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Next weekend TEFL Course:
6/7 February |
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TEACH UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN IN SRI LANKA
TEACH
IN EXOTIC SRI LANKA FROM 2 WEEKS TO 6 MONTHS. Sri Lanka is famous for its
1,600 kilometres of unspoilt, golden beaches and diverse climate zones. It is the proverbial paradise island! Sri Lankans are very friendly, hospitable and welcoming, if somewhat laidback
and in no-rush mode to get things done!
Our
largest teaching programme
runs in JA-ELA, on the western side of
Sri Lanka, midway between Colombo
and the popular Indian Ocean resort of Negombo. You'll work with
disadvantaged children and adults who benefit enormously from your help!
Our volunteers have helped to improve significant sections of the local
community schools, enabling more children to have access to education.
You can teach a range of subjects - anything that
you have a reasonable knowledge in.
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►SUMMARY
FACTFILE |
| Start Dates |
All year round - you choose your
start and finish dates! |
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Duration |
Minimum stay 2 weeks and up to 1 year, subject to visa
requirements |
| Requirements |
No qualifications needed, just a
big heart and a desire to help underprivileged children who have
very little. |
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Price |
From £795 for 2 weeks, ranging to £1,695 for 12 weeks.
Full Price List |
| What's included |
►Accommodation
►Food
►Meeting you at the Airport
►Transfer to your accommodation
►Full pre-departure support
►Local in-country team support
and backup
►24-hr emergency support
►Two free T-shirts. |
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What's not included |
Flights, Insurance,
Cost of Visas (if a visa is required, but we'll provide necessary documents and
assistance). |
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Who can do this Project? |
All our projects are
open to all nationalities.
Unless otherwise stated, you need to be aged between 17 and 70+ |
Also on this
page:
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Our schools are for the
poorer children and the underprivileged section of the
community. We have on-going
donation projects
in the community and we also provide funding for
uniforms, books, play areas, meals, sports equipment, etc. Our long-term goal is to try to raise the standards
for the poorer schools and children. The extra teaching you
provide will help to give them added opportunities in the future.
WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PROJECT:
The enormous satisfaction of helping disadvantaged children and
seeing how your efforts are making a difference to them.
New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding
of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional
development.
An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head
and shoulders above most others in the job market
And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!
WORK CONTENT:
You'll have the opportunity to teach at a variety of local schools
and you may also give lessons in a local orphanage. All of them are in desperate need of help. The
schools have about 400 to 500 pupils aged 5 to 16 years old, with
approx. 35 per class. Their English is generally poor and you'll
work with all age groups, from 6 to 18 years old.
You may also have the chance to help out at
CECO
– a
UK-run computer training school set up by a previous
Travellers volunteer who subsequently joined Travellers'
UK office. The purpose of the Centre is to give a helping hand to adults
and school leavers, to enable them to get very necessary computer skills
which in turn enables them to get better jobs.
Sri
Lanka
Education Background:
As a result of an ill-considered change in the education
system in the previous generation, the standard of English teaching in
Sri Lanka
has dropped dramatically. Despite
this, a good level of English is of the utmost importance for jobseekers
– thus the poor of
Sri Lanka
are placed at a severe disadvantage when compared to more privileged
children. Travellers
volunteers can make a real difference to the lives of the
children and adults they teach.
School Holidays:
Dates vary each year, but the months of April, August
and December are generally taken up with School Holidays. Our volunteers
usually use this time to travel around and explore the island, or they
expand their travel experience by doing a project at the
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.
This is an exciting project that gives you an awesome and totally different
experience. If a holiday
falls during your placement, you can take off and explore and then return
after the holiday to complete your programme.
"Just
wanted to drop you a line as my project in Sri
Lanka comes to end to tell you that I have had the
best time of my life and the project has been amazing,
both the teaching and the elephant orphanage. It
has been a truly amazing experience."
David Constable
Our Sri Lanka Director, Roshan
Perera, will be available to help you
with advice on any aspect of your stay and to liaise with the Head
Teacher on any points you may raise.
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Before you go - you can enroll in a
1-day
intensive open teacher training day (optional) to help you teach if you
have no previous experience and would like to gain a little
teaching knowledge.
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You can combine a two-month teaching placement with
one-month at the
Elephant Orphanage. This is very popular
so reserve your placement very early to avoid disappointment.
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Read volunteers' feedback on
this project
"Like
most others I have fallen in love with
Sri Lanka!
Teaching and staying
in the Ja-ela house was really
good.
I went back there at
the weekend and it
was
so nice to see everyone again; Roshan, the house
boys and tuk tuk drivers
are
sooo much fun."
Jennifer Rowe
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OPTIONAL ADD-ONS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Travellers Sri Lanka Director
Roshan at the Zoo! |
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ACCOMMODATION AND LIVING
IN SRI LANKA |
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LOCATION:
We cannot BEGIN to tell you how
beautiful this
paradise island is! Nor how cheap to live and get around. It is almost
too good to be true! But it is true.
There is an
abundance of fascinating places to visit.
From towering Pagodas, Hindu temples and ancient fortresses to
holy rivers and sacred mountains,
Sri Lanka
is blessed with a sense of deep spirituality and history.
The local people are extremely welcoming and friendly, especially
in the rural areas. The tea plantations are a must, the lace making,
monuments and architectural splendours,
etc., but the most appealing is the Elephant Orphanage at Pinnawela.
Not to be missed! It's
an emotive sight that will send you away with
memories you'll never forget!
MAP OF SRI LANKA
ACCOMMODATION:
Travellers has
a traditional Sri Lankan house in Ja-Ela. It has marble floors and 13
bathrooms! It is spacious and
comfortable, with a garden, several balconies, two lounge rooms and many
bedrooms. You will most likely share a room with other Travellers
volunteers. There is a TV and DVD player for evening entertainment, in
the upstairs lounge area and with the latest DVD copies just a pound to
buy locally, there is usually something to watch!
A chef will
cook all your meals and we have other staff at the house 24 hours a day
for cleaning, assistance, security and comfort.
Teaching, Work
Experience and the Colombo Zoo placements are all based in Ja-Ela and so
the house is often full and offers a lively, sociable atmosphere – there
is usually no shortage of friends to spend weekends at the beach with! Ja-Ela volunteers also have the advantage of easy access to Colombo’s
facilities, major bus stations and also the Airport Gardens Hotel - a
luxury hotel which offers facilities that include a fantastic swimming
pool. The hotel is only a short trip away from the volunteer house:
perfect for those lazy afternoons!
There is a
local live-in cook at the Travellers house who will prepare your
breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, throughout the week. The food is
usually local cuisine which means lots of curry, rice and salads.
Whether a curry fan or not, you will be by the time you return as Sri
Lankan food is delicious! You can buy snacks and treats, including a
growing variety of Western tastes (chocolate!) from the local store.
There is also a KFC in Ja-Ela for those who need a fix of home.
The area of
Ja-Ela is an industrialised town and although it is not one of the
paradise beauty spots, it's a good point at which to start your
exploration of the island's many beaches and beautiful inland resorts.
"I
just wanted to let you know, that I had the time of my life in Sri
Lanka. It was FANTASTIC, I wish the entire experience had never had to
end. I would just like to say thank you to your team of organisers for
organising the spectacular trip. And also a big thank you to Roshan,
Shivani ... and all the boys at the house for
making my stay very welcoming and memorable. I miss them all very much.
And I will definitely want to return and pay them a visit."
Rajni Kanda
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SRI
LANKA
ON THE INTERNET: |
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An excellent (but rather slow!) web site which contains anything and everything you could
possibly want to know about Sri Lanka is:
http://www.srilankatourism.org/ Climate: In the lowlands the climate is
typically tropical with an average temperature of 27OC in Colombo.
In the higher elevations it can be quite cool with temperatures going
down to 16OC at an altitude of nearly 2,000 metres. Bright,
sunny warm days are the rule and are common even during the height of
the monsoon - climatically Sri Lanka has no off-season.
"I'd
just like to say that the Travellers teaching
placement in Sri Lanka was brilliant, couldn't fault it at all.
Doing the placement was the best decision I ever made, it was
absolutely fantastic and I was pretty sad when I finished. Met some
really nice people too."
Gemma Leonard
Read a hilarious story about
Sri Lankan Cows and classrooms by Travellers volunteer Richard Anderson. |
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TRAVEL: |
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We meet you at the airport regardless of whether you make your
own travel arrangements or not. You will fly into Sri Lanka where you'll be met
at Colombo Airport by our Sri Lanka Manager, Roshan Perera,
or a member of his staff, and taken to your placement. Roshan will make you feel welcome from the first moment you
meet; he is a delightful person, laid back yet extremely efficient, and has
become a friend-for-life to many of our volunteers!
You have the option to arrange your
own flights or we can assist you with your flight arrangements. If you would
like us to do this for you, we will liaise with you regarding available flights
and dates to suit you. All arrangements for your flight bookings/payments will
be fulfilled by Murray Rogers Travel Limited, ATOL No. 6856.
Where possible, we arrange for two or more people to travel on the
same flight and we will let you have the names and telephone numbers of other
volunteers on your flight, so that you can chat to each other or even meet up
before leaving for your placement.
VISAS:. We'll
send you all the necessary forms and information and make the process
very easy for you.
Where possible, all flights we arrange for you have changeable return tickets because many of our
volunteers choose to extend their stay once they are in their destination
country.
Changeable return tickets enable you to do so, within the limits of your visa
and the level of your air ticket,
of course. If you choose to book your own flights, you should endeavour to get
a changeable ticket.
To read about the excellent Support
& Backup we provide before you leave and during
your programme,
please click here.
We can also arrange your flight
dates
to give you additional time at the end of your project for travelling around and sightseeing - this is a
fascinating and wondrous country!
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