Ready or not, your new, green volunteer is coming in fast! Let us give them, and you, a good experience so you don't crash.
Serving in Orphanages in Central America, working with many Directors and volunteers, we have seen crashes of misunderstanding between volunteers, children and Directors. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! So what we do is take volunteers fresh off the airplane, bring them into our ministry home for one week, and train them every day.
We allow volunteers to see how we parent children (our biological and live-in kids & teens), teach them parenting skills they likely don't yet know, let them shadow us as we serve in orphanages, and have them practice working with children as we observe them closely. We teach them therapeutic games to play with children and we correct them when they mess up.
What's are examples of a mess up?
We have seen it all! We believe it is far better that these normal volunteer issues get addressed quickly and bluntly before the volunteer is given authority over children in the orphanage. We prepare volunteers for what to expect, how to serve with a good attitude, how to stay emotionally and spiritually healthy, and what to do when children act out dysfunctionally.
We also can spot a volunteer with personal dysfunction, and will make sure to let the Director understand what to expect.
For a donation from the volunteer to cover our costs and time, we can pick them up at the airport, train them for one week, and have them ready to serve when you pick them up. Our goal is that you get well-trained, equipped volunteers.
Serving in Orphanages in Central America, working with many Directors and volunteers, we have seen crashes of misunderstanding between volunteers, children and Directors. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! So what we do is take volunteers fresh off the airplane, bring them into our ministry home for one week, and train them every day.
We allow volunteers to see how we parent children (our biological and live-in kids & teens), teach them parenting skills they likely don't yet know, let them shadow us as we serve in orphanages, and have them practice working with children as we observe them closely. We teach them therapeutic games to play with children and we correct them when they mess up.
What's are examples of a mess up?
- being on Facebook when a volunteer is supposed to be watching children
- taking selfie pics with children without parental permission
- allowing children to play on a volunteer's phone or devices
- being passive when children are manipulating or acting out negatively
- giving cash or candy
- keeping secrets
- sharing personal issues with children
- speaking angrily to a child
- etc, etc.
We have seen it all! We believe it is far better that these normal volunteer issues get addressed quickly and bluntly before the volunteer is given authority over children in the orphanage. We prepare volunteers for what to expect, how to serve with a good attitude, how to stay emotionally and spiritually healthy, and what to do when children act out dysfunctionally.
We also can spot a volunteer with personal dysfunction, and will make sure to let the Director understand what to expect.
For a donation from the volunteer to cover our costs and time, we can pick them up at the airport, train them for one week, and have them ready to serve when you pick them up. Our goal is that you get well-trained, equipped volunteers.
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