World Camp: Service Learning in Malawi

I volunteered with World Camp in 2009 and had an amazing experience. I had never been to Malawi before but World Camp's staff made me feel comfortable and excited about its efforts in rural primary schools from the very first moment.

I really enjoyed being able to work directly with teachers, students, and community stakeholders in World Camp's communities and I learned a whole lot. My experience gave me a completely different perspective on development that has been really important for me. I think that World Camp is exceptionally strong at providing a great learning experience for its volunteers while at the same time providing its volunteers with the opportunity to conduct meaningful work that I believe has a positive and long lasting impact on the communities it works with.

During my time in Malawi I made many new friends that I am still in touch with today and I think World Camp's staff did a great job at making sure it was also just a really fun 5 weeks. I really recommend this program to anyone interested in learning more about development while conducting great work in Malawian primary schools!

My trip to Malawi was exactly what I needed and wanted. I wanted to experience traveling internationally while also helping others. World Camp was the perfect mix. I learned an incredible amount from teaching. More importantly, I learned from the students, teachers, villagers, and my co-volunteers. I will never forget the experience and I cannot wait to return.

I decided not to study abroad during my junior year of college, but I was still interested in experiencing a culture very different from my own. I heard about the World Camp summer session through a friend. It sounded like the perfect combination of volunteer work and traveling. During the summer of 2012, I decided to give it a try! It was a wonderful trip. I loved that I was able to travel and experience another culture (especially through the home stays) while giving back to the communities that were gracious enough to host us. I could not have spent five with nicer people; the other interns, the World Camp staff, and our village hosts were all amazing.

I first volunteered on the Youth To Youth outreach program in 2012, and I loved it so much I chose to return to Malawi in summer of 2013 to repeat the program. Over the course of five weeks, I taught students in four different primary schools about HIV/AIDs, Malaria, hygiene/sanitation, and nutrition. Teaching in these classrooms was such a positive experience for me that I am choosing to pursue teaching as a career.
For much of the program I lived in the World Camp house in the city, which was very comfortable. We also did homestays in the rural villages where we taught, which is on of my favorite parts about the program.
Although my parents were apprehensive about sending me to Malawi, they quickly realized that the World Camp staff were wonderful, and were receptive to any problems or concerns that arose during the program, and I was incredibly safe in Malawi.
The two summers I spent in Malawi were life changing, and I definitely recommend the World Camp program to anyone looking for an amazing experience!

My name is Juliette O'Connor. I am from Monaco and am 15 years old. I volunteered for World Camp in 2013 on the Youth To Youth session that summer.
I cannot imagine a more perfect experience to start my love of traveling. I was only fifteen an therefore the 5 weeks program sounded very hard to me. However the minute i got to Malawi i fell in love. The beauty that comes with being in such a country left me in awe.
The program itself exceeded far beyond any expectations i had. Over the course of three weeks we went and taught in four different schools the basics of HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Nutrition. Our efforts i believe were much appreciated as at every school the headmasters thanked us and asked us when we would be back. It breaks my heart to know that maybe I will never be back, but i strive back at home hoping that one day i shall. My experiences will live on through memories with which i bare a huge joy at having taken part in World Camp.

I volunteered with World Camp in January of 2010 and cannot imagine a better volunteer experience or organization. I participated in a 4-week program in Malawi which was perfect for me as a first time international volunteer. We spent 4 days at each rural primary schools teaching about HIV, environmental degradation, and gender empowerment. World Camp's detailed curriculum and thorough in-country orientation lets teachers and non-teachers alike thrive in the classroom. All the material I received pre-departure was helpful, accurate, and comforting.

World Camp takes a different approach than many similar organizations, and it's an approach I truly respect. World Camp focuses on education, fostering critical thinking, and building local capacity as opposed to infrastructure or handing out small loans. As a result, World Camp students emerge from camps with new information, a more critical worldview, and a wonderful support network at their school. It was an amazing feeling leaving after just four days at a school knowing my students were more empowered and had the tools to become a driving force for change in their own communities.

The volunteer experience is at the heart of World Camp's programming. We were led by two wonderful Program Coordinators whose passion for Malawi, global equality, and education was clear. The volunteer house is in a great location in the city, but we also did a homestay with the families of our students to learn more about rural Malawian life outside school. In addition to teaching, our leaders had great activities planned for us in the evenings and weekends including a beautiful hike up Mt. Nkhoma, opportunities to play with babies at the Crisis Nursery, relaxing afternoons are restaurants with live music, and the chance to shop in local markets.

Volunteer with World Camp - you definitely won't regret it!