School and College Groups
BUSAN FOREIGN SCHOOL
The Busan Foreign School, located in the coastal city of Busan, South Korea, arrange group volunteer placements for their high school students every year. Being a private school, their students tend to come from wealthy backgrounds and the schools principal is keen for the students to be aware of world issues especially those related to poverty with the aim of making them aware that not everyone is as fortunate as they are.
This year they decided to volunteer with Kaya in the Philippines and sent a group of 22 14-16 year old students and 5 teachers to volunteer in Tacloban City, Philippines. The group was split up into smaller groups which did a variety of different projects including: teaching out of school youths and adults, renovating a dilapidated classroom at a local school, and cooking nutritious meals for malnourished preschoolers. In total there were three separate teaching groups, one building group and one nutrition group.
Although they only spent six days in the Philippines, the amount of work that was completed was substantial due to the sheer size of the group. With dedication and hard work they were able to provide nutritious meals for around 25 kids each day, teach around 70 out of school youths, provide after school tutorials to around 25 children per day, and transform a classroom from a dusty old dingy room to a bright, clean new space and a positive environment for learning.
Group leader, Jeff Engle, commented that; “The volunteer work that they did not only had a positive impact on the local community but also on the group themselves. Al the teachers noticed a big leap in the student’s confidence from the beginning to the end of the project.
After observing the students at work and speaking to them at the end of their trip it was clear that they had a much greater understanding that the world needs their help and they can impact the world piece by piece; they realized that they can accomplish their goals of helping people when working as a team.
A big thank you to Kaya for taking the time to make sure that all our needs were taken care of and for arranging alternative accommodation for us.”
A sure sign of a successful trip is the desire to return and do the same again. This has certainly been the case for the Busan group. Many of the students have been asking if they can come back next year and plans are already in the pipeline to make a return visit to Tacloban City.
THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF DOHA
The American School of Doha brought a group of 12 students and 2 teachers to volunteer on our Masai Mara Lion, Wildlife Research Conservation project. They spent 1 week volunteering and also took part in an extra excursion to spend a night in tents out in the African bush.
What better way to gauge the success of the trip than by hearing it from the students themselves. Here’s what they had to say:
“After we had dinner, the Kenyan guides and some local Masai people performed a Masai dance for us around the fire. They invited us to join and the boys participated in a jumping competition while the girls walked around the bonfire, singing. It was a very good experience and it is something I will always remember.” – Emma - American School of Doha
“...the night where we lived in tents. In the night, hyenas, lions and elephants walked by the tents. It was scary but memorable at the same time.” – Manu - American School of Doha
“Yesterday’s safari was amazing. It was incredible being so close to the animals, especially the lions. I had never been so close to lions before. Because of the safari, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go to a zoo and enjoy the experience as much because I have now seen these majestic creatures in the wild.” – Kyndall White - American School of Doha
“Staying in a night at the Base Camp showed me that eco-camps can actually work and still make money as I enjoyed staying there very much. Yesterday, we went on a safari and saw giraffes, elephants and many other animals. Driving through the reserve was so much better than visiting a zoo and I’m sure I can never look at a zoo the same way anymore. It was interesting to learn about the Masai community and their still nomadic lifestyle. Even though they earn some money, now they still keep their cow-economy and take it seriously.” – Marie - American School of Doha
“The Kenyan students really surprised me in a good way today. I thought their education would be more general and basic but it was very specific and impressive. Many of the students also knew a lot about the different countries and were very interested in learning even more information about us.” – Emma - American School of Doha
“At first, the Kenyan students were rather shy but after some time, they asked me a lot of questions and were actually very interested in our culture. And after I explained [to] them how the American school system worked, they told me all about their school system. It seemed like they were eager to learn about different cultures and like they had actually prepared some questions for today.” – Marie - American School of Doha
“Many of the students in the Guiding School were fascinated about learning about things. They were very patient and enjoyed spreading their culture. They are fortunate for everything they have, while many of us take things for granted.” – Yoseph - American School of Doha
“Conservation can be helped by tourism because it boosts the economy, makes people aware about the environment around them (the tourists and native people). People will learn to leave smaller footprints, having a more positive impact on the environment as well as the wildlife. With the income of tourism, the conservationists can increase their studies and also protect the wildlife more with that funding. However, tourism hinders conservation because it brings in more people, cars, pollution and also can negatively impact the wildlife. This is because the animals have to change their habits because of the tourists. Also, some of the animals become too comfortable with the humans, thus changing the environmental balance.” – Kyndall - American School of Doha
