If you
want to go back to the very basics and enjoy being in the outdoors in a stunningly beautiful
location,
helping local people and the local wildlife, doing work that is really
valued and making a significant difference to young peoples lives, then
this programme is perfect for you.
This project is a
true Sri Lankan Experience where you are helping to make a big difference!
In Wasgamuwa you will be doing worthwhile, rewarding work and building
towards making a real difference in the community.
ABOUT WASGAMUWA NATIONAL PARK The National Park of Wasgamuwa is a
dedicated area of conservation, a stunning expanse of grasslands and hills. It
is
described by the locals as the most beautiful place in the whole of Sri Lanka.
Given that Sri Lanka is beautiful everywhere, you get some idea of how
exceptional this region is!
You will live in a remote village called
Pusseleya on the
outskirts of the National Park, located around 7 hours east of
Colombo. The community that you will become a part of is mostly dependant on
paddy farming for its livelihood and as such the way of life here is very simple
- you will need to be prepared to 'get back to basics' and live like the
villagers.
Our teaching
programme takes place a 10 minute drive from Wasgamuwa National Park. This
placement is ideal if you
enjoy wildlife and the outdoors - there is plenty to keep you occupied in this
beautiful region. The surrounding jungles and villages can be explored easily by
foot or bike and trips to other parks in the region can be arranged.
This region is full of photo opportunities
- outstanding rivers, lakes and wildlife that make for a photographer's
paradise. There is no other entertainment, thus you'll enjoy serenity and
spending time alone. The Maduru Oya National Park, which is
about an hour away by jeep, is renowned for its Elephant population and Elephant
sightings during an organised safari are very common - the amount of wildlife in
this area of Sri Lanka is just incredible!
This is a remote area with very basic
facilities but will give you a true Sri Lankan experience. The placement is only
suitable for those people who enjoy reading and solitude as there is nothing to
do in the evenings. However, we send at least two
volunteers at the same time, so you will always have some company!
The teaching project in Wasgamuwa was
initiated by the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS) as a way
of reducing the human-elephant conflict in the region. Through community
participation the SLWCS aims to resolve this conflict over the coming years. The
on-going goal is to increase the level of English amongst villagers. Read more about the
goals of the SLWCS
programme and how your work as a volunteer will assist with this.
.
Achievement of the Week - "I managed to get 62 Grade 4 kids to do 'Head,
Shoulders, Knees and Toes' together!"
Claire Gethin
Our programme is to
teach English
to local people of all ages. Teaching takes place in
village schools which are very basic and lacking in facilities. As this is a
very poor area there is no electricity. You need to be flexible and adaptable with your teaching, much of which will be
very hands-on.
The teaching
schedule, at present, takes place at two locations, the local school in the
morning and the temple class in the
afternoon. You will probably teach from
about 9 - 11am and again at 3:30 - 5:30pm, so in total around 6 hours each
day.
Teaching in Wasgamuwa is varied with ages ranging from about 8 - 40.
Your students will be an eclectic collection - from school children to monks
and park wardens! Theplan is to keep increasing radically outward, so that
more villagers will benefit from your presence.
One of the
institutes where you will teach is for extra curricular learning, held in
the afternoons by our vollunteers, and
therefore all of the students who attend this class are there because they
have chosen to be.
Sri Lankans are very shy and don’t want to make any
mistakes. At first they may be reluctant to answer in English but they do
gain confidence very quickly.They are very keen to grasp English
and this enthusiasm makes teaching progress at a fast rate.
Sometimes
the more able students – those in their early 20’s – will come to the house
after dinner in the evening to learn more in a more informal setting. There
are roughly 125 students spread across four different classes each week that
you will teach. Everyone sometimes meets together on Friday afternoons, for
a loud, hectic and very enjoyable get together!
Your students will always
come prepared with their own writing books and pens; these are cherished as
they are in such short supply. There is a blackboard at the front of the
class and somehow chalk is always found – although if you do have any space
left in your luggage a pack of chalk is highly appreciated.
The
enthusiasm and pure delight of the children more than makes up for the lack
of equipment.
The English lessons
that you will take usually include a heavy
environmental component. For example, you will take
your students on field trips towatch
birds, and here you may be asked to teach the
basics of bird identification, ecology, behaviour
and conservation within the contextof
each
English lesson. This way you can include other natural historysubjects such butterflies, reptiles, plants and
flowers, natural history in general and anything about elephants!
If
volunteers have additional skills in an environmental filed (biology,
ecology etc) then they will have the opportunity to make the most of these,
particularly when stage two commences. You'll be accompanied by a
translator/guide, which will help in your initial communication with your
students.
The aim of this segment of the
overall project is to make the participating villagers
knowledgeable enough so thatthey can
find rewarding employment in the
future. This will
include work on environmental projects as well as eco-tourism.These sustainable economic
incentives will help to stop the consumptive use of these forests by
villagers.
ACCOMMODATION:
Volunteer Andy Richards on the porch with the
dogs
The Sri Lanka Wildlife
Conservation Society has a Field Project House near Wasgamuwa in a beautiful
scenic location overlooking the village reservoir.
The house is very basic
but is made up of entirely eco-friendly material due to the fact that it
was built by a team of conscientious conservationists – the SLWCS!
The walls are made of wooden
slats and hardened mud and the roof is formed of wooden slats and tin sheets.
You really do feel like you are in the wilderness! It can be quite a culture
shock at first, but rest assured the friendly nature of the villagers and
beautiful scenery soon make up for the very basic and open nature of the accommodation.
The make up of the house is perfectly sufficient,
despite the odd houseguest in the form of spiders, frogs and snakes, and this
open design helps to keep the house cool during the
hot spells of the day and dry during the storms.
Because of the location of this project
there is no electricity in the house and thus no refrigerator or fans on site.
There is a bathroom with cold running water and a western style toilet and
in
the evenings lights are generated by solar power.
Food and Transport: All of your food will be provided
and local transport is either by bicycle or walking, or by public bus.
Please bear in mind that
Wasgamuwa is remote and the
house is open to nature. This
project should only be undertaken by people who
like solitude, wildlife and living in jungle-like
surroundings, and are able to live
with minimal creature comforts. As you help the village through teaching them
English, you will learn the difficulties of their
lives as you also live like them, without many of the
comforts of the city.
If you’d like us to arrange a
placement for you on this programme, please fill in the application
form as soon as possible.We
currently have several places available for this project.
Wild Elephants roaming Wasgamuwa National
Park
SIGHTSEEING IN THE REGION
About the Local Area: There are small shops
located 2-3 kilometres away that stock most things you will need on your placement and
there is a hotel about 30 minutes walk away where you can have a swim in the
pool !
Getting around is not easy in this remote
area and bicycles are essential as the main form of transport. Buses to Kandy and
Colombo run from
here and take approximately 5 to 9 hours, respectively. Buses run more
frequently to Hettipola, which is the nearest town, located about 1 hour
(15 km) away.
There are two small hotels about 10-15 minutes bike ride away, one
serving excellent Chinese food and very welcomed chilled drinks after a hot
days work!
Local sights such as
Sigirya, Pollannaruwa & Nuwera Eliya are all about a 3 - 4 hours away by private vehicle. To cool off, you can hire a van and go the Knuckles Range (3,000
ft), which is about 1 hour away - there are beautiful areas to hike and
plenty of cool streams to bathe in. The temperature drops off to a
comfortable 20-28 degrees at this altitude.
The rest of Sri Lanka is a tropical
paradise offering something to suit every type of visitor. Sri Lanka is often
referred to as a 'Teardrop in the Ocean' - a beautiful island with a mystical
past and history awaiting exploration. The countries beaches are outstanding and
often rated amongst the finest in the world.
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 Ltd., ATOL No. 6856. (Read more about Murray Rogers Travel Ltd.)
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.
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. 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
representative. You'll then be taken by car to Wasgamuwa, which is about 5 or 6
hours away.
On arrival, you'll
be taken to your accommodation and introduced to everyone. You'll also receive
in induction which will include useful information about the region where you'll
be living.
VISAS:. You don't need a visa for your first month in Sri Lanka
and our local manager will arrange for a visa for the rest of your stay - we
make the process very easy for you.
To read about the extensiveSupport & Backup we provide in our countries,
please click here.
Volunteers Andy and Cher (and cute dog)
relaxing after work
PRICES
To see the Prices of this project and all
our other projects in Sri Lanka, please
click here
Prices
include
Food & accommodation while on your project,
2 T-shirts, if required
for your project
All support and backup
during your programme
Meeting you at the
nearest airport, where appropriate, but exclude international travel.
.
+44 01903 502595
