The smiles of the children you help at Open Arms will stay with you long after you return home. Volunteering is an opportunity to help vulnerable children who appreciate the care, and see the amazing difference this makes. You will develop your skills, experience a rich African culture, explore Malawi, and meet some great people.
““My time in Malawi was absolutely amazing. It was hard work, but then I expected it to be. I had such a fantastic time with the other volunteers, the staff, and of course the babies and young people at Open Arms. I can't wait to go back!” ” - Graeme, Edinburgh
What will I do?
As a volunteer you will spend time caring for babies, working on maintenance, or in the nursery school with the older children. You can expect to learn how to bottle feed a baby, and many hours of play and care for babies and toddlers who love the attention. These simple things are vital to early years development.
You will get to know our Malawian team and discover how best you can help alongside them. When you go for an Outreach visit to a rural village, or join a Nursery School for the morning, you will see another side of Africa and charity work. Though one of the poorest nations, Malawi has well earned its reputation as the Warm Heart of Africa because people are friendly and welcoming.
The timing of a volunteer visit can be from 3 weeks to 3 months. We encourage all volunteers to take advantage of the tourist experiences, such as Liwonde or Majete National Parks, Mount Mulanje, and Lake Malawi. We can help make these arrangements with you.
Volunteering at Open Arms was a defining moment in my life. If I had to summarise it in a few words they would be: 'fun, amazing, eye opening, beautiful, madness, best thing I ever did'” ~ Sharon, London
'There simply are not enough superlatives to describe Malawi....' ~ Corporate volunteer
The impact of Open Arms’ professional and efficient model is highly effective. The sustainability of returning infants to their communities, rather than keeping them institutionalised for their whole lives, creates empowerment and benefit reaching further than the walls of the homes. ~ Becky Bottle
Sound like something that you would like to do? We have volunteers from all over the world and all walks of life. Few people would say it didn’t change the way they thought about things.
Find out more and apply
The smiles of the children you help at Open Arms will stay with you long after you return home. Volunteering is an opportunity to help vulnerable children who appreciate the care, and see the amazing difference this makes. You will develop your skills, experience a rich African culture, explore Malawi, and meet some great people.
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Lots of little steps can add up to huge changes and this is especially true reading this year's newletter from Open Arms. Looking back on some fantastic work from the team in Malawi and the support that underpins this around the world, Read more here!
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Volunteers from Johnson & Johnson family of companies travel out to Malawi each year to support our projects.
Read moreYour donation will help children in Malawi grow up healthy with the love of a family
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