Give A Fig Volunteering

Wir hatten eine wunderbare, bereichernde Erfahrung mit GAFV bei Unterrichtsprojekten an einer staatlichen Schule in Sri Lanka, wo die Schüler Englisch, Deutsch, Französisch, Mandarin, Japanisch und Koreanisch lernen. Das Programm war von GAFV hervorragend organisiert und die Arbeit basiert auf gegenseitigem Vertrauen und guten Beziehungen zwischen GAFV und den Lehrern wie auch den Schulen. GAFV konnte uns tatsächlich in die Schulen bringen, um uns dort als Freiwillige zu beteiligen. Wie wir herausfanden, ist dies aufgrund einer besonderen Vereinbarung mit der Regierung möglich. Bei ähnlichen Projekten dagegen konnten wir nur zu privaten Nachhilfestunden mitgenommen werden, was die übliche Erfahrung in diesem Bereich ist und weniger Einblicke gibt. Die Lehrer, die wir in der Schule trafen, haben sich über unseren Besuch gefreut, und die Schüler hatten Spaß, von uns unterrichtet zu werden und Interesse, mit uns zu sprechen.
GAFV ist sehr professionell organisiert, und Paul, der Leiter von GAFV, ist ein engagierter und weltweit erfahrener Berater im Bildungssektor. Wir können die Organisation und ihr Engagement für die Entwicklung in den Ländern, in denen sie arbeiten, uneingeschränkt empfehlen.

English Version:
We had a wonderful, enriching experience with GAFV during teaching projects at a government school in Sri Lanka, where students learn English, German, French, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean. The program was excellently organized by GAFV, and the work is based on mutual trust and good relationships between GAFV and the teachers and schools. GAFV was actually able to bring us into the schools to participate as volunteers. As we discovered, this is possible due to a special agreement with the government. In similar projects, however, we were only able to attend private tutoring sessions, which is the usual experience in this field and offers less insight. The teachers we met at the school were happy to have us visit, and the students enjoyed being taught by us and were interested in speaking with us.
GAFV is very professionally organized, and Paul, the director of GAFV, is a dedicated and globally experienced consultant in the education sector. We can fully recommend the organization and its commitment to development in the countries where they work.

It is quite hard to help your child decide what to do during the holidays. We were keen to find a worthwhile volunteering experience for 4-6 weeks, and it did feel a bit like a jump in the dark.

After a lot of internet searching and asking lots of questions of knowledgable friends and acquaintances, we decided that Give A Fig would be the one. Our main concerns were to find something which would be safe for our daughter. We wanted it to be educational for her whilst allowing her an opportunity to make a difference to the pupils she was helping.

Paul and Jane were so welcoming and amazingly selfless and they certainly seem to have found a great balance of helping the community while also providing a cultural immersion for their volunteers. They also made it very easy to obtain a visa by completing all the paperwork for us to take to the Embassy.

I highly recommend Give a Fig to any parent of late teens/early 20s who want to volunteer.

I stayed in Sri Lanka for 3 weeks with Give a Fig Volunteering at the Fig and Gecko and it was honestly one of the best experiences I've ever had! Give a Fig Volunteering are such an accommodating organisation which ensure that you can get the most out of your visit safely and efficiently. whilst staying with them I volunteered in the local school, visited orphanages and taught young monks English. Give a Fig also organised a weekend trip for me and my friend to go on an elephant safari and scuba diving, where I got to see wild turtles and black tip sharks in their natural habitat! the opportunities and experiences Give a Fig offer are unparalleled to anything you would find anywhere else for such a good price! Both Paul and Jane are so friendly and so concerned about making your stay as comfortable and as fulfilling as you want. Give a Fig organised tours of the local areas for my friend and I to see all the historical and religious sites in Anuradhapura and there was always something more to see! with Give a Fig volunteering I got to volunteer at a turtle sanctuary, helping to clean and feed the turtles whilst also gaining a very valuable insight into the lives of the locals and making memories for life. The opportunities, experiences and memories I have gained from volunteering with Give a Fig volunteering in Sri Lanka will stay with me for life and I would 100% recommend it to anyone and everyone else! Just do it!!

As a parent I couldn’t have asked for more from a Volunteering company. Even though our daughter is in university, as a parent you are still concerned about them when they go abroad, especially to somewhere as different to the UK as Sri Lanka. We’ve heard some real horror stories about volunteering - from the poor quality of the food served, to the lack of support given and it was quite difficult to make a choice. Overall, the low cost compared to others, and level of support provided by Give a Fig before coming out was excellent and we got the impression- later proved correct - that they cared about what they were doing for the people of Sri Lanka and the volunteers, than the money. I guess that’s the reason they’re a non-profit organisation. With Give a Fig everything was planned and organised from the moment she stepped off the plane, to the day she got back on the plane to come home. To find out that the experience more than matched the expectation was a bonus, especially as she tells me the accommodation and food were so good. Give a Fig clearly provide a very rounded package.

Having researched many volunteering companies, my daughter spoke with Paul and Jane at Give a Fig Volunteering, who were very helpful and reassuring. Paul set out a suggested timetable of what my daughter would be able to do, and talked through the options that she had researched herself. Everything was costed and tailored to her requests, and matched what she wanted to do and see whilst in Sri Lanka. My daughter volunteered at a turtle sanctuary and taught English at a local school and orphanage, and was privileged to be able to teach English to the local monks. She loved the experience, and felt that it really supported her. On her days off she wanted to visit other parts of Sri Lanka, which Give a Fig arranged. She went scuba diving, went on an elephant safari and Give a Fig took her to a couple of festivals.

It was a fantastic opportunity for her, one that she tells me she’ll remember all her life. Indeed, until she went back to Uni after her summer break, she talked about the experience a lot.
As a parent I would highly recommend Give a Fig Volunteering if your son or daughter, anyone really of any age, who wish to undertake volunteering work in Sri Lanka, Paul organised everything so well, it took a lot of worry off a parent’s shoulders.

Our daughter, Harriet, visited for three weeks in summer 2017 and has not stopped talking about it since! As parents we were a little anxious about sending our daughter halfway across the world for this experience, however any concerns we had were put aside due to the well organised and coordinated itinerary, tailored to my daughter and her friend's expectations for the trip. It was reassuring to be able to chat in person to Paul, the founding director of Give a Fig Volunteering, who was very knowledgeable and able to answer any of our concerns. During their stay they were never left unsupported, with key contacts being made available for every step of their experience, from landing in the capital city through to a number of excursions etc.
We recommend any parent to have confidence in this organisation and to encourage their sons and/or daughters to benefit from this life experience, providing them with opportunities to see everyday Sri Lankan life away from the commercialised tourist areas, and understanding the true benefit of volunteering to improve the lives of these communities, whist enriching their own lives.