If you are planning to volunteer at an orphanage, you need to have emotional preparation as you will be working with children that may have experienced loss, trauma or abandonment. This can be a rewarding experience but it can be quite emotionally challenging as well.
You can look for an orphanage in Tanzania that you can volunteer at. There are volunteer agencies that can help you find the right placement. But before you embark on this journey, you need to have a good understanding of the emotional context. Many of the children that are living in anorphanage have experienced a lot of diversity and this can be loss of parents or caregivers, being separated from family members or a community that they are familiar with or being exposed to neglect or abuse. These experiences can have lasting effects on their emotional wellbeing. To emotionally prepare you for this journey, you need to have awareness and self-reflect. You have to take time to reflect on your own triggers, emotions and coping mechanisms. If you have any feelings of grief, sadness or empathy when you are working with the children, you need to acknowledge these feelings. Having a better understanding of your emotional responses will help you manage your feelings better so that you can be more effective at supporting the children.
In order to navigate
The emotional challenges involved with working in an orphanage, you need to build resilience. You need to be able to bounce back from difficult experiences and situations and this is why you need to have resilience. This will help you cope better with stress and remain positive even when the circumstances may not be all that positive. You need to have strong coping mechanisms to build resilience this way. And this is not something you can do all on your own as well. You can look for social support. There will be fellow volunteers that you can be honest and open about your feelings and they may be in the same situation. It can help to have a different perspective on things and to realise that you are not alone in what you feel. You can also practice self-care techniques like mindfulness and relaxation exercises.
It is important to set realistic expectations.
While it can be rewarding to volunteer at an orphanage, you need to understand this can also be emotionally draining at certain times. You are not expected to fix or save the children you work with. Your role will be to provide care, support or stability so that the children can thrive. You need to establish boundaries and practice self-care so that you can maintain your emotional wellbeing while you are volunteering. Setting boundaries is very important so that you can protect your emotional health. This will prevent burnout as well. You can take regular breaks, limiting the amount of time you spend with the children and seeking support from fellow volunteers when required. You will be exposed to stories of grief and loss during your stay and it is important that you develop healthy coping mechanisms to manage these emotions such as seeking support from mental health professionals or engaging in activities that bring you peace.
