Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
1of4
We believe that travel can change lives! Travelling can change you as a person and, if done responsibly, can have a profound effect on the people that you meet and the places that you visit. We want as many people as possible to experience the heart and soul of another culture in the way that we have, and in doing so, help them to make a positive and lasting impact on our world.
Located at the shore of the Gulf of Thailand, Chumphon might be a transit destination for most, but the small capital of the Chumphon province has a lot to offer. Schools on this coastal strip of Thailand are government-run and in the country in general literacy rates are high. Having been able to maintain its distinct language, culture and tradition English language skills are mostly basic. Students are keen to learn and doing so will enhance their chances of pursuing a good career in future.
Volunteers on this project might find themselves teaching an interactive and stimulating lesson of English language in the morning and a variety of extracurricular activities such as sports, crafts or games in the afternoon. Volunteers hence do not only unburden staff members and help the children improve their English language skills, but give them an opportunity to balance fun learning activities with physically active leisure activities.
You’ll stay in either a locally owned volunteer house or homestay ensuring that you directly support the local community while you’re there. You’ll also be supported by your local in-country coordinator; Masako who with her team are best placed to understand the specific economic, social and developmental needs of Thailand. On average 48% of your placement fee is distributed in-country for the services included with your placement (i.e. Local support, Food, Transport & Accommodation) meaning that the local communities are directly benefiting from your travels to their country. The remaining funds are required to cover the administration costs associated with sourcing, training, marketing and coordinating your travel experience.
We do not give a financial contribution to this or any of our projects as we believe that money is rarely the answer to complicated development issues; if it was, the poverty problems in the world would be getting better! Short-term aid relief can cause aid-reliance and financial instability and the corruption seen in many developing countries means the guarantee of your money going to the heart of the cause is massively reduced. From our experience (and by learning from our mistakes) projects benefit far greater more from a sustainable framework to ensure they develop rather than short-term financial aid relief.
If money is paid directly to projects then they may become dependent on that income. If that country or project becomes unpopular, or through restrictions in the opportunity to travel to that country, the money dries up and they are no longer able to continue with their work. Supplying projects with enthusiastic volunteers creates a constant supply of helpful hands and as they are not reliant on an income can continue without the assistance of the volunteer travellers, although significantly slower in achieving their goals.
Instead of giving money direct we operate a grants scheme from our Helping Hand Foundation. This is designed to allow all our partner projects to submit applications for funding to achieve a specific objective. In 2007 we have supported a number of partner projects including the installation of 20 toilets at a school in India, the construction of a community centre in Brazil and providing a radio communications unit for a turtle conservation project in Costa Rica.
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!
