives.
I have been challenged and moved by both of the placements that I have undertaken. I was supported by Oyster worldwide in the UK during my preparations and have been lucky enough to share my experiences with the friendly and helpful country representatives and other motivated and kind volunteers. I could not choose between the two placements, as both have been highly worthwhile and successful. Why not try both?!

Written by Bex Stokes

Follow the links below for more information on our Romania and Tanzania placements:

Romania

Tanzania

In July 2007, I boarded the plane to Romania without any idea of how much I would grow to love it. My three month stay passed so quickly and before I knew it, it was time to fly back to England. After working at a hospital and two family homes, coming back to my old job was a real shock and it wasn’t long before I was planning another visit to Romania. I missed being welcomed at the door by the children from the hospital, thinking of games to play and things to make for the children at the family homes. I missed their smiles and their willingness to be involved in everything. It seemed the most natural thing to return.
This time, I wanted to do a project as I knew the children and more of what to expect when I arrived. In the summer, I had worked at Dale family home; a home for older boys with mental disabilities. They had spent a lot of time in the garden which was overgrown, very dull and contained lots of chairs, wheelchairs, pieces of wood and metal. I decided to make the garden my project.
As I only had one week it was straight to work the morning after I arrived. I spent the morning with the boys and in the afternoon, I went to buy all of the paints. All day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I worked in the garden, painting the fence blue, green and yellow. When the carers had a spare ten minutes, they would join me and bit by bit, the garden became a much brighter, happier place to be. The boys couldn’t wait for it to be finished so they also helped. Each morning, they would run up to the gate, take my hand and drag me in to the back garden where they wasted no time in taking the lids off all the paints, pushing the paintbrush towards me and showing me exactly which fence panel they wanted painting next! They were very excited to see the brown disappearing and colours showing in its place. If they thought I was working too slowly, they would take hold of the brush and cover the entire fence panel, themselves, the grass and anyone who was unfortunate enough to be around, in paint, in less than five seconds which was all very funny until they realised that they couldn’t stay blue forever and would have to go and wash it off!
By the time Friday came around, I had finished most of the fence and had painted the benches so I went to look at some garden furniture that the carers had asked for and some toys. On Saturday, Razvan (Oyster representative) and a couple of other volunteers very kindly gave up their day to help me finish. We went and picked up the furniture, gave the fence and benches another coat of paint and moved all of the wheelchairs and chairs. With their help, it took no time at all and by the time we had finished, the garden had been completely transformed and was now an area that the boys could play in safely.
It was an amazing week that I really enjoyed and I am very much looking forward to going back out again in the summer. Anyone who travels to Romania with Oyster will find it a very rewarding experience where solid friendships are made, not only with other volunteers but with everyone you may work alongside during your stay.

Written by Laura Marzaroli

On facebook there is a group called ‘Addicted to Brasov’. It is no wonder it’s getting close to 100 members, because Brasov truly is a wonderful place to live. Even after returning back to England, for a good two weeks, I was still referring to Brasov as home!

In the first few days of my placement our brilliant representative, Razvan, took our volunteer group to view all the different placements that we could choose from. I chose to work at three different ‘Family Homes’ in the surrounding villages. There used to be one large state orphanage in the centre of Brasov. In the past five years ‘Family Homes’ have been built in the surrounding villages and the state orphanage shut down.

The conditions of the family homes are basic, but clean and warm; and each houses approximately 7-16 children. All of the children I was working with had severe physical and/or mental disabilities. This can create behavioural problems with some of the children. However, even the most mischievous were so loveable. The best thing about my time in Romania was bonding with the children.

In my third month I built up the courage to attempt some painting with the children. The painting was a real highlight. Some children who I thought would misbehave actually applied themselves really well. I even got some of the babies doing hand painting-so cute! Probably my most useful resource was my voice. Singing, particularly action songs, is really popular with the children. Some of the children are not allowed out of their beds due to sickness, and they love to be spoken and sang to, even if all you’re talking about is complete gobbledygook!

Bubbles balloons, party blowers and picture books also worked extremely well with all the children. It is wonderful to see the vast improvements in Romanian Childcare. Things are changing so quickly. A little bit of Romanian language went a long way. The hosts/carers really appreciate the effort and want to get to know us. It was often difficult communicating with the carers; although it was really great when we could have a little chat in a bizarre mixture of Romanian and English!

Everyday in Romania I couldn’t wait to see the children. I still miss them deeply. No doubt I will be back soon!

Helena Bates, our first volunteer at the São Francisco Children’s Home writes…

Sao Paulo Street Kids centre (review by the first Brazilians!) The Recanto São Francisco sits on top of a mountain, 40 minutes drive away from the nearest town. It is a stunning place and, as a volunteer, you get used to seeing the horses cantering up and down and to welcoming the occasional frog into your bathroom.

It is a spot where many wealthy São Paulo businessmen choose to build their luxurious weekend getaways. However, the Recanto São Francisco is not a holiday resort, it is an orphanage that houses some of Brazil’s most troublesome street children. In fact the reason for this beautiful and isolated location is so that the children are removed from the streets and cannot easily get back to them.

Some are the children of prostitutes and drug addicts, some have already been involved in crime, some have seen their parents killed and the vast majority have been abused. But what struck me was the incredible endurance and resilience of these kids who have been through so much and emerged, happy, enthusiastic, welcoming and well-adjusted.

Now, after six months of living with the kids from when they wake up until when they go to sleep, it’s not a sob story I want to tell- that’s not what I’ll be remembering about my time in Brazil. I’ll be remembering the time when we shoved 35 kids, not to mention a good few volunteers and orphanage workers into a jeep to go down to the city for a party and every child sat holding their breath hoping the car wouldn’t break on the way down the mountain.

I’ll remember the excitement of Easter as everyone hunted down their Easter eggs with music blaring out at full volume. I’ll remember the exceptional break-dancing, acrobatic and capoeira skills of the boys as they completed back-flip after backflip on the grass outside without breaking a sweat. I’ll remember the deafening noise and excitement in the orphanage when Brazil defeated Argentina at football to win gold in the Pan-American games. I’ll remember introducing an enraptured 2-year-old to his first cat. I’ll remember being buried by kids as they watch films in the dark in the evening.

The warmth and energy of Brazil will stay with me forever as will the friendships I made when I became part of the orphanage family.