Arriving in Sri Lanka I arrived in Sri Lanka half asleep in the afternoon, I was expecting the chaos that greeted me when I first arrived in India (hundreds of people pushing and shoving to complete forms and get through immigration) but arriving in Sri Lanka was unbelievably calm, I queued for immigration and was through […]
VESL Volunteer Blog
How time flies… [Volunteer Journal]
Lucy Allcock is a student from Edgehill University and she is a volunteer in one of the Student Leadership Programme teams from Edgehill. Lucy has completed her first week in India, here she enlightens you all on how the time has flown by and what an amazing time she has had so far… Wow! It’s […]
Help – I need some tips to control my class
For students, having volunteers in their classroom is a new and exciting novelty, and like students anywhere they will try to push the boundaries at the beginning. Below are a few tips that will help you manage the behaviour of the students, particularly in those first few weeks as you settle into the role (some of them may sound very […]
Starting an After School Club
There are lots of opportunities to run extra-curricula activities and it is a great way to fully involve yourself in the project. Just make sure you ask permission from the school before you set anything up. My experience teaching English in Kerala I spent three months teaching English in Kerala. The students in the English medium class […]
Help! It’s monsoon season!
A lot of our volunteers go out in the summer months to fit in around university and teaching holidays, unfortunately this means that it is monsoon season in Thailand, India and Sri Lanka! Locals will try and stay inside when it is monsoon rain but there are times where you get caught out in it…and […]
Pre-departure checklist…
Your overseas trip with VESL comes around surprisingly quickly, here is a quick check list for you to run through before you go so that you know you are prepared and have everything you need! Passport – your passport has at least 6 months remaining from the date that you plan to leave the country you are volunteering in […]
Help! I don’t know what to pack
It is really difficult knowing what to pack for your trip overseas, when I first packed to go travelling I had a HUGE pile of things to take and a backpack – there was no way that I was going to be able to take a quarter of the stuff I had originally planned on […]
5 Fundraising Tips to Socialise your fundraising strategy
If you have been watching The Apprentice recently you might be bored of hearing the word ‘strategy’, however there is some truth in their insistence of having a STRATEGY!! So here is some advice to get you started… Since 2005 Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools have increased in popularity rapidly, this is great news […]
How do I communicate with home when I am overseas?
Going overseas can be quite daunting especially if it is your first time overseas without friends or family. There are lots of different ways to stay in contact with your nearest and dearest so here are a couple of suggestions! Phone Mobile phone is obviously the easiest way to communicate whilst abroad, however not with […]
Fundraising Inspiration
Not sure if you will be able to fundraise your contribution? It is not as hard as you might think and there are lots of different opportunities and ideas that will help you reach your target. A couple of past and current volunteers explain what they did to raise money: Eve Hadshar, India 2011 To […]
Ten Tips On Staying Safe Overseas
A lot of people worry about safety overseas, so here is a collection of advice to help you stay safe and assure you there is no need to panic! 1. Money belt 2. Large sums of money It is often easier to take large sums of money out of an ATM because a) you don’t […]
5 Things To See & Do in Kerala
After all the hard work that you put in during the week, the weekends are a great opportunity to explore the area around you. Kerala is famously known as ‘God’s own country’ because of its beauty and there are plenty of things to see and do, but here is what I consider the top five […]
VESL Volunteer Featured in Gap Year Travel Guide
Alex Quinn has been featured in a 2012 Gap Year Travel Guide… Alex is one of our long term volunteers in Northern Thailand on an 11 month project that began in Autumn 2011. Alex has been teaching English in a local primary school and also supports a special needs school near Chiang Rai. In […]
Volunteer Case-Study : A Day in the Life
“We made a difference by teaching English to children who live in poor conditions and seeing them improve day-by-day in their English language as well as having fun, smiling and laughing with happiness was a joy every day.” Emma Powell, Thailand, 2010-11
