volunteer teaching abroad

lollipoplady

Just looking for a bit of advice and maybe some of your experiences on volunteer work abroad. Basically Im a primary teacher, with experience in special needs, tefl etc. I have always wanted to work voluntarily in the developing world and thanks to the lack of teacher jobs in this country it looks like nows my chance:) every cloud eh?

Although there is LOADS on the internet im finding it hard to seperate out the actual charities from working holidays type things!! Im not set on just teaching id be happy to put my hand to anything really. I think a 4-6month stint would probably be most suitable for me. Any suggestions or experiences welcome:)

dory

Very informative site on that here. Lots of stories from people who have taught abroad in developing countries.

You may have to do something else if you're going for 4-6 months as most of the genuine charities would want you to stay for the school year. If you speak Spanish, check out La Esperanza Granada in Nicaragua (min stay 2 months and no program fee). VSO are brilliant but you have to go for a year or two. If you're brave just book a flight and go to Kolkata in India. Mother Teresa's nuns run schools and they're always looking for people who want to go teach for a minimum of two months, they have lots of very short term volunteers.

Basically, anything that is too short (2 weeks or so) will require you to fundraise a lot. Just Google and you'll find lots of options. But don't Google 'volunteering abroad' or something, then you'll get the holiday companies who charge you to do it. Google Teaching in Yemen or Free School in Malawi or something like that.

Columbia

I'm going away with these guys in September, teaching English;

http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/teaching-jobs/teaching-jobs-in-europe/teaching-jobs-in-georgia

They allow short term contracts (I think 2.5 months is the minimum, and you have to leave at the end of a semester - December or June - so pick your departure date accordingly), no program fee, you stay with a Georgian family, your flights are paid for, and you get a small stipend. The family will provide most of your meals in exchange for 20% of your stipend, and will also benefit from having a native English speaker in the house. The application process can be lengthy, and is first-come first-served, so I'd recommend applying at least 12 weeks in advance (personally I applied 18 weeks before my own departure date).

lollipoplady

Thanks a mill!! had a quick flick on those sites and they seem promising:) Id heard about Mother Tereasa's school in India (On Boards I think) I dont know if Im brave enough to hop on a plane to India alone though with no plan (or if my poor mother's heart could handle the thought!!) but ya never know if i can find another brave soul I might do just that!!

"Volunteering abroad" was exactly what I was googling- a rookie mistake!! Thanks again, really really helpful links. Finally I might actually get somewhere:)

lollipoplady

Columbia wrote: »

I'm going away with these guys in September, teaching English;

http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/teaching-jobs/teaching-jobs-in-europe/teaching-jobs-in-georgia

Thanks Columbia:) I had never heard of them before, I was teaching in Dubai before so have a bit of experience of teaching abroad. I'll have a look through and might get back to you to ask a few questions!! thanks! good luck with it:D