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Location
  • Sri Lanka
Length
2 to 52 weeks
Project Types
Agriculture Arts Community Development Building Projects Youth Conservation Sea Turtle Conservation Environmental Conservation Reforestation Wildlife Conservation Elephant Conservation Primate Conservation Education Teaching Computer Literacy Health Psychology Women's Rights Professional Development Tourism +10

Program Details

Language
English
Age Min.
16
Age Max
65
Timeframe
Year Round
Housing
Hostel
Groups
Small Group (1-15) Medium Group (16-30) Large Group (31+)
Travel Type
Older Travelers

Pricing

Starting Price
500
Price Details
Included: 5 night / week accommodation & breakfast
Included: 4 evening meals (you will probably want to travel and explore, and so we work a 4 day week, with 3 days off to enable you to enjoy the country, relax, or study.)
Included: Induction training
Excluded: Local transport (approx $1 / day 4 days a week)
Excluded: Travel Insurance
Excluded Flights and Visa/s
What's Included
Some Accommodation Some Meals Wifi
What's Not Included
Activities Airfare Airport Transfers Domestic Airfare Some Accommodation Some Activities Some Meals Transportation Travel Insurance Visa
Jul 28, 2018
Mar 29, 2025
Wish List
23 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Join our year round education, and village development projects in Sri Lanka. Make a transforming difference in your life and theirs whilst experiencing a culture from within. We teach, and run holiday clubs in pre-schools, government schools across the age groups, child monks' schools, orphanages, as well as in villages, in which we also have development and conservation programmes. We also teach in colleges, and a university.

We are in a rural province, its forests, lakes, and paddy fields patrolled by elephants, giant squirrel, hornbills, and mongoose - just a part of life here. We love Sri Lanka, and so will you!

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Video and Photos

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Volunteer holding a deer
The Variety of Teaching in Anuradhapura
Give a Fig Volunteering
Give a Fig Volunteering male and female clay
Give a Fig Volunteer tour bus
Children in Sri Lanka
male and female playing a game
Children in cafeteria
Give a Fig volunteers and the sri lanka community

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Program Highlights

  • The correct visas to volunteer in Sri Lanka
  • Our own HQ and branded Fig and Gecko, and independently reviewed accommodation, and restaurant.
  • 24/7, 360 degrees support from your UK support team in Sri Lanka.
  • Meaningful long term projects
  • You'll leave Sri Lanka having experienced its culture and people.

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Program Reviews

5.00 Rating
based on 9 reviews
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  • Impact 5
  • Support 5
  • Fun 4.85
  • Value 5
  • Safety 4.85
  • Program Selection 5
  • Pre-departure Help 5
  • In-program Support 5
  • Impact on Student 5
  • Value 4.7
Showing 9 - 9 of 9 reviews
Default avatar
Ruth
69
Female
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Have an unforgettable time in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Jan 2, 2017

We are both retired teachers and volunteer organisers, and joined this Give A Fig programme for 1 month. Organised and arranged by Paul and Jane who lead Give A fig, they coordinated everything with the university, including our accommodation and food. We taught for 16 days over 20, and had 10 days holiday. The monks – the university lecturers – were a pleasure to work with, and we had an amazing time in this fabulous country. Nothing was too much trouble, we were treated very well, and supported throughout. I would thoroughly recommend volunteering with Give A Fig Volunteering; you’ll have an amazing time.

80 people found this review helpful.
Helpful

Questions & Answers

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Paul Ellmes

Program
Volunteer on the Island in the Indian Ocean that Holds a Continent
Job Title
Founder / CEO

What is your favorite travel memory?

I began travelling at 16, when I joined the merchant navy, and have been to every continent bar Antarctica and Australasia.

Overall, the most memorable parts of each journey are the new experiences, the characters - both the many friendly and welcoming people and the obligatory rogue - and the culture and history that open your eyes to our varied, but shared world.

My most recent experiences aside from Sri Lanka have been in the Middle East, where people have been remarkably friendly. Jordan in particular was quite magical, as it encapsulated such diversity and friendliness.

I remember Jane being mobbed in Jerash by a group of 20 young women who all wanted a group photo with her, and in the same place, boys and girls in the Roman centre dancing together to music form a big stereo blasting out Jordanian music.

Perhaps the greatest contrast we have seen has been between SE Asia's obvious lack of wildlife and the relatively huge amount still in Sri Lanka - we saw more here in 1 week in 2014, than in 10 weeks in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia the previous year.

This was one of the many factors that led us to work in Sri Lanka when we were asked to set up an education center here in Anuradhapura by the government.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

Through various unplanned encounters, Jane and I we were invited by the government to begin an education company here, which has led to us work with teachers and schools to upskill teachers of English, and bring English to life in schools, in orphanages, as well as in villages.

As a result, we are also involved in development work and conservation, and so we began a volunteering company to offer these incredible opportunities to people to experience Sri Lanka and to work on government partnered projects that will not only look great on your CV, but will also change lives.

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

That they had such a great time, and wanted to return, and that the experience had left an indelible mark on them is the common thread I hear.

Whether this may be in learning new skills they'd like to carry on with, or in being touched through seeing how people with seemingly so little to western eyes, appear to have so much, to be so happy, and to be so generous with their time and money.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

I would definitely go on our school education program, which is for anyone who speaks English well - whether you are professional teachers, retired teachers, aspiring to teach, or those who simply want to coach and talk and work in a structured and well supported environment for an experience like no other. Help in the classroom, help at break time, play and coach sports, arts and drama - through English.

The staff and children are so welcoming, and have such a great desire to work with others to learn English and to develop their confidence. With this experience, outside the school, you could work teaching and coaching in one of the world's leading orphanage charities.

This program with the government, and with us as a non-profit will really support your CV.

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

We are a UK non-profit education and development volunteering company based in Sri Lanka, working in partnership with the Sri Lankan government, and universities.

We are small enough to plan your experience to suit you, and large enough to deliver fantastic experiences. This means that we are on hand to support you, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

We operate our own accommodation, and we can assure you that you will not be on your own. Our prices reflect the fact that we want you to join us and be committed to what we do, and we believe that you will find them to be incredibly good value for money.

Your certificates and letters of commendation will reflect the professional nature of your volunteering, as you will be working directly in government and local government positions.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

Ensuring that everything we do, we do as well we possibly can, for all involved.

Location

Location:
Sri Lanka
Currency:
Sri Lankan Rupee
Weather:
Jan-Mar
93 F / 48 F
Apr-Jun
95 F / 55 F
Jul-Sep
91 F / 55 F
Oct-Dec
90 F / 52 F
Airports:
Bandaranaike International
( CMB )
Batticaloa
( BTC )
Mattala International
( HRI )

If you want to spend your days by the water doing yoga, or in the water surfing; Sri Lanka is perfect for either. Sri Lanka has been an up and coming destination for years and is still relatively uncrowded.

About Give A Fig Volunteering

We're a UK non-profit operating on the beautiful safe varied and exciting island of Sri Lanka. We offer unique fully supported government partnered education and development projects, and set the standard for volunteering as official education partners of the Sri Lankan government. We offer professional, and non-professional volunteering and...

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