I completed my volunteering experience with IVHQ in Bali, Indonesia, during the months of August and September for a total duration of four weeks, with the first two weeks in Ubud and the last two on the island of Nusa Penida.
In Ubud, I participated in the Teaching English project, where another volunteer and I taught English lessons to local children, aged between 10 and 11 years old. Normally, the other volunteer and I would organize the lessons in the morning, planning games that included English terms and vocabulary, printing worksheets, and creating activities to make the lessons as interactive as possible. In the afternoons, we would go to the school to conduct the lessons, which lasted about two hours, in a class of around fifteen children. The students' knowledge of the English language was quite limited but sufficient to conduct the lessons in a collaborative and participative environment. Whenever we had difficulty making ourselves understood by the children, we would try to communicate through gestures, pictures, or ask for help from the project coordinators, who were always very helpful. During the weekends, there was free time to spend with the other volunteers visiting various attractions in Ubud, such as waterfalls, temples, and rice fields. We also visited nearby places like Canggu and Lovina.
On the island of Nusa Penida, I participated in the Sea Turtle Conservation project. Here, the Local Team works in two different centers, one of which is still partially under construction. In this case, volunteering took place for two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. The activities involved cleaning the tanks where the turtles swam, cutting fish to feed them, and then feeding them, cleaning their shells with a brush, and finally putting them back into the freshly cleaned tank. Again, both the volunteers and coordinators were very kind and collaborative in carrying out and organizing the activities. During the weekends, there was an opportunity to visit the magnificent beaches of the island and go snorkeling among fish, manta rays, and sea turtles.
The experience was extremely positive, both for my personal growth and for the tangible impact on the local community’s development and the protection of sea turtles. I always found great kindness and helpfulness from the local people, coordinators, and children. It was particularly enriching to meet volunteers from all over the world, with cultures different from mine, and immerse myself in Indonesian traditions, discovering a new and fascinating culture.
