Gap year volunteer teaching in Northern Thailand
Are you looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world.
Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
In the UK we aim to:
- be as energy efficient as possible by re-using or recycling our waste paper and printer toner cartridges.
- use energy efficient light bulbs throughout the office, and try to reduce electrical consumption as far as possible.
- staff lift share when possible.
- send all documentation to volunteers electronically; we only mail things if so requested by our clients.
- fully brief our volunteers prior to departure on what to expect from a project, the community volunteer work and living within the village including any environmental issues.
- offer limited printed promotional material to reduce paper waste.
In Thailand, we aim to:
- advise all volunteers during their in-country induction course to be environmentally aware and to keep water and electricity consumption to a minimum whilst in Thailand. Our local representative will talk to the volunteers about Thai people and their history, and introduce basic Thai phrases so you can integrate into the community.
- use local representatives for all of our projects to avoid unnecessary flights for staff from the UK.
- where possible, organise group travel for the volunteers to avoid using individual modes of transport, thus benefiting the environment and the safety of the volunteers.
- use locally sourced building materials that are used alongside skilled local builders, showing our volunteers their techniques and skills. All managed by a project leader.
- encourage all volunteers to use local products and services
Community
We started placements in Thailand with our Asia Director, Richard, and have strong links with the communities in Tha ton through our local representatives Bryan and Rosie Massingham. We place volunteers in homes within the community providing these families with a source of income to cover accommodation for the volunteers.
We currently send small groups of volunteers aged 18 to 25 to Thailand and in the long term we hope to continue and develop our projects to help with English in more of the Government schools. Tourism is Thailand's main industry, and most tourists speak English so, for many Thai people, English is necessary to get a job. It is wonderful for the Thai children to experience an alternative method of teaching, as well as encouraging interaction through extra-curricular subjects.
We normally use the same houses for volunteers each year so families who host them are familiar with us and welcome volunteers into the community. We brief volunteers on customs and cultures so they are advised to be responsible and respectful to their host community. We also try to assist the same schools each term so the teachers are familiar with our volunteers and what they should be involved in. Post project reviews are always completed with schools and volunteers to make sure your help is always needed.
The hill tribes (peoples whose origins may lie in China, Burma or Laos) and the rural Thais rub happily along together. Their children share the same school but, since not all hill tribe children attract government funding, the schools need help with spoken English.
Thailand's English syllabus is entirely written and only a few can actually speak the language. Therefore, as a volunteer teacher you will be very useful in bringing not only the interest of the outside world but an extra pair of hands for the hard-pressed staff.
Living with the Thai people is a simple way of life - with no running water or electricity, you will learn to appreciate these luxuries we take for granted in the Western World.
We interview all volunteers and discuss the project in great detail, you will be given documents about what to expect from your project from communities, school life, living within the village to how the Thai people respect their environment. On arrival there is an induction course based in the remote Tha ton, to introduce you to Thailand. Rosie Massingham, our local representative will talk about the Thai people and their history. You will also be introduced to basic Thai phrases so you can integrate into the community.
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