Job Discussion Forums

Gold Rush · Joined: 18 Oct 2005 Posts: 86

No-fee volunteering in Thailand

I'm looking for a worthwhile volunteer opportunity in Thailand. I'm surprised to find many organizations offering positions require the candidate to pay a fee. Are there any specific organizations that offer volunteering on a no-fee basis.

Work/support in exchange for food and/or shelter.

Please advise,

Volodiya · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 3:45 am Post subject:

Kent F. Kruhoeffer · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 2129 Location: 中国

Hello Gold Rush & Joe (a.k.a. special agent Volodiya) !

Over the past 2 years, I've collected a few links with regard to volunteering.

Some of the programs below offer TEFL training as part of the 'deal'

some are fee-based, and some *pay you* a small stipend.

About the only thing they have in common is that all

the groups below offer programs in Thailand.

In other words, it's a mixed bag:

VOLUNTEER in THAILAND

http://www.worldvision.or.th/ (World Vision Thailand)

http://www.thai-dragonfly.com/ (Thai Dragonfly Placements)

http://www.kiasia.org/ASIT/index.htm (Kenan Institute Asia)

http://www.volunthai.com/ (VolunThai / Volunteers for Thailand)

http://www.geocities.com/maesotbvp/ (Burma Volunteer Program)

http://www.karenhilltribes.org.uk/kht/ (Karen Hilltribes Trust)

http://www.ciee.org/teach.aspx (CIEE / Teach in Thailand)

http://www.globalservicecorps.org/ (Global Service Corps)

http://www.worldendeavors.com/Thailand/ (World Endeavors)

http://www.cultural-ecology.com/ (Institute for Cultural Ecology)

http://www.ls-thailand.com/job_volunteer.html (Language Services)

http://www.neohumanistfoundation.org/ (Neo-Humanist Foundation)

http://www.ffc.or.th/htmleng/engpage1/page.htm (Foundation for Children)

http://culturalextremes.com/ (Cultural Extremes / together with TEFL Int)

http://www.bangkokpost.com/outlookwecare/index.html (We Care)

http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/ (Cross-Cultural Solutions)

http://www.go-mad.org/index.php (Go Make a Difference)

http://www.volunteer.org.nz/ (Global Volunteer Network)

http://www.openmindprojects.org/ (Open Mind Projects)

http://www.globalcrossroad.com/ (Global Crossroad)

http://www.travel-to-teach.org/ (Travel-to-Teach)

http://www.peacecorps.gov/ (Peace Corps)

http://www.vso.org.uk/index.asp (VSO)

http://www.afs.org/AFSI/ (AFS)

all links are "up" as of 14.11.05

reposted from The Master Index Thailand
located at the top of the Thailand Forum !

updated 3 January 2006

Legolarse · Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 36 Location: UK

I am volunteering through Burma Volunteer Programme (link above). My experience hasn't been entirely without glitches, but in general it is a good organisation which provides placements with (usually) fairly needy Burmese refugee organisations along the border area. You don't get paid but you don't pay them anything and you get food and shelter with your organisation, plus 200 baht monthly photocopying costs; they also pay for visa renewals. Living and working conditions are fairly basic if you are used to luxury (cold showers, two rice-based meals a day, limited teaching resources, unpredictable students....), but I don't have a problem with that and you meet some interesting people, often significant figures in the pro-democracy movement.

If you want to know more, mail me or BVP itself.

I also know a school (which i recently visited) in a refugee camp which needs volunteer teachers, particularly over the summer holidays (mid-march to end of may), but they will probably want to vet you before you go and the conditions there are much more basic (there is no electricity, never mind photocopiers and computers) and difficult in other ways. It would suit an experienced teacher. Contact me (not BVP) if you are interested in that.

newinSeoul · Joined: 19 Sep 2005 Posts: 64

Has anyone ever volunteered with Cultural Extremes/TEFL International? I am looking into going to Thailand and also getting my TEFL course with the program. Is the the four week TEFL International course highly regarded all over the world?

Any info appreciated?

Legolarse · Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 36 Location: UK

I think the only tefl courses that have any real international reputation are the CELTA and the Tesol; i think the celta may have the edge in terms of reputation but both are about equal i think. Both last four weeks are very intensive and cost around 1500-2000 USD.

kenkannif · Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 550

All courses are TESOL courses mate, I assume you mean the Trinity course.

But most if they comply to the supposed international standard (100 hours class time, 6+ hours OTP) are accepted worldwide.

Bruce · Joined: 22 Feb 2003 Posts: 51 Location: Around the world

TEFL International is the largest TESOL Certificate course provider in the world, so as far as recogntion goes, CELTA is probably the only one that tops us but with 17 full-time centers in every corner of the globe, we are pretty well known.

We offer the following:

FREE TESOL: Training for anyone that is going to work as a pure volunteer. Thats right. Prive to us that you are really going to be a volunteer and we will train you or free.

FREE PLACEMENTS: This is actually through Cultural Extremes but we willa ssist anyone in finding a VOLUNTEER position anywhere in the world. This is at no cost.

For more info Email me directly at [email protected]

dragonfruit · Joined: 06 Jun 2010 Posts: 10

An excellent list of volunteer organizations can be found at http://www.volunteerworkthailand.org/volunteer-thailand.html

AmanJivan · Joined: 22 Dec 2009 Posts: 32

AmanJivan · Joined: 22 Dec 2009 Posts: 32

NigerianWhisper · Joined: 21 Mar 2009 Posts: 176

I don't think thats the intention. Chiang Rai is not exactly a suffering destitute place with hoardes of refugees is it?

Surely those that want to volunteer want to be in a place where they can do some good..........like the border refugee camps.

I don't doubt many schools will take volunteers, even those in Bangkok. Hardly the intention though is it?

Pauleddy · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 295 Location: The Big Mango

Oh dear. Sounds familiar.

Volunteering to help genuinely impoverished people or genuine charities is commendable. The hill-tribe refugees near Myanmar need plenty of help. There is also a leper colony in the south (near Nakhon Sri Thammarat) which is run by nuns who can't even afford classrooms, yet alone teachers.

However, Thailand being Thailand, many schools would be delighted to have a "free" teacher. The savings could even help pay for the boss's new Mercedes. Some TEFL training schools, including some with nice websites, will be delighted to reduce your fees and then to "place" you in a humid village 200 miles away from anywhere.

There are many gullible people in LA, London, Leipzig and Liverpool who swallow all of this and believe that they are doing good stuff, just as there are people who gladly pay 3000 dollars to build mud huts in Somalia.

In many (not all) cases, someone is having a good chuckle at having just made a heap of money out of you. Not all, but more than you think.

Eddy

PS Charities have always been a good scam anyway, even the 'best' ones. If you open a charity, you can pay yourself a nice salary and put a heap of stuff against tax. Some charities are tax reduction vehicles. Everyone knows that, if you give 10 dollars for hungry children, then only about 50 cents will reach them. Everybody creams off, even the truck driver at the end.