Program Reviews

I’m 24 years old, from England and a professional ESL teacher. I am interested in volunteering and NGO work because I like to ‘give something back’ and I would like to work for NGOs full time in the future.

Firstly, a bit of information about where I volunteered: the IHF center in Aceh is primarily an Educational center, although they are currently looking for orphans to live in-center. It holds free English, Maths and Computer lessons six days a week for students from the first year of Junior school to college level. It has many local volunteers who teach and help with the daily running of the center and two full-time local volunteers; the director, Philippe, and the co-director, Joko.

While I was at the center I taught English classes to all ages five days a week as well as helping with things such as recruitment campaigns in local underpriveliged areas and the running of events such as workshops. Teaching these kids was great fun because they really want to learn, they have a motivation which is really different to the children I have taught before and they are always up for a laugh. The recruitment campaigns were eye-opening for me because we generally visited slum areas of the city and it made me realise all the stuff that I take for granted back home.

I was also involved in a project where we visit a school in an area far away from the center twice a week to teach English and maths. These classes were crazy because sometimes there were over 25 kids in one class but awesome because they spent the whole time laughing and smiling. I made them run around a lot which might have added to the craziness but they were still pretty well-behaved when I asked them to be quiet or when I was trying to teach them something new. These were my favourite classes here because there is so much energy bouncing around and I’d always finish the two hours sweaty and exhausted but with a big grin on my face!

As the center is small it is a great place for your own ideas and input. Whilst I was there I spearheaded a project where I created a yearly curriculum for all the English classes for the center to use. I also organised putting on a charity fundraising concert which was stressful but really easy in a lot of ways. I had the idea for it on a Monday evening and by the Saturday night the concert had started! People here are really helpful and businesses and the media are easy to reach so it is comparatively simple for your ideas to come to life when you look at all the red tape you would have to go through in many other countries.

I wanted to volunteer with IHF because they offered a varied volunteering experience and the chance to learn about NGOs by doing international tasks daily online. I was involved in the fundraising, volunteer recruitment, media and university relations teams. I have learned a lot about these different aspects of the running of NGOs and it has been a great experience. It was cool to see the results of my work, for example in the fundraising team I was given a lot of freedom and was able to create an email template with photos etc for volunteers to use when contacting their friends and family about IHF.

I chose the Aceh center particularly because I wanted to experience a vastly different culture to my own. It has been fascinating learning about the 2004 tsunami as there is a museum and there are many monuments in the city. I was initially a little nervous about going to volunteer in a predominintely Muslim community as I thought that I might do something wrong or offend someone. However, it has been very enlightening, the Acehnese people that I have met have been extremely friendly and have been keen to explain their religion and culture to me. I have made lots of friends and I love the taste of Acehnese coffee! The scenery here is gorgeous as well, they have loads of white sand beaches and towering tree-covered mountains. On days off local volunteers usually come to the center on their motorbikes and drive us round the city or to the beach.

In general I have had a great time at the Aceh center and I can’t believe that it’s almost time for me to go! I have learned a lot about the running of NGOs and the processes involved in keeping a education center like this open. It requires a lot of hard work and long hours but is also very rewarding. Through my online international work I have gained experience in other areas apart from teaching. I have also learned about the pressures of organising an event and how to use them as a fundraising tool. If you come here I reckon you will have an awesome time and come away with a new set of friends and experiences just like me!

As I wanted to do something meaningful during my trip through SE Asia, I decided to teach English at the IHF center during a couple of weeks.
It was great to get an insight in the Indonesian education system, to get to know the kids and other volunteers, .. I decided to teach mostly the younger kids; it was a bit hard because their level is still low and I didn't know their language either so giving instructions, explaining games,.. wasn't always easy. Once you get used to this and you find ways to deal with this, the teaching is very rewarding because the kids are so enthusiastic and grateful for what you are doing.
I think IHF is a good organisation because it provides new, necessary opportunities for kids so they can hopefully enjoy a brighter future.

I first volunteered at IHF Jakarta while I was still an undergrad, and I think it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The six children who lived at the orphanage welcomed me so warmly into their family, and I fell in love with them all within a couple of days. They are the most caring, funny, smart, responsible, mature kids I have ever met. The work-study program can be a little demanding, but I definitely learned so much more than I could have imagined about NGO management, volunteer coordination, and the kind of determination and passion it takes to keep a grassroots organization running. I would wake up in the morning, do some administrative work online, teach classes in the afternoon, and finish up some more administrative work, then hang out with the kids. They are always laughing and singing and goofing around- I miss them even now, and keep in touch with them when I can.

Teaching the classes are always a lot of fun too, and the students are very eager to learn. They are always hanging out around the orphanage, and always eager to communicate. I was fortunate to be able to visit some of the students at their houses, and saw that many of them come from the slum areas- which was a very moving experience for me.

I loved my first volunteer experience at IHF Jakarta so much that I returned to volunteer again in the summer of 2012. And I will hopefully be returning again in the future!

I had a very good time working for IHF Jakarta center.
I was in Indonesia for an exchange program in Spring 2012. I love interacting with the culture and kids so I search for a suitable program and there was IHF. I taught English for about 3 months in the center. The environment was safe and comfortable. The staffs and people around were so nice and kind. The kids were amazing and cute. I could not imagine I would have a better time in Indonesia without them.
I would recommend anyone this program. I'm sure it will be great.

Living and working in the IHF centre in Jakarta for one month was a fantastic experience and a real eye opener. It was the first time I had travelled outside of Europe on my own but as soon as I arrived at the centre both the staff and in house children made me feel very welcome, making it easy for me to settle in.

The centre operates as both an orphanage and school, my primary role as a volunteer was to teach English to the children. I found this both a challenging and rewarding experience. Communication with the younger children was quite difficult, I would definitely recommend trying to learn a few basic Indonesia phrases before arriving at the centre to make teaching easier.

As English is my mother tongue I was primarily teaching the older (high school) children. These children came to the centre eager to learn making them very attentive. They were an absolute pleasure to teach and I am glad to say that I still keep in contact with some of the children.

I would recommend volunteering with IHF to anyone who wants a rewarding experience working with young persons. Leaving the centre after growing close to all the children can be upsetting though so have your tissues at the ready.