Short Term Volunteer Projects in Germany

I am a math Ph.D. from the US. For a while, I was looking for an opportunity to volunteer and provide mathematics education for the Syrian war refugee students in Europe. At first, I made an effort to contact the Dutch and German governments. Then I found this volunteer program in Halle, Germany.

I never even heard of the city before I found this program. I came to Halle anticipating nearly nothing, It turns out, however, that I found a home that I want to settle in. Unlike my ex-students, Syrian students are very motivated and eager to learn, meet new people and appreciate what you teach them. The only issue, that my German language skill is not good enough to teach them in German. However, some of them speak good English.

I stayed in Halle for a bit more than 2 months now and will stay full 90 days until my visa expires. Over that period, I have had 1 student that I teach mathematics in English.
He was a university student when the military conflict in Syria started and unfortunately had to quit his program in Syria.

I am lucky to find him that I can help him to rebuild his dream to get a university education in Germany in the future. I am also teaching 3 English courses here as well as learning German. The past 2 months have been having been one of the most beautiful periods of my life.

The city itself is equally beautiful and has historically and culturally rich background. I am definitely coming back! I totally recommend this volunteer program for one who wants to meet new people, learn German and live the daily life in Germany.

I love it here in Halle! I am really going to miss being part of the community when I leave, and I am already planning a return trip. My German has drastically improved because of my exposure to the language in the city and with my host family but also because of my wonderful German teacher.

As well as being a student I have also I have also been teaching plenty of English in the centre. I have four classes, stretching from individual teaching to small group and various levels. I have found this equally challenging and rewarding but I received lots of guidance and support from Rafat and his team throughout. It has been wonderful getting to know so many different people at the centre – it is truly amazing to see all these different languages and cultures come together.

I have got into a real routine here including morning runs in the park and ice skating at the local ice rink and it was super easy to get stuck into life here. My German host family has also been wonderful welcoming me into their family, sharing their meals and making sure that I am happy in Halle. I will have to come to visit them in the future because I feel so at home here.

My experience at the Excellent Center in Halle (Saale, Germany) has been amazing.
I had the chance to meet very special and warm people, who made me feel at home.
Rafat and Mutaz are excellent hosts, very easy-going, always ready to help and adjust things for each one of us.

I totally enjoyed my Arabic lessons with Rafat and I deeply appreciated his patience with me in explaining both Arab culture and history. I'm also very thankful to my English students for being so keen to learn!

I would love to come back at some point this year. In the meantime I'll keep studying Arabic online.

Life is full of encounters. Some however, will stay in your memory forever. I can say without a doubt that the entire month I spent volunteering at the Excellence Center in Europe was filled with such encounters! Getting to know and help the wonderful souls that surround this humble language center was such a rewarding experience - it is opportunities such as these that emphasise the importance of seeing the human race as one big family.

Rafat and Mutaz certainly have a wonderful vision towards supporting the integration of Syrian refugees into Germany, and it was an honour to be a part of this purpose. My time at the center was dedicated to writing articles, teaching group/private English classes and presenting talks on Australia. It was also a pleasure to get to know my fellow volunteers, spending our spare time exploring Halle together.

I can't wait to come back and see my family in Halle!

Simply stated, I had a great time at the Excellence Center in Halle.
I found the Excellence Center a friendly, welcoming place full of activity, yet it was relaxed, never hectic. I enjoyed the all-hands breakfasts around 1000 in the morning where volunteers and staff leisurely discussed the day's activities and chatted. I also liked that you might be at the Center until around 1800, but there was always time between classes and other activities for lunch and to run errands or do other things.
Teaching Syrian refugees English was difficult but rewarding. I was there for a month, which might seem like a long time, but it was just enough time to get to know them and their needs and help develop some plans and projects. From that point of view, I wish I could have stayed longer.
I also had a good experience with the EC's Arabic program. I came with intermediate/advanced classical Arabic knowledge, which was a good prerequisite for delving into colloquial Palestinian Arabic. But even without any or little Arabic background, the advantage of learning Arabic at the EC is getting to work and practice with native speakers.
Halle itself is an interesting, middle-sized city. My accommodations were located near the Saale River, where there is a wonderful bike/walking/jogging path and green areas to hang out in, and all of this was just a pleasant 10-minute walk away from the Excellence Center. You can also take the streetcar or bus, or use the bike paths. Steinweg, where the Excellence Center is located, is one of the most interesting streets in Halle. It is full of shops and restaurants, and it is centrally located near the main train station and the downtown area (Marktplatz).
I whole-heartedly recommend spending some time at the Excellence Center in Halle; it's a great experience!

I stayed in Halle for ten days during August. I met so many wonderful and interesting people from many countries and we were unified by the constant warmth, humour and food of the Syrian people who run or use the centre. Endless conversations in a glorious mix of English/German/Arabic were had. Everyone was friendly and respectful to each other and I felt very appreciated for my contribution to the work at the centre. The cultural exchange and learning was such a high point for me; whatever I taught I received in equal measure.
I had some great German lessons and overall my German has improved. Admittedly, I wasn't immersed in the German language as much as I had hoped as English was the common language between all volunteers. However, due to the welcome, kindness and friendship that I received during my stay in Halle, my experience was a very positive one.

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I spent two weeks at the Excellence Center and the experience was very positive. I met many people of different nationalities and backgrounds, taught English to two groups, one of children and another of teenagers, and one-to-one lessons to several individials. I also had some individual German classes. And, last but not least, I got to know a lot about the everyday life and concerns of Syrian refugees in Germany. I strongly recommend it to anyone wishing to volunteer in order to do some meaningful work. As regards the city of Halle, it is small but with quite a lot of interesting things to visit. Accomodation was also very good: I stayed at the house of a very nice guy who made me feel at home from the first day and introduced my to his friends.

I volunteered at the Excellence Center for one week in August 2019.
My host mom was a lovely Sudanese woman who went to great lengths to make me feel welcome. She even invited me along to the Mosque, where she normally worked and where the kids from the neighborhood had their classes, and afterwards to their barbeque later that evening.

As for my daily routine, every day I would walk to the center, the view of the Saale river on my right. When there, I would help preparing breakfast and then enjoy it with all the other volunteers, before our day started.
Normally, I would teach one class to early teenagers, or two at most. So, I had a lot of free time to prepare for my classes and I used to spend the day looking up materials and activities with my computer.
My students were generally from Syria or Egypt and had been living in Germany for a few years, so their command of German was much better than their English. Sometimes the challenge, especially with beginners, was that they were often tempted to switch to German or Arabic, but with gestures, pictures and a lot of drawing on the board we were always able to communicate and learn new vocabulary.

I also had a total of 3 hours of Arabic classes taught by native speakers. Afterwards, I was able to say common greetings, understand the numbers and the days of the week and to tell simple things about daily activities such as working, eating and sleeping. The nicest part about the Arabic class was that my teacher would go get any other native speakers who was hanging at the center, so I could practice more and make sure I would be understood.

At the center, there's always a team leader in charge of organising activities for the group and ensuring everyone is helping out with the daily chores. All volunteers are also asked to give a presentation about their country and everyone is welcome to attend. At the end of the working week, there's usually a special activity planned. During my stay, we went for a barbecue at Peißniz, a park closeby where volunteers, students and friends were all invited to have dinner together.
In conclusion, my stay in Halle was brilliant. I really enjoyed teaching English and I found friendly people from all over the world at the center. I really recommend everyone to come and spend some time here, but for at least two weeks if you can.