From Mongolia to Laos on a volunteering adventure
I WAS between jobs and planned to travel, but I wanted it to be a productive time for me and I wanted to contribute to the communities that I was visiting. When I tried to locate volunteer opportunities before I left, I could only find programs where I had to pay a considerable fee.
For this reason, I located places to volunteer through word of mouth while travelling and this worked out very well for me.
I wanted to work with children, since my background is teaching, and I have a Master of Education. On the train from Siberia to Mongolia I met an American living in Ulaanbaatar, and I asked him if he knew of an orphanage where I might be of help. He gave me the name of Didi Kalika, who founded and runs The Lotus Children's Centre. Before I left Mongolia, I asked her if she knew of any programs in Laos and she told me about the Sunshine School.
At the Sunshine School I had two roles. I assisted the English teacher in the classroom. Also, as curriculum developer, I researched and added games and interactive activities to the English curriculum. I volunteered there for two months and I was able to finish the curriculum project. Even so, I was sad to leave, though it wasn't enough time to really become part of the community and to learn the language.
I felt safe when volunteering and I was able to ask for support when I needed it. Often these schools and organisations (and I speak not just of the Sunshine School but of all the places where I volunteered) are operating on small budgets or with few staff and they need volunteers who can be independent and who don't need much hand-holding. On the other hand, I think volunteers should make sure that they communicate with the people in charge when confused or not comfortable with their tasks. This ensures that you are doing what they want and also that you have a good experience.
One piece of advice I'd give is that before you end your time volunteering, try to tie up any loose ends and leave clear notes on what you did. Many organisations get so many volunteers coming and going that improvements or suggestions can easily get lost in the shuffle.
Volunteering in a foreign country is an experience that changes you forever. You grow as a person and you meet people who are kind and generous regardless of their financial status. It was a shame that I was volunteering at each of these places for such a short time, but I see fundraising as a way of continuing to assist these people in their efforts to make these children's lives better.
I think that there is a risk that, as volunteers, we drop into people's lives and have this great, rewarding experience and then we just jet back to the developed world and simply resume our lives with barely a thought for those we have left behind.
For me, it is important to try to keep some contact and maintain the relationships that I made, in order to honour the kindness and generosity my hosts showed me when I was a guest in their home.
This is an extract from Volunteer: A Traveller's Guide to Making a Difference Around the World (3rd Edition) © Lonely Planet 2013. Published this month, RRP: $24.99.
For this reason, I located places to volunteer through word of mouth while travelling and this worked out very well for me.
I wanted to work with children, since my background is teaching, and I have a Master of Education. On the train from Siberia to Mongolia I met an American living in Ulaanbaatar, and I asked him if he knew of an orphanage where I might be of help. He gave me the name of Didi Kalika, who founded and runs The Lotus Children's Centre. Before I left Mongolia, I asked her if she knew of any programs in Laos and she told me about the Sunshine School.
At the Sunshine School I had two roles. I assisted the English teacher in the classroom. Also, as curriculum developer, I researched and added games and interactive activities to the English curriculum. I volunteered there for two months and I was able to finish the curriculum project. Even so, I was sad to leave, though it wasn't enough time to really become part of the community and to learn the language.
I felt safe when volunteering and I was able to ask for support when I needed it. Often these schools and organisations (and I speak not just of the Sunshine School but of all the places where I volunteered) are operating on small budgets or with few staff and they need volunteers who can be independent and who don't need much hand-holding. On the other hand, I think volunteers should make sure that they communicate with the people in charge when confused or not comfortable with their tasks. This ensures that you are doing what they want and also that you have a good experience.
One piece of advice I'd give is that before you end your time volunteering, try to tie up any loose ends and leave clear notes on what you did. Many organisations get so many volunteers coming and going that improvements or suggestions can easily get lost in the shuffle.
Volunteering in a foreign country is an experience that changes you forever. You grow as a person and you meet people who are kind and generous regardless of their financial status. It was a shame that I was volunteering at each of these places for such a short time, but I see fundraising as a way of continuing to assist these people in their efforts to make these children's lives better.
I think that there is a risk that, as volunteers, we drop into people's lives and have this great, rewarding experience and then we just jet back to the developed world and simply resume our lives with barely a thought for those we have left behind.
For me, it is important to try to keep some contact and maintain the relationships that I made, in order to honour the kindness and generosity my hosts showed me when I was a guest in their home.
This is an extract from Volunteer: A Traveller's Guide to Making a Difference Around the World (3rd Edition) © Lonely Planet 2013. Published this month, RRP: $24.99.
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