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Tag: teach

International Teaching Volunteers Wanted – Open to All???

International Teaching Volunteers Wanted – Open to All???

This is an article I wrote recently for our blog. As an ex-teacher, I of course hope lots of people will volunteer to improve the educational opportunities for children around the world. However it is important that this is done responsibly and thoughtfully to make sure these volunteers don’t do more harm than good. The article is designed to give some guidelines – it was included in discussions by the panel looking at alternatives to orphanage volunteering at the 2019…

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Maths in the sand

Maths in the sand

A short story of a moment in time, where Linky Nkuna used her finger to do maths in the sand, under a tree, and is now a part of digital learning revolution where the same finger is used to control an ipad, where maths is just one of the many educational programs she has access to. Learn more about our partners Good Works Foundation and how you can help this pioneering programme in South Africa here

local partners talk about our volunteers

local partners talk about our volunteers

We love hearing from local partners about our volunteers and their work … below are some recent updates from Treak in Cambodia and Hazyview in South Africa. First of all, here’s a brief synopsis of the varied skills and experience they brought to their projects and placements: Chris, Paul & Lynne worked in Treak and Katherine in Hazyview. Chris has worked for years in engineering and other practical projects, in the UK and overseas, as well as having coaching &…

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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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so proud of our partners -Tiger Mountain, Nepal

so proud of our partners -Tiger Mountain, Nepal

We are thrilled to announce that our partners at Tiger Mountain Nepal have just won a prestigious award that recognises their commitment to the environment and the communities they work with and in. Well done and well deserved all at Tiger Mountain To learn more about the volunteer programme we work on in partnership with Tiger Mountain – take a look here 

Fatima’s journey to school in Morocco

Fatima’s journey to school in Morocco

When you watch this short video about one girl’s journey from school to her village, you will understand why we support this life changing initiative. The boarding houses are so important. (**switch on subtitles**).   no more words … we will let Fatima explain but if you want to learn more about how you can support girls like Fatima take a look here.

“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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caring for vulnerable children – Dianne & local partner Sarah share inspiring developments

caring for vulnerable children – Dianne & local partner Sarah share inspiring developments

This article is written jointly by Dianne Ashman, voluntary programme advisor for people and places and Sarah Corley, director of volunteer and student travel at AOA.  AOA is people and places’ local partner in Swaziland. This is the story of six Neighbourhood Care Points (NCPs) in the Ezulwini Valley in Swaziland. NCPs were first started by UNICEF to provide support and care for children whose families were struggling with poverty and the effects of the HIV/AIDs epidemic. Their over-riding aim…

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meet three teachers from Swaziland-could you share your skills with them?

meet three teachers from Swaziland-could you share your skills with them?

this from Dianne, just back from working with the NCPs in Swaziland: I would like to introduce you to three teachers from the Neighbourhood Care Points we support in Swaziland, working hard to give pre-school children the knowledge and skills they need to give them a good start at school. These teachers receive a small allowance but not a full salary – they work more or less as volunteers because they genuinely care about the children in their care.