Global Volunteers - Childcare Volunteer Programs in Romania
Global Volunteers' Romanian presence began in 2004 to concentrate on helping at-risk and disabled children improve their access to social, educational, health, and security resources. We are seeking volunteers to look after orphaned and impoverished young children and to teach English in middle and high schools in Barlad, Romania. Whatever their home situation may be, babies, toddlers, and adolescents appreciate encouragement and affection from adults. Volunteers can help add to a lifetime of development and improve young lives!
Global Volunteers partners with three local organizations:
* St. Nicholas Childrens' Hospital: specializing in care of underweight, disabled and abandoned babies
* Child Protective Services: operates safe places and stimulating atmospheres for vulnerable kids throughout Vaslui County.
* Vaslui Department of Education: promoting opportunites for teachers and students to practice conversational English in group and classroom settings.
* Volunteers don't need special skills to care for kids of all ages.
Reviews
100%Overall
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I volunteered in Tutova twice and continue to support the program.
It was a pivotal and rewarding experience. As a busy professional I do not have much time for volunteer work at home. I loved GV because in two weeks I could give back to society in a concentrated effort. I made lifelong friends with several of my fellow volunteers. As a female solo traveler, GV is terrific because it enables one to travel to "exotic" or off-the beaten path regions and meet up with like-minded travelers/volunteers. The team leader Mihaela in Romania is terrific and English speaking. The work with the children was the most memorable, emotionally hard and most enjoyable vacation of my life.
Hard to believe diapering, running after children, dressing children and picking up toys would be a vacation but it was the best for me!
80%Overall
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I spent 3 weeks at the Tutova Clinic working with the infants there and found it a heartwarming and fulfilling time. The Global Volunteer staff was wonderful as well as the clinic employees. Even though I was sick with a cold for a few days I had excellent care. Weekend excursions were a lot of fun, especially the trip to the painted monasteries. All in all a wonderful experience which i hope to repeat someday.
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I have volunteered in Romania twice both teaching conversational English in the high school and nurturing babies in the orphanage. My first trip was part of the second team there. Prior to that, the babies in the orphanage had been confined to their beds 24 hours a day, with time out for only 4 diaper changes, 4 propped bottle feedings and a bath. There was almost no human touch. They were silent and didn't know how to laugh or cry. Two women and a nurse cared for 32 babies and did all the laundry by hand. On my return two years later, the changes were dramatic. Through contributions by Global Volunteers, three more people had been hired and an industrial size washer and dryer had been installed. Because the babies had been nurtured by 22 more teams of volunteers, they were laughing, crying, talking, walking, running, crawling, eating solid food, just like normal babies.
In the high school, I had a group of six students who were eager to learn and oh so smart. One student wrote this about about Americans. "I must admit that before we met you, our image of Americans was a rather cold one: greedy unscrupulous people whose only interest is money. I'm happy to say that you definitely changed that image for us. Thank you for reviving all our expectations, hopes and dreams of living in a better world, beliefs we thought to be so deep inside us that they could never see the light or spread outside our minds." I think that says it all. If you're looking to make a difference, a Global Volunteers experience is for you.
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I have served on a Global Volunteers team in Romania every year (two weeks every September) for the past thirteen years. This is such a worthwhile and unique program.
Volunteers serve in a hospital by assisting in the care of children. This consists of things such as feeding children and playing with them. A stream of volunteers throughout the year helps to provide these children to develop through their formative years.
It would be hard to think of a better way to experience a country than to work for and serve the residents.
The Global Volunteers team managers in Romania are lifelong residents of the community where volunteers serve. They are of great assistance to the volunteers and also care for the children greatly.
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I have been on the Global Volunteer trip to Romania 4 times in the last 10 years. Romania is such a beautiful country with so much culture and history. Unfortunately, some of the political problems of the last 50 years have left the country unable to care for some of the children.
Volunteers spend their day holding, feeding and nurturing children. The country managers have organized all the details for volunteers (meals, transportation, language training, free time activities). The children really thrive with the volunteer's attention. Making a difference in these lives is the greatest gift.
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Alumni Interviews
Meet Kurt Jacobson, Global Volunteers Romania alum
GO: Why did you decide to volunteer with Global Volunteers in Romania?
Kurt: I had seen GV features on the Today Show and felt I was being called to use some of my vacation time dedicate to a purpose beyond my own desires. The Romania program was in a part of the world I had visited only briefly and it fit the time frame in which I was able to go. In the end, the Romania program was var more than a purposeful vacation at the right time! It was an experience in seeing the transformation of young lives and the appreciation of a culture which for so long had been cut off from the world.
GO: Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Kurt: My time was split between teaching conversational English to sixth and seventh graders and the Tutova Clinic.
My days at the middle school were divided into morning and afternoon sessions with two groups of eager adolescents. Each session included some activities in which students engaged interactively to practice their vocabulary, grammar and speech. Then using English, I would ask them to teach me about their interest, families, country and hopes for the future. They would also inquiry about life in America.
The days at Tutova were lively with the young children and as siting the staff in feeding, developing large motor function and social development. I especially enjoyed the "mobiles" and taking them outside. Their faces would light up when the heard the sounds of nature and saw the passing of a horse-drawn wagon or a dog.
GO: How has this experience helped you grow personally and professionally?
Kurt: The experience has inspired me to seek out other ways of volunteering as well as exploring other places in the world. The structure, excellent leadership and the mission of GV provide a safe, positive and enlightening experience.
Meet Steve Wenzel, Global Volunteers-Romania alum
GO: Why did you decide to volunteer with Global Volunteers in Romania?
Steve: For a number of years I have volunteered at local Children's Hospitals and was looking for expand upon that by doing something similar overseas during vacation time. When Global Volunteers started this program in Romania in 1999 I signed up and have had many rewarding experiences there since.
GO: Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Steve: Volunteers assist the staff and basically do the things that parents would do if they were there. This includes feeding the children, playing with them, and giving them the attention that they so need to develop normally.
GO: How has this experience helped you grow personally and professionally?
Steve: Personally it has exemplified to me a quote from Josephine Billings which states that "To the world you might just be one person, but to one person you just might be the world." Volunteers get so much back in rewards from serving others.
Further Info
About Global Volunteers
Global Volunteers, a private, non-profit, non-sectarian, non-governmental organization, has been giving short-term volunteers the chance to provide essential services to local people on service programs since 1984. Volunteering under the direction of local leaders, team members form groundwork for international peace via common, global understanding. Our goal is to sustain authentic development projects with the host community and give volunteers wide opportunities to help.
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In 2003 I enjoyed two weeks in Barlad and felt like I made a difference teaching English to middle school students and tending to the young children at Tutova Hospital. Each day was filled with meaning and satisfaction and offered opportunity to form relationships and experience the local culture. The GV leader and staff that I encountered were well prepared to handle volunteers and their friendliness and support made a great experience even richer.
I highly recommend Global Volunteers to you if you're looking for a meaningful travel experience combined with beneficial service and authentic cultural connection.