• Travel to Asia on your gap year and volunteer on community projects within Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. By choosing our community route you can not only visit some amazing places but also immerse yourself into local culture, helping the communities you will be living in at the same time. Get your hands dirty in Thailand with community building projects but don't forget to save some energy for Vietnam though as the children you will be working with have lots of energy! In the Philippines you can get involved with a whole host of projects which run from the local community centre - the hub of the whole community. Overall, you can expect your gap year in Asia to be varied and exciting every step of the way.

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  Community Building Projects for Rural Minority Groups

  Thailand

  Volunteer in the rural outskirts of Chiang Rai and work with hilltribe communities on a number of initiatives to raise their living standards and personal opportunities for growth and development. ...

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  Childcare and English Teaching in an Orphanage and Community Shelter

  Vietnam

  By volunteering in Vietnam, you can work in the Tay Dang Orphanage and Community Shelter, which aims to provide a home whilst caring for orphans who have lost one or both parents, as their relative...

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  Support Community Development Projects in the Philippines

  Philippines

  Volunteer in the Philippines and work at the heart of community programs by assisting staff at a local community centre based in a housing project outside Tacloban. The centre is the central hub of...

Project Facts

• Duration: 12 weeks (4 weeks in each country) or 24 weeks (8 weeks in each country)
• Cost: £2898 for 12 weeks / £4075 for 24 weeks
• Requirements: Age 18+
• Location: Koh Tao, Thailand / Tay Dang, Vietnam / Tacloban, Philippines
• Project activities: Building and manual labour, teaching adults and children, preparing nutritious food, organising activities for children
• Working hours: 08:30 – 15:00, Monday - Friday, hours may vary from project to project

What is included

• Accommodation: A combination of homestays and volunteer houses
• Food: 3 meals per day in Thailand (except Saturday dinner and all day on Sunday), 2 meals per day in the Philippines, 0 meals in Vietnam
• Airport pick up and drop off
• Training: Pre-departure information pack, on-site Orientation and project induction provided
• Support: 24 hour support from on-site coordinator
• Excursions: Staff help organise weekend activities(activity price may be extra)

What is not included

• Flights
• Insurance
• Visas
• Any meals in Vietnam

Role of the volunteer

In Thailand, manual support and development is essential to increase the standards of living for the rural and hill tribe communities of Northern Thailand. Your duties on the project will be to assist in the areas which are in need of hands on work. This may include building water tanks, checking dams, building and painting classrooms, assisting in the agricultural project, developing the vegetable garden, working on a plantation, helping with road repairs, working on the maintenance of elderly villagers homes, building for the elderly, assisting in developing the office or making bricks. These activities are all dependent on funding at the time of your project and will be structured at least a month before your arrival.

In Vietnam, the focus for most volunteers is on the children. In particular volunteers are needed to run English classes, giving an opportunity for the children to improve their spoken language in particular. Volunteers will be assigned a class in which they will attend for the full placement and assist the children with teaching English, playing sports games and creating craft activities. During the day,volunteers can assist the staff with cleaning, food preparation, and teaching for about 40 children who stay at the orphanage and do not going to school but learn various trades such as sewing and carpentry. In the nursery, help is also needed playing an interacting with the small babies each day. Tay Dang has received small numbers of medical and teaching volunteers in the past and those with particular skills like physiotherapy can work with the elderly or those with psychology and social skills can lead group self esteem sessions for example.

In the Philippines, volunteers provide support preparing and serving nutritional food in the feeding program, assist community centre staff with home visits where they deliver resources to the homes of families currently existing on their projects. You may also get involved with helping organize after school tutorials and workshops for the children of the community or assist with the creation and development of community based projects for the adults that enrich the lives of numerous local families.

Skills Required

In Thailand, the main skill required is having the motivation to get stuck in and work REALLY hard to improve the living conditions of hill tribes and rural communities in Thailand. Those with particular building, plumbing, electrical and carpentry skills will be a great asset to the project and you will be able to use your particular skills while on the project.

In Vietnam, volunteers need real vigour and enthusiasm to bring life and fresh experiences to the children. Feeding, bathing and changing diapers will be required, as is simply spending time, having fun and being patient with the kids. No specific skills are required but any experience of working with children in any capacity is always an advantage.

In the Philippines, no formal qualifications are required, but a love and some experience working with children is most valuable. Having the initiative and motivation to work without guidance is important as there may be times you have to improvise and work by yourself. The ability to listen and show patience and understanding is essential when working with people of a different culture.

Your life outside the project

In Thailand, The project is based in Baan Reepa at Akha hill tribe village based 20 minutes north of Chiang Rai. The surrounding area is beautiful, lush and green and there is plenty of wildlife, scenery and culture to enjoy during your stay. Whilst on your project, you will be involved in a local homestay for 3-4 nights, where you will help out on local village projects. Outside of this time, on your other weekends, you are free to explore the town. To get into town, you either need to share lifts and have a scour around to see if anyone else is going into town, or from 6.30-8.00am there may be some songtaews who take the locals from the village into town. These are cheap, from around 30baht however, if you want to go into town later, you may need to call for a songtaew to come and pick you up. This is best arranged on Friday so you will have confirmation for the weekend.

Outside of this, there will be regular Saturday night trips into Chiang Rai for shopping and sightseeing and there are many local sites to explore within Chiang Rai. Make sure you buy some local handicrafts from the eBannok project or use your time while you are on your homestay to buy something from one of the local villages.

In Vietnam, Our projects are situated in the districts of Hanoi and in your spare time there is plenty to do in Hanoi all within walking distance or a bus ride away from your accommodation. A mass of motorbikes swarms through the tangled web of streets that is the Old Quarter, a cauldron of commerce for almost 1000 years and still the best place to check the pulse of this resurgent city. Hawkers in conical hats ply their wares, locals sip coffee and bia hoi (beer) watching life (and plenty of tourists) pass them by. Witness synchronised t’ai chi at dawn on the shores of Hoan Kiem Lake while goateed grandfathers tug at their wisps over the next chess move.

Hanoi is a pleasant city with a European feel, and you will find many attractive lakes, parks and boulevards to explore. Hanoi is a much more peaceful city than Ho Chi Minh; Vietnam's largest city, and is home to many interesting museums, temples and pagodas. You will be staying in a guest house in the lively Old Quarter of Hanoi, where you will have easy access to internet cafés, banks and shops.

In the Philippines, Volunteers stay in a local Filipino community with a home-stay family. This experience in itself is enriching and gives you a chance to immerse yourself in the local life. Filipino families eat a lot of chicken, fish and rice as well as exotic native dishes, and your home-stay family will bring you great insight to the “Pinoy” culture. During the evening, meet up with fellow volunteers and choose from a number of acoustic bars where you can listen to live music, play pool, and - of course - grab a mic and join in the national love for karaoke. Or for a more chilled evening, sit along the waterfront of Magsaysay for some delicious barbeque.

Highlights

Elephant trekking in the jungle in Thailand

Explore the dense highland jungles of the north on the back of a magnificent Asian elephant, stay overnight with a hilltribe family and fall asleep to the sounds of the wild. Will you be lucky enough to spot a Burmese python?

Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam

Established in 1962, Cuc Phuong is the oldest national park in Vietnam. Located only 120km southwest of Hanoi. Cuc Phuong boasts engaging cultural and wildlife heritage and enchanting scenery. Magnificent limestone mountains rise up majestically from the green rice-terraces and traditional stilt houses of the Muong hill-tribe. Covered in a dense forest they form a habitat for some of Asia's rarest species. Enjoy trekking through the 1000 year old trees, night spotting and bird watching expeditions on some of Asias rarest wildlife.

Swim with Whale Sharks in the Philippines

Donsol, a village on the Luzon peninsula, is one of the best places in the world to swim with the largest fish in our seas. To swim with these gentle giants, which grow up to 18m in length, is an unbelievable experience and highly recommended if you have time to explore. Peak months to see these great fish are between February and March.

Itinerary