Child Development in Sri Lanka

Volunteering on Child Development at a Kindergarten in Sri Lanka

Volunteer on child development in Sri Lanka as an assistant teacher at a kindergarten and play, sing or dance with the children along with teaching them.

Iko Poran Sri Lanka special school program is located in Galle or Badulla. You need to have plenty of enthusiasm and confidence. It is important to be proactive to create innovative classes with almost limited school resources. Your role in the Galle or Badulla also is to check homework from the last day, help to maintain children paying attention to the lessons and help the children to develop the assignments of the class. The kindergartens in both Galle or Badulla have limited resources . You can help with local teachers carry out their lessons; help teachers with arranging the lesson plans.
Please be aware that you might face communication issues. We mostly speak Sinhala, which is one of the main languages.

Working and living in Badulla is an incredible life experience. You will see the real life of the Sri Lankans, will be part of their traditions and will taste the local cuisine at the home stay. Take your free time to visit the museums, archaeological sites, take incredible pictures in this beautiful Island.

Itinerary for Childcare Volunteers

Arrival on Saturday or Sunday

You will need to notify us of your arrival time at least one week in advance. Many international airlines offer direct flights to Sri Lanka. If you are not arriving in the scheduled date, you need to provide us the address where you are going to be hosted so we can pick you up on the program start date. We prefer to pick you up at Colombo. If you are staying outside Colombo please let us know in advance for arranging the pick up without any hassle.

Once you have arrived at the airport or bus station our team will be waiting for you with an Iko Poran Welcome Sign or a paper with your name on it. They will take you to the accommodation to meet the host family and to rest after a long flight, and/or to begin familiarizing yourself with the neighborhood.
The early childhood program takes place in Badulla & Galle, which is far away from Colombo neighborhood or from Bandaraike Katunayake International airport. Therefore, we would be happy to provide the first day of accommodation at our center in Wattala (next city from airport / Colombo) for you to relax and feel comfortable before going to the project. Formal orientation will begin on your arrival. You will meet the country coordinator at the orientation session.

Orientation Session and Arrival at the Kindergarten on Monday

The Orientation session begins after breakfast around 08:00 at your accommodation. Your coordinator will explain the details of your program as well as the schedule for the weeks ahead. The coordinator will take you the program location introducing the teachers. Then, after lunch we will take you for a short tour of the city so you can feel comfortable when you explore it in the afternoons or weekends /weekends.

Assistant Teacher in the Kindergarten – tuesday thru Friday

Project hours are typically 08:00 am – 11:30 am, but may vary depending on the season (mostly during winter). Kids arrive to the kindergarten with a backpack and lunch box. Volunteers start their mornings welcoming kids. During Break time, volunteers help kids to open their box lunches and play with them. You will be back to your home stay around 12:30 midday when classes ends. Ask the teacher for the assignment of the next day so you can organize your own activities todevelop with the kids. Furthermore, you are kindly requested to perform below activities at the kindergarten:

1. Arranging the class room
2. Assisting local teachers carrying out academic activities
3. Playing with the kids
4. Singing and Dancing (Visual and performance arts session)

Very important information: The project will not be available during the months of April, August & December, when the students are on vacations. As mentioned above, there is no typical day or curriculum to follow. We ask you to be flexible, cooperative and proactive under limited resources.

The above description should serve as a general info, but in your daily work you can face different situations that you might not be expecting. Adapting to a new environment and tasks is crucial for a great volunteering experience. Do not take it for granted that the project will adapt to you.

Please help us to provide a better quality of life to these children and their families. We all appreciate that you can bring materials to work with these kids, indoor games, liquid painting, and art & craft supplies. You can collect them from families and friends; second hand materials & toys are fine. We love to recycle! Thank you very much!

Enjoy your weekend

For those continuing their program for subsequent weeks, Saturday and Sunday will be free to relax and explore the beauty of project location and nearby touristic cities. If this is your final week at the program it will finish on Friday and Saturday morning you will be departing to the airport or bus station. It is your responsibility to organize the transport back to airport by yourself. If you want help arranging transport back to the airport please talk with our staff. They would definitely happy to assist you!!