IFRE Volunteers Abroad

This experience allowed me to see elephants close up - feeding them, cleaning their 'beds', washing them in the river, or just having fun with them. At the end of one week we felt we knew them personally - we knew their history, we knew who was sick, who needed extra nutition and so on. I don't think this close connection could have been achieved in a larger organisation. Even better than this though was the chance to interact with the amazing and very friendly staff - to learn about their lives and get to know them in the short time we had. The lovely Dhamli, photographer's assistant, acted as interpreter on some occasions so I could ask the mahouts many questions. This was something I hadn't expected. All in all, it was an experience I would like to repeat.

Last week I volunteered for a one-week assignment with Global Future Institute to teach English to primary school students in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. Many low-income families cannot afford private language lessons for their children, and access to quality education in Bali public schools is severely lacking. The primary school I was assigned to had only 1 English teacher, so there was one English class per week per class. The level of English for these disadvantaged children is very basic. Volunteers help these students speak conversational English so they will have a future in the tourism industry that pours millions of dollars into Bali every year.

This volunteer opportunity is an eye-opener for me. Amidst the wealthy tourists and affluent hotels, more than 150,000 Balinese live in poverty, and school facilities are woefully inadequate. Many of the air conditioners are installed but don't work, and neither do most of the audio-visual equipment. English classes are conducted in Indonesian. Students welcome English teaching volunteers as it gives them the opportunity to practice conversational English. I find the students very enthusiastic, friendly, and willing to learn.

It’s fun teaching and helping the nursery pupils to learn and improve their understanding of English Language. With a playful environment they are energize and eager to learn. Their competitive learning spirit is fascinating. Frequent short time learning sessions encourage their learning. Reviews of previous lessons create better understanding. The teachers teachers were enthusiastic and dedicated. In addition to teaching, the teachers created and ensured a conducive learning environment. My interest in volunteering to teach English abroad was invigorated by this trip.

Although I enjoyed my time at the orphanage, I felt as though there wasn’t much I could do to help. If anything they just need money.

I would have liked to have been told prior that the majority of the children would have been away and not on the day of arrival in Nepal as I would have been able to rework my schedule for when there were more children there.

It has been a great experience so far and the team is very supportive.
Logistics could be improved : for example, pair up volunteers who live in the same house and have the same assignment to work on same shifts so that Uber costs can be minimized.
Buses are reliable, but complicated to transfer and return to point of origin .
Overall, great experience!
The family where I stayed was so welcoming and the food was delicious .
I particularly enjoyed the salsa class given to participants. I would recommend the partners to lower the cost of the program to draw more volunteers and potential repeats.