Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
So, how will you help make a difference?
The orphanage is run by nearly 50 staff but their qualifications are limited and resources are few. It does not receive sufficient funding from the government so your help is much needed to give the children the best start possible. You will help with running educational games and making learning fun. Laos laws do not permit volunteers to be teach formal classes so you’ll help with after school activities including sports, arts and crafts. During their spare time you’ll help improve the teachers’ English and IT skills, enabling them to improve their own skills. During the day you’ll help with general running of the orphanage school, assisting at meal times and possibly helping in the school garden.
We believe that travel should have a lasting positive impact that helps to change lives for the better. Our ethos is that under the right guidance from our local partners you can help to bring about positive change. It is a simple fact that most the countries we visit do not have adequate resources to financially support or staff up new initiatives and that’s where you can make a significant difference – in lending your time, energy and enthusiasm to ensure that the projects have a constant flow of volunteers ready to get stuck in and eager to help them achieve their goals.
Through our programme of supported volunteering we assist volunteers to participate on existing projects, which have often approached us for support. These projects existed before our partnership and would continue without, albeit a little slower in achieving their goals. We believe it is vitally important to support worthwhile projects in a sustainable way that doesn’t have a destabilising effect on their development and the wider community.
People who travel on our trips return home with a much deeper understanding of the country visited than a typical tourist would ever gain. Prior to departure all our volunteers receive information containing guidance on how to travel and experience a culture responsibly and, where volunteers will be working with children, we insist upon a criminal records check even if it is not required by the country they are volunteering in. On arrival in the destination country all our volunteers receive a welcome briefing and our local coordinators are on hand to give any additional guidance and advice during their stay.
Wherever and whenever possible, all the staff and leaders are sourced locally providing a great insight into the way of life; we use family home-stays or locally-run accommodation and we encourage use of local markets and public transport to help ensure as much money as possible goes into the local economy.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
