Child Life Volunteer Programs

'The children are happier, attended to more and often less sad... A happy child heals faster.'
    - Staff nurse commenting on the impact of Child Life services at Red Cross Children’s Hospital

Connect-123 established the first child life service in Southern Africa’s foremost pediatric hospital – Cape Town’s Red Cross Children’s Hospital (RCCH). This volunteering opportunity allows child life students and graduates to offer their specialized services to patients, families and caregivers who would otherwise not benefit from their skills. 

Child life has a well-established presence in the burn and oncology wards. However volunteers may also be involved in units throughout the hospital as well as in school re-entry, education programs, and community clinic outreaches.

As a new and developing program, and without a permanent Child Life Specialist on board, our international volunteers work under the umbrella and support of the hospitals multidisciplinary, Pain Management Team.

To read about some of our previous child life volunteer’s experiences, see the testimonials page. To see a video outlining the impact of this invaluable child life service click here. 

Based on your interest in Child Life, you might also like these Cape Town programs:

Child Life Internships
Medical and Health Care Internships
Medical and Public Health Volunteer Programs