You’ve applied to become a volunteer and have been accepted. Now what do you do?

• Come visit the babies when it suits you. Visiting hours are 7:30-4:30 Monday through Sunday.

• Sign in. There is a book in the entrance-way where we please ask all volunteers to sign. Record the times of when you arrive and when you leave.

• Introduce yourself to the team leader. Let her know your name and that you are here to help.

• Wash your hands. There is a sink in the nursery. It is in the back right hand corner of the feeding room.

• Assist caregivers by bringing the babies to the nappy room half an hour before each feed. Generally the babies are sleeping before their meals. This means you will need to fetch most of the babies from their cots in the nursery. Hand a “dirty” baby to a caregiver in the nappy room and take a “clean” one back to the feeding room. A baby who has been changed will have a bib on so this is how you know who has already been changed. Please note that the smallest babies eat at three-hour intervals therefore do not eat with the majority of babies at the three main feeding times. If, at those times, a staff member asks you to feed a small baby, you may go ahead. However you may not feed a small baby without permission from the staff. Also note that only staff members are allowed to enter the isolation ward.

• Feed the babies.  Our babies (all but the youngest) eat breakfast at 7:30am, lunch at 11:30pm and supper at 3:30pm. Ask the team leader who you can feed. She will hand you the appropriate bottle. Our babies are all fed a particular formula in proportion to their particular weight. This is why it is so important to make sure each baby is given the correct bottle. Please ensure you show the bottle of the team leader so she may record the baby’s intake on her feeding charts. Once you are finished feeding a baby, ask the team leader whether the baby you are feeding takes solids. Allow the staff to prepare the solids for the child, as the food is prepared according to age. For example, an older child will eat fish or mince and his or her potatoes will be lumpier.

• When the babies aren’t eating or sleeping, it is important to help stimulate them. For a younger baby, this could mean comforting him or her while it cries. For a six month old, it could mean encouraging him or her to roll over. For a child over one, it could mean practicing sounds. We encourage volunteers to get permission from the team leader to take the oldest children outside to play in the garden. Please ensure they are supervised at all times and if outside for a considerable period of time in the sun, have proper shade or a sunhat and suntan lotion.