GVI: Volunteer in Laos

I have recently completed 6 weeks volunteering in Luang Prabang, Laos on GVI’s Women’s Empowerment project. I had decided to take a year away from my western world and planned to travel solo throughout SE Asia. My decision to volunteer as part of my travels was spurred on by the wish to immerse myself in local culture and do something worthwhile rather than just being a tourist and GVI Luang Prabang did not disappoint me! The friendly staff were on hand to support with every step of lesson planning; clear instructions and training were provided and all the volunteers in my group were made to feel welcome and at ease.
My experience on this project left me feeling very humbled. I was unsure exactly what ‘Women’s Empowerment’ meant. I found myself teaching two very different but inspiring groups of women. The first, on a buffalo farm about 45 minutes ride outside of Luang Prabang. Here I met four incredible employees, who were striving to improve themselves by learning to speak English to enable them to engage with tourists visiting the farm. I was struck by how enthusiastic they were, and I really enjoyed our time together.
The second group was an amazing group of young women who were awesome in every way. In Laos many young girls living in the countryside have less opportunities to study as they must help their younger siblings. So, women have to work incredibly hard; leave their homes and move to Luang Prabang to pursue their dreams. Each young woman I taught had their own story but what struck me the most was how determined they all were. Relaxation time was something they experienced very little of and every moment was used to better themselves.
Whilst I was with them, we learnt about the skills of debating and held a debate with another young adults’ class on whether it was better to live in the city of the countryside. Debating is a difficult concept, but they managed this in another language so confidently and it was remarkable to witness. We followed this topic by looking at interview skills – the young women found it very hard to ‘blow their own trumpets’ but with practice and encouragement they achieved a good summary of what they could say in an interview.
As my 6 weeks came to an end, we had just started looking at successful young Asian women and this brought up another discussion regarding of all things, Philanthropy! A difficult subject to talk about in especially in English but they managed with ease and enjoyed learning along the way!
It was a privilege to be part of something so worthwhile and I was so impressed by the student’s determination to learn and the respect and gratitude that they showed.
If you’re considering volunteering then GVI Luang Prabang is special, so much so I plan to return next year! If you’re worried about the teaching side, then don’t be! You’re not expected to plan alone as help is always on hand from staff and other volunteers.

I have just spent six weeks volunteering with GVI in Luang Prabang on the Women’s Empowerment Program. This was my first time volunteering and spending six weeks in one place, and it was an amazing experience. When I arrived I was nervous about my ability to lead a classroom and provide lessons which had an impact on the children’s English.
In my first week I was provided with training and given a mentor for each of my classes. This meant that I soon became confident enough to start planning and teaching by myself. After two weeks I felt very excited to make resources and tailor the classroom to the students I enjoyed teaching and getting to know.
The beauty of the GVI program is the diversity of the partners in Laos – I taught at a temple in the morning with novice monks, then at a buffalo farm with local village children 40 minutes away from Luang Prabang town. In the afternoons, I had my women’s empowerment class, which was primarily teaching English to a class of 10 hardworking girls. For me, this meant that each class was very different and I was able to have variety in my teaching because of the range of classes you teach.
The volunteers all live together in one guest house, which means you quickly become close to the whole group. I came in an intake of lovely volunteers who all were keen to start making an impact in Laos, we were of all different ages which meant we had different strengths and different stories to tell. We had weekends off which allowed us to explore Luang Prabang as a group. We went to the waterfalls, jewelry class making and learnt how farmers make rice at Seven Brothers Farm.
I cannot recommend volunteering enough and Luang Prabang is the perfect calm town to spend months getting to know and live in.

Volunteering with GVI in Luang Prabang, Laos, was an incredible experience. From the moment I arrived I felt welcomed by the staff and other volunteers alike. The GVI staff is so dedicated to their work and to helping new volunteers get properly introduced to the program. During my 4 weeks stay I had the amazing opportunity to teach both novices and lay students. All the students were a joy to teach and each day with them was completely new. The accommodations were great and there were Asian as well as western foods to choose from. During the weekends there was time to explore the city and organise trips such as bathing elephants and seeing the famous Kuang Si waterfall. I loved every day of my time on the program and hope to return again soon.

I took retirement from my job as a nurse manager in the UK and needed a diversion to help me adjust to this life change. I searched the internet and was instantly attracted to the Womens Empowerment Programme run by Global Vision International (GVI) in the beautiful city of Luang Prabang, Laos.

GVI provided me with 10 hours of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and issued me with a certificate. This guidance, from GVI staff, gave me the necessary preparation for my teaching role. The instruction on lesson planning and using different teaching techniques and games were particularly useful. The GVI teaching staff provided mentorship, so I always felt supported.

My involvement with the Women's Empowerment Programme, where I was involved in teaching English and running careers workshops, was very rewarding. I had the opportunity to make a positive difference to these young women who have limited access to education and often limited life choices. GVI recognizes that teaching English improves employment opportunities for this group of young women. Also, the aim of the careers workshops is to help broaden their awareness of employment opportunities and choices. It was a pleasure to see their enjoyment when participating and they even chose to attend on a bank holiday!

Through volunteering with GVI I was also involved in the Days for Girls (DfG) menstrual health programme. This initiative provides health education and reusable menstrual hygiene products for women in rural communities. I taught a young Laos man about menstrual health which prepared him to be an ambassador for the DfG programme. It was a privilege to be part of a programme that is making a difference to the health, self esteem and daily living of these women.

Volunteering for GVI was an amazing cultural experience which I gained from immersing myself in the culture whilst working and living in Laos. For example, when teaching I had to dress appropriate to the Laos culture and wore a Sinh (Laos skirt) and collared shirt. This meant I was recognised and respected as a teacher by students and local people, hence I felt part of the community.

I learnt about the local customs, language and Buddhism through cultural talks run by GVI which enabled me to behave in a culturally appropriate way. My learning about the Laos language helped me to consider the difficulties in learning English and to adapt my teaching accordingly. I could speak a few words in Laos and locals appreciated a friendly greeting 'Sabaidee' with 'nob' gesture. As volunteers we participated in chanting and meditating at temples and gave early morning alms to Buddhists. I felt fortunate to participate in these rituals as a volunteer who was contributing to the community rather than observing as a tourist. I even experienced tourists wanting to take my picture when wearing my Sinh!

Another positive part of my time as a volunteer was experiencing the beautiful UNESCO world heritage sights and local countryside. The highlights of my trip included visiting temples, the food market, waterfalls, and the Mekong river.

My immersion into the culture when living and working for GVI in Luang Prabang has helped me adjust from retirement and consider new opportunities for my future. Overall my experience of volunteering and the country of Laos has been amazing. Being part of projects that are sustainable and make a difference to communities has made my experience all the sweeter.

I had a wonderful experience with GVI in Laos. I first went to Luang Prabang in 2012 as a tourist and I promised myself to go back one day. In 2017 when investigating where to teach in the world, Luang Prabang popped up on my screen, I was thrilled to go back. I had never taught English and I never spent eight weeks half way around the world. When I landed in Luang Prabang and was met by GVI’s staff and four other starting volunteers all worries were put to rest and knew I had made the right decision. There are anywhere from 12 to 20 volunteers at any given time. Some come for two weeks, others stay six months. Volunteers come from all over the world and are all age groups. The GVI staff are incredibly dedicated to their work and their enthusiasm is contagious. In the first week you’ll attend morning classes teaching you how to teach. They have a wonderful resource library and are very organized in the lesson planning. Every morning you will meet with your GVI mentor who will help you plan the day’s lesson, but it’s up to you to decide how to teach, what games you might play and to bring the needed resources to class. It’s a lot of fun to think of new ways to keep the students engaged. I taught two classes a day (along with another wonderful volunteer). The morning class was for novice monks, young boys that come from the neighboring Wats in order to learn and practice their English. My afternoon class were local girls and boys who are in school during the day and come to GVI for English classes. The kids are incredible, so happy to be learning and appreciative of your time. Most of the volunteers stay in the GVI guest house but there are options to stay in more private accommodations nearby. You’re given meals at a restaurant around the corner from a large set menu, but there are so many restaurants and the costs are very inexpensive, you’re also free to eat elsewhere. The volunteers have weekends off and there is loads of things to do in and around Luang Prabang. There are waterfalls and hiking in the mountains, art or cooking classes, visiting elephant sanctuaries, exploring the many Wats or just hanging out in the funky bars and restaurants. Luang Prabang is a hidden gem of a town on the Mekong River nestled in the mountains. I hope to make it back one day, I miss it and think of my time there often.

*EDITED

This was a great program when it was still running. It was run by a team of both local and international staff who had a wealth of experience in education and community development, and the training that volunteers received was of an exceptionally high standard considering most had no prior teaching experience and some only stayed for two weeks. It was no coincidence that the Laos programme was consistently rated the highest of all GVI's programmes.

However, GVI is a for-profit company and their primary interest is keeping shareholders satisfied. Sustainable and impactful programmes clearly do not fit with this ethos meaning that, as soon as Covid hit in March 2020, the programme was instantly closed with all staff being effectively laid-off, including local staff whose families depended on their salaries (not every country in the world could provide furlough schemes or government support!). As for the programme's beneficiaries and the international staff team, there was of course no support offered whatsoever. We were left to dismantle our classrooms and offices and put all equipment into storage in the hope that we may be able to resume as pandemic restrictions eased. That never happened.

GVI is the perfect choice if you want to spend thousands on a superficial voluntourism programme, and if you're not particularly bothered about where your money actually ends up. But I personally think it's worth doing a bit more research to find smaller organisations who put their communities first.

It's the 4th time I go teaching with GVI in Laos. It's an amazing program with real impact on the students. They are always doing their best and want to learn as much as possible. The staff is organized and truly involved!
The accommodation is really nice with well functioned showers and western toilets which is not in the most of volunteer programs. The volunteers are staying in the same house so everybody hang out and do some activities together. You can make friends, see another culture and help the most amazing people I've seen in this world. Lao are the nicest and they always give you the feeling to be welcomed.

Spending 8 weeks teaching Novice Monks English in the beautiful UNESCO location of Luang Prabang was the most life changing, rewarding, fulfilling opportunity. Words cannot describe the immense support and care shown by GVI to their volunteers. Support began before leaving home, to collection at the airport, organized accomodation, training, support during teaching the lessons and even help with appropriate clothing required to wear in the classrooom. Support even continued after leaving and returning home. Highly recommend this program to all, whether you are a gap year student or mature aged like me.