Volunteering with World Child Cancer

World Child Cancer works to support children with cancer, and their families, in developing countries around the world. We rely on our volunteer doctors, nurses and other health and social care professionals to volunteer their time to upskill their peers in the countries in which we work to give children with cancer a faster route to better treatment.

We build and fund partnerships which link together hospitals in developed countries with those in the developing countries, made possible by a range of health and social care professionals providing their time for free to travel to our programmes. This voluntary medical aid enables us to fund vital services and tools to ensure children and their families receive the support they need.

Dr Emma Johnson, Associate Specialist in Paediatric Oncology at Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, explains why she volunteers with World Child Cancer

"When the opportunity arose to work with World Child Cancer as a volunteer, I was very keen to be involved and to use my experience to teach and train doctors and nurses in Ghana. What I was not expecting was how much I would learn from the professionals in Ghana.
I really believe that I have learnt as much from them as I can give back. The number of children receiving treatment in Ghana has tripled in recent years and data shows that fewer children are abandoning treatment. I wish that all doctors training in the UK could be given the opportunity to work in a low or middle-income country."

How to apply?

Simply complete our health and social care volunteer form and a member of our team will be in touch to discuss your application.

This will be part of a three-part process consisting of:

  1. Initial assessment
  2. Telephone interview
  3. Face to face interview

What support will you be given

We will provide you with an induction into the work of World Child Cancer, along with a country and programme specific briefings. You will also receive travel safety, security and safeguarding briefings.

You will be allocated a mentor who will provide you with One-two-one support before and during your placement. Support will also be given to volunteers upon return, especially long-term placements including a de-brief and discussions about how you can stay involved, for example, providing mentoring to future volunteers. 

Fundraising

We ask our volunteers to raise money to cover their costs whilst volunteering with us. We can provide a fundraising pack to help you with this and One-two-one support from a member of our fundraising team. The amount you will need to raise will vary dependent on the country and the length of placement.

Criminal record checks will be carried out for all volunteers. Health checks will be carried out for volunteers embarking upon longer-term placements.

To apply please complete our volunteer form.