Location
  • Indonesia
    • Bali
Length
2 to 12 weeks

Program Details

Language
English
Age Min.
18
Age Max
35
Timeframe
Year Round
Housing
Host Family Hostel
Groups
Medium Group (16-30)

Pricing

Starting Price
300
Price Details
Please visit the "Program Fee" section of our website's volunteer page for more detailed information regarding volunteer costs.
Included in your volunteer fee:

* Shared home stay accommodation with breakfast included.

* Airport pickup.

* Orientation prior to beginning your volunteering placement.

* Wi-Fi access onsite at the home stay.

* 24 hour local emergency number (Volunteer Coordinator).

* Support from Volunteer Coordinator and local English teachers.

* Volunteering Certificate

* Experience of a lifetime!
What's Included
Accommodation Some Activities Airport Transfers Some Meals SIM cards Transportation Wifi
What's Not Included
Some Activities Airfare Domestic Airfare Some Meals Travel Insurance Visa
Oct 29, 2019
Mar 12, 2020
55 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Here at Volunteer Programs Bali, we believe that education can change a child’s destiny. More than just an international volunteer program, we provide opportunities to empower local Balinese communities through free English classes, recycling events, workshops. Furthermore, we also provide scholarship program, paid-internship, and continuously encourage local business owners to create job opportunities for our students. These opportunities give our students the tools they need to achieve their fullest potential in an ever-changing society, while holding on to the values and respect for the vibrant culture that makes Bali so unique.

Video and Photos

Program Impact

Every volunteer’s experience, empowerment, and growth is equally as important as anyone else in our family. We hope that the personal development and lessons learned during your time with us stay with you long after Bali, and ultimately inspire you to empower those in your own communities.

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Program Reviews

4.91 Rating
based on 235 reviews
  • 5 rating 91.49%
  • 4 rating 8.09%
  • 3 rating 0.43%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Impact 4.75
  • Support 4.85
  • Fun 4.8
  • Value 4.85
  • Safety 4.95
  • Benefits 4
  • Support 5
  • Fun 5
  • Facilities 4
  • Safety 5
Showing 105 - 112 of 235 reviews
Default avatar
Maria
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Five inspiring weeks!

What an incredible time! Five weeks went by so quickly.
Once in Ubud there are many things one wants to do and see. It can feel a little intense sometimes, preparing the lessons, being a tourist and spending the afternoons teaching. But I got so much energy from my amazing, adorable students!! Such a blessing to be greeted each day with many hugs and big smiles.
The staff is very supportive, kind and warm hearted. Always smilling and energetic they try to help you in any way they can. I was amazed how creative they are as they organised every week a different farewell event. Also the family from our homestay was lovely...it felt like 'home away from home'.
I had planned to stay four weeks only, when I heard that a few volunteers had cancelled I decided to stay an extra week. Spending time with wonderful children who are eager to learn, a fantastic staff and great volunteers from all over the world made this an inspiring, enriching experience!

What would you improve about this program?
The program needs a more structured curriculum. The ESL sheets offer a good basis but there should be more fun exercises for different levels.
56 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Kelly
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My time living in beautiful Bali

This program was the best decision I have ever made in my life! After feeling extremely stuck in my life, I took a chance to try something completely outside of my comfort zone - and it was the best thing I have ever done. This island and it's people are beautiful - they are so happy and so filled with culture and life, Bali really is magical. And it was truly a gift to be able to live right in the middle of Ubud with a Balinese family who welcomed me with open arms. The homestay began to feel like home and the owners began to feel like family. It's wonderful that all of the volunteers live together and I was able to make some life long friends from all over the world. The program itself is very beneficial to the community since most of the Balinese depend on tourism for income and livelihood - therefore learning English is vital. The school is wonderful and the children are absolutely AMAZING - I fell in love with each and every one of them. They are so happy to be at the school learning and are always so welcoming to each new volunteer. I honestly think that I learned more from the children than they learned from me. The staff is also wonderful - they are always there if you need assistance or translation in your class, they are so kind and understanding to each and every one of your needs. If you are considering this program, I would urge you to stop thinking and just do it - you won't regret it!! This program and my time spent here will always hold a special place in my heart - I miss my children, the volunteers and the rest of the staff every day and I will definitely be back!

What would you improve about this program?
I only have a couple complaints about this program because overall it was fantastic. I think it could use a little more structure as far as the amount of volunteers that filter in and out - it takes about 2 weeks to truly get to know the children and how the school functions and some volunteers only stay for 2 weeks before they are gone. I also think the kids get really attached to some volunteers, so I worry about their psychological health with so many volunteers coming and going. I think that each new teacher MUST get an experienced teacher to co-teach with for the first week - I was teaching by myself when I first started out and it was extremely difficult for me. I also think that the volunteers should have a solid foundation of the English language before being able to teach it (there should be some sort of testing) because I found that a lot of the volunteers spoke very poor English and were teaching the children incorrectly.
52 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Lisa
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

VP Bali (4Weeks)

I am so impressed about how many kids come to the lessons and how well they do! I think i have learned a lot from them as well.

the most ipressive thing i have experienced here was one afternoon when we wanted to play a game with one part of the class while the other part was finishing a test. I asked them what they wanted to play and they told me they don't want to play!! They wanted to study, i was so impressed and it took me some time to think of something we could do! We ended up reading and they were happy.

Even the first class, i wanted them to learn vocabullary and started writing the words on the board. When i finished i turned to them to see that they had allready finished to copy the words and started to tell me the transalation in bahasa, some of them also started to shout otherr words that would go with that topic! The most impressive thing was that they knew every word the next day!!

52 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Helena
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing experience with VP Bali

I had an amazing time with VP Bali. All the staff is very kind, helpful and motivated. You always had fun with the kids and playing educational games helps them to learn English in funny way. Volunteers use Google drive to update diary to help new volunteers. You can also find games from Google Drive although I think it would be good if there were more games and ideas for volunteers. Anyway I had an amazing experience!

58 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Inaki
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My experience at VP Bali

My time here in Bali was very good, more than I expected, I get to know a lot of people in here but what I like and what I think was the best of my experience, were the kids, so full of energy and with so many hopes. I thought that I was coming to teach, but instead they teach me more than I could teach them. They just want to learn and have fun. There was a day that the other volunteers and I want them to play a game, but instead, they ask us for a book to read, we were so surprise because we just finished the lesson and then was time to play. That makes us realized that Volunteer Programs as this are so good for so many people, and also so needed in many places. I am greatful with Vp Bali because of this experience, they treat me so well and they were always there helping other voluunteers in the school and after the school. They really care about the kids and his future.

What would you improve about this program?
They need more donations for the materials, because it is not always enough. The kids want to learn so much and in so many different ways, that it would be better fot the kids to have more material.
47 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Marilisa
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing Experience Volunteer Work at VP Bali

Volunteer work abroad is the amazing experience to know about the culture, people and real life. Its a big immersion.
I have been volunteering with VPBali for 2 weeks and it was a great experience. The children are lovely and they like learning and enjoy with us. 2 weeks is too short time, but better than nothing and im so happy to helped the childrens new things in this time, like teaching them about articles. We just need make fun and they learning very fast. At the end of the day, we are (volunteers) satisfied with the result. Thats amazing.

We can teaching them english, but they give us more than this, they give attention, love and happinness.

For sure, i recommend this for everyone.

What would you improve about this program?
I know the children need have fun because this is the second school where they are going in the same day, but, I think the staffs need to incentive the volunteers to do more education games for children to pratice the vocabulary or learning new things. Funny and learning at the same time, not just games like: football. Its funny, but this kind the game they dont learning english at the same time.
More details on diary its good for help new volunteers and maybe on sunday meeting show the informations on google drive and explain about same games for new volunteer to be prepared for the first class.
42 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Gonzalo
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great experience. The staff was very nice and welcoming.

This NGO is inmersed quite deeply in the local community. Volunteering with them not only brings volunteers the experience of giving back and working with children but it also provides a deep understanding of the local culture and it makes the experience much better overall.
On my first week we got invited to a wedding and I, personally, got invited to the cooking ceremony the day before the wedding. These kind of ceremonies are only for men and for me it was an unforgettable experience that will for sure made me think differently of local food!
I don't know if I was just lucky with the timing or if it Always like this but I had so many cool things to do every day, two weeks flew so fast!
Housing was very good in terms of facilities and the local family was able to provide many different organized activities.

What would you improve about this program?
I think that the kids can learn more than they are learning currently. We play many fun games with them that are not very didactic, they are just for fun. Teaching English by playing games is definitely the way to go, but maybe it might be a good idea to avoid unuseful games and focus more on English (going more through the ESL sheets and giving them tests more often). I really believe that they can learn a lot more :) They are very lucky thatt they get this opportunity so let's make the most of it!
40 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Fiona
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Highly recommend this experience!!

I had an amazing time volunteering at VP Bali. I really like the transparency about where the money goes and of course all the incredibly dedicated staff behind the scenes who make it all happen.The children at the school are so full of life, friendly and all have a desire to learn like I have never seen before. I will miss them very much and they will have a special place in my heart forever. I can only recommend this wonderful organisation to anyone wanting to make a meaningful contribution and at the same time, enjoy the beautiful scenery of the magical place that is Bali.

What would you improve about this program?
i think there could be more clarity about the arrival procedure. Many people agree with me when I said that I felt quite lost after I got dropped off at the Homestay. There is often no one there which is rather worrying after a long journey. I understand that the driver cannot park there and help us, but I just walked around in the dark, looking for someone to tell me where to go.
46 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers

Ubud!

Hi Juliette! As far as I know volunteers only get transferred if there is a case of illness or cancelation, and only if it otherwise means that a certain class doesn't have a teacher. When I was volunteering I did not see anyone transferred, they are very well organized and try to accommodate everyone's wishes.

Hi Rowan, From my experience I can tell you that during your classes you can pick up a lot of Indonesian very quickly. If you want to go more into debt you can always follow an extra course which can be found easily.

Hi Cathryn, a social/cultural visa is needed for this program. More information here: http://volunteerprogramsbali.org/placement-info/indonesian-visa/