Location
  • Thailand

Program Details

Language
English

Pricing

Price Details
What You Get For The Fee:
* Volunteer placement
* Pre Departure Preparation Information
* 3 day In-country Orientation
* Homestay or other accommodation
* All meals at the placement
* English speaking contact persons in Thailand and Laos
* Travel advice
* Important documents, including pre-departure packs
Dec 16, 2016
Dec 18, 2017
1 traveler is looking at this program

About Program

Be the change. Be a real volunteer in a real and affordable grass roots project, offering relevant and qualifed support to overseas volunteers.
Get the opportunity to work with the local people, to experience their country, village, culture and nature through their eyes.

Depending on your skills you can:

* Teach English
* Computer skills
* Design websites, create databases or other qualified IT work
* Create information material in English
* Conduct tour guide training at national parks
* Conduct hospitality training for home stay families in villages.
* Make forest or marine wildlife surveys
* Child care
* Health care

Join the best 3 day Volunteer Training in SE Asia, intense learning by doing language, culture and teach training, lots of practical tasks, before you start.

The Training is open to other travelers too, who do not have the time to volunteer.

Program Reviews

4.59 Rating
based on 17 reviews
  • 5 rating 76.47%
  • 4 rating 17.65%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 5.88%
  • Impact 4.3
  • Support 4.7
  • Fun 4.55
  • Value 4.35
  • Safety 4.65
Showing 9 - 16 of 17 reviews
Default avatar
Sam
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best decision you'll make

I went when I was 19 and spent 3 months at the OpenMinds training centre in Nongkhai and 2 weeks in a remote Laos village.

The time at the training centre was amazing and the people are so friendly and nice. You meet other people volunteering and the town is beautiful and a much better Thai experience than just going to the party islands. The staff also know some incredible places to visit nearby as well.

The village in Laos was probably the most challenging but most rewarding thing I have ever done.

100% recommend and the prices are so much better than most volunteer places where it costs a fortune to help out just because of admin fees.

36 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Brian
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing experience!!

Fünf Tage Nong Kai mit eine ganze Menge an kulturelle und sprachliche Information...mit Mikrowelle und Kaffee in englischer Umgebung waren einfach im Vergleich zu dem was kommen würde.

Eine Handvoll Menschen die, wie ich auf der suche nach Veränderung. ..einem tieferen Sinn im leben. .den Wunsch, sich im Dunkeln unserer westlichen Kultur und Stress...das Streben nach Erfolg...finanzieller Sicherheit und Status, für eine kurze (oder längere) Zeit, gleichzeitig ein Licht der Hoffnung fur andere zu sein...sie zu motivieren..sie und sich tiefer wahrzunehmen. Eine echte "win-win" situation zu erfahren.

Wir alle sind dann in den verschiedensten Ecken Asiens verreist. ..gewinnen jeden tag an Dankbarkeit für das was man hat. ..wägen was wichtig und unwichtig ist im leben ab.

An dem, meinem eigenen Projekt angekommen. ..müde vom Fliegen....Angst vor dem was und wer mir bevorstehen würde. ..wurde mir mit der zeit so einiges klarer.
Der Umgang mit anderen fängt glaube ich damit an, wie man mit sich selbst ungeht. Eine Sprache nicht sprechen zu können. .ein Außenseiter zu sein..zu fühlen wie man "studiert" wird machte mich unsicher. Jedoch. ..nach einer Zeit sind durch zusammarbeit. .Geduld. ..mit etwas Humor echte Freundschaften fürs Leben entstanden. Das zweite solar Projekt. .mit langen tagen..Stechmücken das es knallt...mit einfachstem Werkzeug, etwas gemeinsam zu schaffen daß den Menschen hier Vorteile bringt, und einem das Gefühl gibt, etwas für künftige Generationen zu hinterlassen...eine Art "zeitzeuge" zu sein... das macht das alles wett.

An Orte zu sein die so wunderschön sind, daß nur der Anblick einem den Atem raubt. Das rauschen des Meeres...schlafen auf einem Boot unter freiem Himmel. ..exotische Tiere, Insekten, Essen und Lebensansicht...unserer welt..Mutter Erde auch von ihrer rauen Seite erleben zu dürfen.

Nach drei Wochen hier weiß ich...ganz tief in mir, dass das Leben einmalig ist..wir müssen es genießen...auch die unangenehmen Dingen. Den die zeit, in der ich diese Zeilen schreibe..bereits Vergangenheit ist...nie mehr zurück zu bringen. Sich mit dingen wie Erfolg oder Status sind wirklich nicht wichtig... Familie. ..Freunde. .das Lachen und gemeinsam gutes Essen genießen...sich die zeit zu nehmen, einfach im Leben anzuhalten und bewusst das, und vor allem wem wir in unserem Leben haben zu schätzen...einfach lächeln weil man dafür dankbar ist.

Live your life...love your life. ..jeden Tag aufs neue. Sei froh am leben zu sein...teil dein Leben und sei teil des Lebens anderer. Mit Respekt...Hoffnung...Geduld und Nächstenliebe...mit so einem Projekt!

Sie werden es nicht bereuen!!!

30 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Gustav
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

English teacher in Laos

I had a great time at OpenMind Projects. Assigned to a small village in Laos, I had the privilege to take on a lot of responsibility from day one. I was able to form my own classes with the students and always felt that I had great support from the OMP staff.

Everything with travelling, accommodation, expenses and security went fine, despite the fact that this village was one of the newest projects. The professionalism at OMP was the supporting reason for this.

I would not hesitate to recommend OMP to anyone, regardless of age.

What would you improve about this program?
I would have wished to do this together with someone. Although, this is more up to me than the organization.
31 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Anna
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Join the team!

I spent about 6 months working in the Openmind Projects Office in Nong Khai.

I found the staff here were very friendly welcoming, and I soon felt at home and able to contribute to the development of the organisation. Working alongside local staff and trainees was a great way to experience the very different culture of Thailand, and learning to adapt to a new and strange workplace was also valuable.

As a small organisation, you truly feel that you are joining the team - whatever type of program you are on. You can see for yourself how highly valued your contributions are. OMP's local expertise and grassroots set up means that you know that volunteers are being sent to projects where they are needed and can help.

I highly recommend the Volunteer & Cross Cultural Training. I learnt a lot through it, and have seen many volunteers come and go who found it equally beneficial. OMP continues to provide a high level of support to volunteers beyond the training, too.

29 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
laura
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

great!

An amazing experience! I can’t believe how much I learnt within one month volunteering with the Marine Conservation program in Phuket. I would ride a bike from my house located in a small village amongst the forest and by the Andaman Sea to the office. Every day brought upon a new adventure! One day I assisted the Marine National Park with collecting seaweed for experiments, the next few days I was on a seven hour car and boat ride to the island Koh Thalu to help conduct reef and fish checks, and the next day I was in the office helping make a presentation document for the ‘Strengthening Andaman Marine Projected Areas Network Program’ team. It really was so diverse and fun. Overall, this experience was life changing. Living amongst the Thai community away from the tourist region just helped me learn so much more about the culture and got me out of my comfort zone. I left Thailand feeling I had made a positive contribution to the preservation of Marine life in the Andaman Sea.

I would definitely recommend the Thai Culture course in Nong Khai. The team there really prepared and helped me understand Thai living, working, food and social cultural differences. And they were always only an email or call away when I had any enquiry whilst volunteering. Thanks Openmind Project team for this rewarding experience!

30 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Jeremy
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A Very Worthwhile Experience

I volunteered with Openmind Projects for four months in 2013. I lived in Nong Khai and taught english to trainees at the volunteer organisation, novice monks and school students. I also helped with making videos and presentations.

I found the experience immensely worthwhile. Openmind Projects provided a great base for my time in Thailand. I made lots of new friends through my involvement with the organisation and got to experience Thai culture and cuisine.

Openminds is an organisation helping a lot of younger people become educated in english language and computer skills. I learnt a great deal about working with people from different backgrounds and would highly recommend the experience to anyone wanting to contribute to a worthwhile cause whilst experiencing a new culture.

What would you improve about this program?
The organisation is comprised of people from various cultural backgrounds. This can lead to some misunderstandings and potential frustration. I would recommend volunteers to be prepared to to be tolerant and relaxed and to smile and just go with it :)
32 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Helen
1/5
No, I don't recommend this program

Poor administration, poor communication, more expensive than others

I have done a number of volunteer placements on a number of subjects and each have run smoothly and worked as advertised. Until now.
I enrolled in two projects, both with months of notice and planned a three month holiday around the dates of the projects. For both quite a bit of travel off my beaten path was involved.

For the first "teaching" project I was advised three days before the start of the project that I was unable to go to the school and teach as the school had something else on. I did get my fees refunded. But by the time I was advised I had already spent money especially to get to the area where the teaching was happening so then had to return to where I came from.

The second placement was in another country from where I was in Asia and I travelled there and went to the school, only to find that they didn't know I was coming and had some obligations that meant that I could not teach there either.

Right from when I registered for the first project the communication was terrible with me having to send two or three emails before I got a response. Then to be told three days before the start of one project that it was not going to happen is really poor.

Open Mind advertise as a low cost Voluntourism option. In comparison to other projects I have done, they are not. Most projects are all inclusive costs, where the two I enrolled in did not include anything other than the administration of the project. By the time I added in my accommodation, meals, travel to the school etc it was no longer a low cost option and actually cost more than many others. and in my case they didn't happen either.

If I add in the lost airfares and accommodation deposits that I paid for projects that didn't happen then this project was very expensive.

33 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
JDRArabicChineseThai
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A great, exhausting time gone all too fast...

The time spent teaching with OMP strongly impacted my thinking and plans. It was what made me decide that I wanted to be a teacher, and it really helped me to find a lot of confidence in communicating with members of other nations and cultures. The one major drawback: it didn't last long enough.

Before I go any further, I'll explain the last comment. We came on the program over our winter break, so we were trapped in a time that actually was rather inconvenient. Between touring and the school being closed for the kids' winter break, we only got to spend a few days teaching. Poor timing on our part was what cut our experience short.

That being said, I wish we'd had more time. The kids at Klong Yang Elementary were wonderful, full of energy and eager to learn. The teachers all gave us support and were able to help us when we started to feel overwhelmed. The entire community was very welcoming and made every effort to accommodate us.

The OMP personnel were also very helpful. Our coordinator gave us lots of help in the form of transportation, instruction and serving as a local guide at times. We were able to see the best of Krabi thanks to her knowledge of the area, including places we most likely would have overlooked on our own. She taught us some basic, practical Thai, such as how to greet locals, how to bargain in the language, and how to avoid making fools of ourselves (we did anyway). We were introduced to their circle of friends, including fellow volunteers and an amusing radio personality named Dtaa, who made us laugh ourselves silly several times.

The biggest difficulties we encountered were ones which we'd all expected: attempting to communicate and trying to teach English. Both of these were solved with trial and error; some lessons we taught were wonderfully received, while others elicited puzzled looks. We also had our share of miscommunications, some of them leading to very amusing results. These are things which any volunteer teacher should expect no matter where he or she goes, and rather than be embarrassed, embrace the experience and learn from it.

My verdict? Go. You won't regret it.

34 people found this review helpful.
Read my full story

Questions & Answers