Youth Festival is a festival that occurs every year at schools in India where students are put in competitions for a range of different activities from English recitation to traditional dance, from comedy sketches to Malayalam speeches. The festival is over two days and it was a great chance for us to see some more […]
Student Leader Diary – India 2012 – Opening a School Library
We were very lucky to receive a donation of books from Usborne Books before we left, and there was a great selection of books for the children to use. With these books and money we had raised, we decided, with permission of the school, that it would be good to start a school English library […]
Student Leader Diary – India 2012 – Free time…what free time?!
In true context of this post, we have been so busy that we have not had time to write another post – so although this a little delayed… here is my next post about what we have been up to in our free time! We have managed to become involved in lots of different activities […]
Student Leader Diary – India 2012
For the next five weeks I am a Student Leader for the volunteers that are in India this summer, my next couple of blog posts will reflect on this role and my time in India. Arrival in India My first week in India has finished all too quickly and it has been an amazing, busy week! […]
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! 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 […]
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 […]
New 2011 Photos
We’ve been able to collate photos from a number of our 2011 volunteers and have just added 4 new photo galleries… Kerala 2011 Thanks go to Elaine Abili & Kath McGuire for their photos from the summer of 2011. Elaine was helping to develop a new project in Southern Kerala for 3 months from June […]
A review of 2011
2011 has certainly been a busy year for VESL… here are a few highlights from the year : Kerala We had great success with our new programme working in schools within fishing communities in Kerala (South India). All of this year’s volunteers did a magnificent job in helping to lay down the foundations of this programme. […]
Help! I Don’t Understand What People Are Saying!
Sometimes you will have trouble understanding the people around you. It might be your host family or the other teachers at the school or your students or the bus conductors or the people in the shop or just about anyone. There are things you can do to make it easier. Ask Them To Slow Down […]
What To Wear While Teaching in India & Sri Lanka
It is important to be dressed appropriately while teaching. And what is considered appropriate is different in different countries. (These suggestions apply to Sri Lanka and India) For Male Volunteers First rule – Don’t wear shorts! It’s important to be seen as a respected member of the teaching faculty and, even if you don’t […]
Gifts For Your Host Family
I’ve stayed with lots of people whilst volunteering in India and in Sri Lanka and I’ve always found it difficult to buy gifts for people. What exactly is an appropriate gift?
VESL Volunteers Profiled in Adult Gap Year Guide
Two of VESL’s past volunteers in India and Sri Lanka have been profiled in Susan Giffith’s new book, ‘Gap Year’s for Grown Ups’
Using Art to help teach English
Here is a story of some primary students at a school India from a volunteer who had success using art projects in the classroom. “The students were quite disruptive and could be a handful at times. The school was in a poor fishing community in Kerala and many of the students came from very difficult […]
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Past Volunteer Feedback
- Travel Advice: Homesickness April 23, 2014
- Volunteer Co-ordinator: Dhanya April 15, 2014
- Teaching Advice: New Ideas April 14, 2014
- Volunteer Co-ordinator: Renata April 8, 2014
- Volunteer Co-ordinator: Ola April 1, 2014