SB Overseas

I have volunteered in a few different places. This has been the most fulfilling experience of them all. If your looking for a voluntourism experience, this isn't it. If you want to feel like your make a difference in someone's life, this is the place for you.

I was charged with teaching the youth and woman English. In reality, it's much more than just teaching English. Together, you will both grow into different people than when you set out in this journey.

The job in itself is not easy, but the experience and the overall atmosphere make me never want to leave. The staff are wonderful to work with. They are very accomodating and helpful and great to talk to.

I would recommend this experience if you:
- Like teaching and preferably have some experience with children.
- If you like children in general.
- If you want an intensive volunteering experience.
- If you want to improve or learn Arabic

I was placed in the Saida centre, which was on the ground floor of the shelter the refugees lives in. This is great as it gave us a more immersive experience and we get work very closely with the community. Although we had to be very considerate of the community's culture and perception of us foreigners, it did not pose as a challenge to us. Even if you may just be teaching the children, you will also get a chance to interact and work with the adults. 4 months is a perfect duration to see the change you can make to the beneficiaries. Some of the staff members are refugees themselves, and some also live in the shelter. The people you are surrounded by are so welcoming, it feels almost like home to me. An experience I would highly recommend!

I was blown away with how full of an experience SB provides for volunteers. There is in-depth teacher training, development and support, and volunteers are empowered to take charge of the classes they teach and truly make a difference for Syrian refugee students. Furthermore, volunteers can organize extracurricular projects and activities like women's fitness classes, crafts for children, or photography projects to portray the community of SB. It is also possible to enroll in Arabic lessons taught by a native Arabic teacher-- these are very effective classes, especially when combined with immersion in the culture and community. To add to the experiences, Lebanon is a gorgeous country full of mountains, beaches, history and architecture, and there are many activities organized for the volunteers as well as travel buddies to go exploring with.

I signed up to volunteer for 4 months but extended my time to 8 months upon seeing what a great impact volunteers can make for the community we work with. Additionally, the cost of this program is much lower than other programs I've looked into and covers basic needs including accommodations and utilities as well as basic food staples.

I volunteered for 4 months and I was located in the Saida centre. I decided to stay four months because I think two month are not enough to build relationships with the children and the other people you're working with, which I think is an important part of teaching and working in a team in general.
It takes a lot of energy to work with children especially if they don't speak the same language as you but you can learn a lot from them.
If you like the challenge of teaching English as a second language and to work close with the beneficiaries and their families , SB in a good place for you.
I also enjoyed to work with Volunteers from all over the world and the local Staff because I think it's always interesting to hear how others experience the same or similar things.

This was a very intense experience, but it was an incredibly fulfilling one. I also got to learn some Arabic in an environment where I got lots of exposure to it which was great too. One thing I will say is that I expected the experience to be one where I had to bring a lot of enthusiasm to the work we did, and while I did this, I also found there’s plenty of enthusiasm, positivity and sunshine to be found from those you work with. What I love most is that as a volunteer, you’re also able to apply what you’re good at to what you’re doing e.g. I love doing creative activities and I was able to incorporate that into almost everything I did on placement. Future volunteers should be aware it is quite a busy placement with lots of work to be done.