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Tag: community

Bats, Bikes and Building Futures in Cambodia

Bats, Bikes and Building Futures in Cambodia

by Sallie Grayson Programme Director So many memories from my recent trip to Cambodia – here are a few highlights Dusk just outside Battanbang. A quiet murmuring, growing louder and louder as a couple of dark specks appeared from the mouth of the cave. There was a prolonged gasp from those of us that were experiencing this incredible spectacle for the first time, and then a mass, slowly mounting in size. The bats were flying in a perfect curved formation………

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volunteering – the right people in the right places

volunteering – the right people in the right places

I (Kate) just LOVE my job and I thought you’d like to read these snippets from 2 recent volunteers about how ‘people and places’ works closely with volunteers, right from the beginning – doing our utmost to put the right people in the right places: SOPHIE ‘I was very impressed (and grateful!) that when my original allocated project proposed a job role that didn’t quite align with my experience, People & Places organised for me to change to Treak. This…

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Dianne’s travels in southern Africa continued . . . on to Port Elizabeth

Dianne’s travels in southern Africa continued . . . on to Port Elizabeth

My recent trip to South Africa culminated in two thoroughly enjoyable weeks spent in Port Elizabeth, working with Calabash, our wonderful local partners.  As always, they could not have been more friendly and welcoming – I immediately felt part of the team and we had a really great time working together.  Port Elizabeth is a fantastic place to volunteer – really worthwhile projects where you will spend your working day, a very supportive team to take an interest in what…

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“passing the baton” – volunteers and projects working together

“passing the baton” – volunteers and projects working together

When any new volunteer placement is accepted and agreed, we send previous volunteers’ reports and encourage our new volunteers to get in touch with those who have been to the same project before. This is a vital in enabling continuity of project support and placement roles – and also avoids volunteers “re-inventing the wheel”. Individual placement roles differ according to volunteers’ individual skills and experience – whether in education, training, practical skills, social care, nutrition, health care, social work –…

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we need your teaching skills – and not only in schools

we need your teaching skills – and not only in schools

Definition of teach: “cause (someone) to learn or understand something by example or experience.” Definition of skill: “The ability to do something well; expertise.” That’s what we are all about in all our volunteer projects {As an aside we are proud that our programme is a skills-share programme. However, we need to use the term “volunteer” because in this Google search age the vast majority of people use the word “volunteer” when they do their searches – not “skills-share”.} Many…

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Dianne reports on her recent visit to our education and community volunteer programme near Kruger, South Africa

Dianne reports on her recent visit to our education and community volunteer programme near Kruger, South Africa

I have recently returned from a visit to the project we support at Hazyview, run by our local partners Good Work Foundation.  They have been developing a revolutionary model of learning for rural Africa – Digital Learning Campuses, designed to bring children and young adults from rural areas into the 21st century by showing them how to access to the world’s body of knowledge and opportunities available through digital technology. I was last at the Hazyview Digital Learning Centre in…

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Cambodia – a volunteer stresses the importance of flexibility

Cambodia – a volunteer stresses the importance of flexibility

people and places’ volunteers have so many skills and experiences to share with local communities – the following from Stephanie, an American social worker with a particular interest in nutrition. I had an incredibly wonderful experience with Treak Community Centre . I enjoyed my time immensely and was able to quickly integrate into their work in the community! The staff members at  Treak Community Centre were very supportive, kind and welcoming. During my time there, I assisted the head teacher with…

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how I became a volunteer with Paul at Calabash

how I became a volunteer with Paul at Calabash

(the following is a story from volunteer, Anke) Paul and I met more than three years ago, when he left a short message on a people and places Facebook post about my volunteer placement in The Gambia. His comment turned out to be the beginning of an exciting chapter of the lives Paul and I shared for a while as colleagues, passionate advocates for responsible tourism and social justice, co-authors, and friends. It seems appropriate telling our story through the…

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new projects in Cambodia

new projects in Cambodia

New projects in Cambodia are on our website.  Take a look and see which project interests you in volunteering here. Siem Reap, with its close proximity to the World Heritage temples at Angkor Wat, is a popular destination for volunteers.  The projects we currently support there are two community centres, both doing fantastic work at providing education, training and community support for some of the poorest villages around Siem Reap.  They provide worthwhile and enjoyable placements for volunteers who have…

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please don’t let negative press put you off volunteering

please don’t let negative press put you off volunteering

people and places was founded to make volunteering a better experience for volunteers and the communities they work with – we decided the best way to campaign for better was through example. We believe in the power of well matched and well prepared volunteers – we believe the overwhelming majority of people want to do good….but we also see the damage being done in communities where poorly thought out, managed and monitored programmes are being run. We believe volunteers and…

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