At a glance
- This is a volunteer opportunity with Projects Abroad. Devxchange will assist you in choosing the right fit, raising funds with your own campaign page, issuing tax receipts to donors if project meets CRA criteria as a charitable activity. Devxchange will also assist you in onboarding with Projects Abroad.
- Work in disadvantaged care centres and kindergartens, supporting local teachers and caregivers.
- Your focus will be on early childhood development, doing activities that stimulate their physical, cognitive, and social development.
- Many of the children come from difficult backgrounds or have special needs and the centres we partner with rely on the help of volunteers like you.
Details
- Improve children’s learning and development through play
- Improve the children’s learning environment
- Learn about childcare and educational practices
Includes/Excludes
Food and accommodation
- Food (three meals a day)
- Airport pick-up and drop-off
- Full induction and orientation by an experienced staff member on arrival
- Transport to and from your work placement
- In-country support and 24-hour back-up from our team of full-time local staff
- Emergency assistance from our international emergency response team
- Project equipment and materials, including access to our database with thousands of resources
- Training and workshops from our experienced local staff
- Regular social events and community activities with other volunteers and interns
- Access to our local office with internet connection
- Certification of project completion
- Access to our alumni services and discounts
- Visa support and advice
- Fundraising support, including your own personalized fundraising website with DevXchange
- Tax Receipts for your donors if activity meets CRA criteria for charitable activity.
- Pre-departure preparation by your own specialist Volunteer Advisor
- Personalized MyProjectsAbroad website, with all the information you need about your project, accommodation and destination
- A free cultural awareness course
- Membership to our volunteer social media groups, to share information and to get in touch
- Support to help you complete registration or internship documents, if applicable
Not Included
- Flights
- Visa Costs (where applicable)
- 10% Admin fee for donations involving tax receipts.
Itinerary
This project is perfect for anyone who loves working with children. It’s also a great option if you’re interested in studying childcare or early childhood development, and want practical experience.
It will also help you develop important life skills such as teamwork, leadership, and planning. You can apply these skills to any career you pursue.
You don’t need previous experience to join. You’ll support local staff and caregivers and Projects Abroad staff will be there to guide you. We also run regular workshops for all Childcare and Teaching volunteers, and our online resources is a great facility for you to draw from.
You can join this project at any time throughout the year, for a minimum of two weeks. We encourage you to stay longer, so you can have a bigger impact on the children you work with.
Each day in Mexico starts with breakfast at your host family’s home. Then, you’ll head to your placement using public transport, or walking if you’re close enough. We’ll show you how to get there on your first day.
Your workday will start at 9am and finish around 5pm, Monday through Friday. It will be filled with lots of running around and activity, and it will undoubtedly go by in a flash!
The majority of your day will revolve around hosting the next lesson, overseeing play time, or conducting activities. These activities will aim to help with physical advancement and cognitive development. Play-dough, arts and crafts, and colouring are all great activities that help refine the children’s motor skills.
Your evenings, however, will be much more laidback. You will get the opportunity to spend your free time with your fellow volunteers, and explore the city.
The aim of this project is to improve early childhood development in Mexico. Our volunteers play a vital role in helping children reach the developmental milestones typical for their age.
Mexico is still recognised as a developing country, and this is reflected in its education system in which imbalances still remain. The country also suffers from economic inequality, and many families continue to rely on the struggling public school system.
Today, there is an increasing amount of evidence pointing towards the importance of early years education. The care centres we work with are overcrowded and understaffed, and we need your help to make sure each child gets the education they need. Projects Abroad has elected not to work with children in orphanages in Mexico, but rather focus on community-based programmes that allow children to remain within their families.
By supporting early childhood development, you’ll give young children the skills they need to cope with the demands of first year when they start school. In line with this, we’ve identified four long-term, sustainable goals to work toward in Mexico:
- Promote early childhood development
- Improve hygiene
- Improve English
- Improve the level of stimulation each child receives
Volunteer with children in Mexico and help us achieve these goals.
Food and accommodation
You’ll stay with a host family in Guadalajara. They will welcome you into their home, eager to share their customs and have you teach them about your own culture. We believe that this is the best way to immerse yourself in the culture of Mexico and have a truly unique experience.
We will always try to let you live alongside at least one other Projects Abroad volunteer or intern at the same host family. Your room will be modest, but comfortable, clean, and safe.
Your program fee includes three meals a day.
Find out more about our accommodation.
Leisure activities and free time
With beautiful beaches, arresting art galleries, and buzzing restaurants, there’s something for everyone in Mexico. You’ll have plenty to do during your free time on your project in this dynamic country.
There’s something captivating about touring through old buildings. If you’re into neo-gothic architecture, treat yourself to a trip to the Templo Expiatorio del Santisimo Sacramento. It’s a work of art with its ornate steeples and glowing stained glass windows.
There are also plenty of museums, giving you the chance to immerse yourself in the country’s rich history. For something different, you can spend the day appreciating the wildlife and lush vegetation of Las Peñas Ecological Park.
You can’t take a trip to Mexico without tasting authentic Mexican cuisine. You can spend an evening enjoying pozole or tamales at a local restaurant and watching the vivid orange-red sun melt into the horizon.
We have a host of different projects in Mexico so there’ll likely be lots of other volunteers in the area during your trip. So you can choose to travel and explore in a group or on your own.
