Short Term Volunteer Projects In Germany (1-13 Weeks)

I made many unforgettable memories at the Excellence Center in Halle. Although I thoroughly enjoyed both learning German and teaching English, the real treasure was the friends that I made and the new experiences I had. The Excellence Center is a place to enrich oneself both academically and socially.

Muaz was an amazing German teacher. Each lesson with him was full of energy and insights into the German language. Whenever someone didn’t understand something, he would take the time to explain things while also staying in German. The class was small, so every student got lots of attention. Muaz also organized a super fun trip to Berlin for the entire center. We went to see lots of popular sights, like the Berlin TV tower and the Brandenburg Gate, but being with friends was probably the most fun.

I taught English both solo and with a partner, both in-person and online. While the online lessons definitely posed challenges, watching a student get excited to use English made me happy no matter what. I would usually split lessons into two sections: one a bit more technical and the other doing something more gamelike. As long as I kept my student smiling and using English, however, the lesson was on track! Knowing a bit of German as well as a tiny bit of Arabic also helped in the lessons.

During your time at the Excellence Center, you’ll also attend some presentations and probably give some yourself! The presentations were great opportunities not only to learn more about fellow volunteers, but also to give opinions about teaching and learning language.

Breakfast is made daily at the center, often incorporating scrambled eggs, hummus and pita, or both! For lunch however, you’ll be exploring Halle, a wonderful, small city. There are some great lunch places near the center, and if you're willing to take the short walk to Marktplatz, there are even more delicious (and cheap) options. I always felt very safe in Halle, and because the public transportation is great, exploring the city with friends is made even easier.

There's a great sense of camaraderie at the Excellence Center with both students and teachers supporting each other, and this makes making new friends super easy. Being on the younger side, the Excellence Center gave me independence like I really haven’t experienced before, and I won’t forget the experiences that resulted from that. The center also holds weekly football matches which are always enjoyable; as a member of the winning team, you can even earn prizes like a box of chocolates!

My host family was incredibly nice. They took me to pick strawberries in their garden, and afterwards, we either ate them with ice cream or turned them into scrumptious, fresh jam! I was also accompanied on a lovely bike ride around town where they showed me the beautiful fields in the area. On particularly hot days, we would also go to a nearby lake to cool off and have an evening picnic. They also had two endearing cats which could make disturbingly human noises! At the end of my stay, they brought me to a dance performance in Halle which I found compelling. I always felt very welcome in their home and am super lucky to have met such kind people.

I am so glad I came to the Excellence Center!

I am a doctor in England. I have been practicing for 20 years.
I volunteered to teach English to the immigrant and refugee population at The Excellence Center in Halle. This also gave me an opportunity to further develop my Levantine Arabic (as my intention is to work in refugee camps in the future).
It was a wonderful experience to meet and work with a bunch of kind and friendly people. The are all extremely welcoming and have created a family atmosphere at The Center, and my three weeks felt too short a time to spend at this beautiful place.
I learned a lot of spoken Arabic in formal lessons, but was also able to constantly practice my Arabic with anyone and everyone I met! (Some volunteers opted for German lessons).
It was amazing to speak to all the people there (refugees and volunteers) and hear about their experiences. Speaking and interacting with refugees, and hearing each individual's harrowing journey is an invaluable experience I would recommend to everyone. It was a mind-opening three weeks at the Center.
I made some life long friends, and I loved everyone so much that I plan to go back there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYXBoWSci_I&ab_channel=RedBlueLife

I Had sooo much fun during my time here and I got to meet so many nice people. It was super easy to make friends and travel to different cities during the weekend since train station is very close. In addition to that there was so many different things to do in halle even though it’s a small city but it never really felt boring and that is one of the reasons why my experience was good. Give it a try the experience overall was great. I definitely recommend it and I would love to go back and spend more time with everyone.

During my time at the Excellence Center, I was able to meet incredible people with unbelievable stories in Halle while travelling all over Europe in my free time. Spending three months at the Center allowed me to get comfortable with my host family in Halle and gave me the chance to meet many incredible international volunteers. I would wholeheartedly recommend the program to anyone who values travel and cultural exchange as I struggle to imagine anywhere else where you could meet so many people from all over the world.

The Center itself is never empty, with students, volunteers and teachers moving in and out and making conversation. The day begins with breakfast where volunteers can prepare and chat before classes begin. The rest of the day is spent teaching or helping around the center; however, schedules are incredibly flexible and largely at the discretion of individual volunteers. I received German lessons every week and had between three and five classes that I taught during the week. Each student at the center is looking for something different so it was important for me to be attentive to what they were asking of me instead of what I wanted to be teaching. I am glad that I spent several months in Halle because initially I struggled to find a good balance for all my lessons but after a few weeks with each student I was much more comfortable and really felt like what I was doing was productive and helpful.

While the Center itself is in a great location, its biggest strength is by far the people working there, from the Host families to the students themselves. The community in Halle is made up of some of the most diligent and kind people I have ever met, and despite my lack of knowledge of both Arabic and German, I was still comfortable around everyone, and they were incredibly welcoming. My host family in particular were incredibly helpful and accommodating, always offering to help with my travel plans or spending the weekends with me going into town or on hikes. Beyond the local community, the center attracts the most incredible people from all over the world. In my three months I saw more than ten volunteers come and go, all of whom had interesting stories and incredible characters. The focus of the Center is on community service and thus attracts kindhearted people, but it was still shocking every time to meet a new person from a different part of the world so devoted to helping a community that they had not been a part of.

One of my personal goals while I was in Germany was to travel as much as possible. Halle is very centrally located and the railroads in Germany allowed me to visit cities all over the continent. After I took a few weeks to get settled and explore Halle, I was able to spend almost every weekend abroad. The volunteer program provides a three-day weekend and with overnight trains and busses, I was able to spend the better part of three days in a new city every weekend. Halle is only a few hours from Berlin, Dresden, and Munich, all of which have massive train stations that can take you to any part of the continent. Before coming to Germany, I had spent very little time travelling in Europe and this program turned out to be the perfect decision, allowing me to see as much as possible.

Deciding when to begin your program in Halle is very important. I did not have a proper understanding of the German winter and began my program in February, expecting to have mostly spring weather by the middle of March. In reality it was still winter up until mid-April this year so if I were to go back, I would have started my program a bit later in the year. I was able to experience easter in Germany and Austria however, as I spent the holiday with my host family and the easter markets in Halle and Vienna were filled with food and souvenirs. If possible it would also be helpful to start when you know others will be at the center. There are many more volunteers in the Summer and it is a great time to go, but when I arrived I was the only volunteer for the first week and it made it a bit harder to get accustomed to the new environment.

Ultimately my most valuable memories from the center are all the incredible people that I met and the stories that I heard. Hearing about the journeys of refugees is a sobering experience but one that I think is important for people like me, who have little exposure to it in America, to have. The refugee community in Halle continues to look forward though and is made up of some of the happiest and most positive people I have ever met. People like my teacher Muaz, the head of the Center Rafat, and volunteers like Salma Lamsaouri make the Excellence Center in Halle one of the most incredible places I have ever been.

I am so glad I had this experience. Everyone at the centre was so welcoming in sharing their culture with anyone who was interested. Teaching English was so rewarding and I felt like I really made a strong bond with all of my students. My German lessons were fun, useful and I had the loveliest teacher. I came to the centre during Ramadan and was so surprised how open people were in inviting into their homes for Iftar. Halle is such a pretty city with a lot to offer being so close to Leipzig and Berlin, there was so much to explore

When I first arrived at the EC, I was nervous that I would not know where to go or what to do, but Salma quickly introduced me to everyone. I felt welcomed and I got instructions as to where I would stay, what I would do and I even got a nice tour of the city! As a volunteer teaching English, my days were busy but not too busy to have time to visit other cities on the weekend. I was able to fix my own schedule with my students and decide on what would fit best for both of us. We have a nice breakfast every morning with other volunteers or students or people who work at the center and we exchange our thoughts, our cultures and our hobbies! So many people come and go, but you get to share memorable times with them :) I really recommend coming here, Halle is a nice city, so beautiful and full of lively people! My experience has been awesome and I felt like I made a difference by teaching English !

During my 2 weeks in the Excellence Center everyone I have met has been welcoming and incredibly generous. The atmosphere in the centre perfectly mixes the work and social lives of the volunteers. Teaching my students was incredibly rewarding and I have learnt so much about other cultures and experiences. As I am on my gap year I would definitely recommend this program to anyone else doing one. The city of Halle is great for sight seeing and there is always something going on. The centre is located in central Halle so the location is perfect for transport to and from the whole city.

This center has the most wonderful bunch of people who work and volunteer. Everyone at the center is welcoming and helpful. I was a little nervous about not having enough experience because I was joining the "Teaching English" program, but the center provides you with all the resources and information you need to teach. I learned a lot about teaching during my stay at the excellence center. I definitely recommend The Excellence Center to everyone who is interested. The center welcomes everyone, from solo travelers to families, experienced and inexperienced!