We will be bringing you a series of blog posts from our Student Leaders and past volunteers about their experiences of working with VESL and some handy tips for preparing to go overseas. Our first post comes from James Hallworth a student at Edgehill University. I have just finished my second year of studies at […]
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Fundraising Idea: Writing To A Trust
A really good way to fundraise money is through applications to charitable trusts and foundations, there are nearly 10,000 different trusts and foundations in the UK alone who in 2011 gave over £3.6 billion to a range of different causes. Most charitable trusts and foundations work through giving away income on capital investment, trustees are […]
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 […]
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 […]
What’s included in my volunteer contribution?
Details of what is and isn’t included within your volunteer contribution / project cost…
Why can’t I volunteer in India for more than 5 months?
As things currently stand, the Indian authorities ‘issue‘ a visa to start on the ‘date of issue‘ rather than the ‘date of entry‘; in other words, your visa runs from the date it gets stamped into your passport. This means that you’ll need to leave the application until as late as is comfortably possible. In […]
Why does volunteering overseas cost money?
All of our volunteers are required to contribute towards the cost of setting up, supporting and running their project. A charity not asking for contributions towards the cost of running its programme isn’t likely to support you overseas! VESL is a registered charity and not run for profit. Everyone within VESL has experience as an […]
What do I bring as my ‘Teaching Object’?
We ask everyone invited to attend a selection event to bring along a ‘teaching object’, teaching aid or resource that you would find useful when teaching English overseas. It can be anything you like and can be for general use or for a specific lesson. You get a chance to discuss your choice of object […]
Can I apply if I live outside the UK?
We’d love to be able to say we could place everyone that applied but we’re required to interview all volunteers before we can offer anyone a place. Volunteers are also required to attend a training event before heading out to project. Unfortunately all our selection and training events are UK based so if you’re unable […]
I’m concerned I don’t have enough experience
This is a common concern and a natural one for people thinking of volunteering overseas for the first time. We don’t have any set requirements as such so we’d encourage everyone interested to apply even if you don’t have any direct teaching or overseas experience. The reason we try to be as flexible as possible […]
Can I Volunteer with my children?
Unfortunately we’re not able to send families or Parent and Child couples overseas at this point. Although we’d love to be able to accommodate families, we don’t foresee a time when we’ll be able to accept families or under 18 year-olds into our programme. The logistics of setting up, running and supporting family projects simply […]
