In order for children to develop healthily, they need opportunities to give and receive love. They need attention and communication.
Volunteering in orphanages with Orphanage Support Services Organization (OSSO) is about much more than just traveling to a foreign country or playing with children all day.
The care you give to the children is absolutely essential for their development. Children who receive love and affection are more likely to be happier and healthier throughout their lives.
As a volunteer, you are giving orphaned and abandoned children a chance for a better future; you are giving them what they deserve and need.
In infancy, children communicate to caregivers through crying. They communicate (cry) when they need something: when they are hungry, are tired, are in pain, or need to be held. When caregivers respond to a crying infant, they meet the infant's needs and the child learns to trust and rely on the adults caring for them. If there is no one there to respond to infants' cries, the infants learn to stop communicating and learn they cannot trust adults to meet their needs. What children learn and experience when they are young has a profound effect on who they become and how they act later on in life.
OSSO volunteers are in the orphanages to respond to children's needs and to help children develop secure, trusting relationships with their caregivers. Simple interactions with children go a long way. Interactions such as eye contact, touch, and speaking help children feel loved, heard, and cared for and have a lasting impact.
In the orphanages we serve, the orphaned and abandoned children would not receive all the attention and care they need if it were not for volunteers. A volunteer's work matters more than most may realize.
These children need you and your love. Whether you volunteer, donate, sponsor, or advocate, you can make a lasting impact on these children's lives.