Heading to Kerala and a bit worried about not being able to speak the language? Ever heard of Malayalam? Don’t worry we are here to help! Knowing some Hindi is not going to get you very far in remote fishing villages in Kerala, so knowing a bit of Malayalam can be very helpful! Malayalam is one […]
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Fundraising Idea: Name the Reindeer
This is a great quick idea that you can do at any event (cake sale, film night etc) or approach local retailers and ask if you can run the competition there. What is Name the Reindeer? This is a really quick activity, you will need to buy a cuddly toy reindeer (or ask a shop […]
Fundraising Idea: Christmas Crackers
This idea is perfect if you are the creative type! If you have some spare time at the weekend or in the evenings or while catching up on your favourite TV shows, get in the festive spirit by making your own crackers! Grab the glitter, glue and ask your friends to help you out. Check […]
Fundraising Idea: Christmas Grid
A great way to raise money is by creating a grid on a piece of A4 paper and ask people to donate a pound and sign up to a square on the grid. You can theme the grid to anything, but a great way to theme the grid at Christmas could be: Help Santa find […]
Volunteer Diary: A Day in the Life, Sri Lanka.
Melissa has written another excellent blog for us (you may have read her last one, if not catch up on it here), this time about her day to day life in Sri Lanka.Warning: If you read this you are more than likely going to want to jump on to the next plane to Sri Lanka […]
Fundraising Idea: Christmas Meal for Friends
You may not be thinking about your Christmas dinner quite yet, but it might be a good time to start… invite your friends round for a Christmas meal at the beginning of December and ask them to donate £10 each. It is a great deal for them, for £10-£15 they get a (hopefully) tasty Christmas […]
Video Diary: Thailand Rural School Project
Andrew Durrant and Sandeep Rajgopal volunteered in a rural hill tribe school this summer. The school they volunteered at made a thank you video for them, check it out to get an idea of what it would be like to volunteer in Thailand! (more…)
Fundraising Idea: Santa Dash
It is November and although I am sure you don’t want to start thinking about Christmas (the television advertisements and the Christmas light arrivals may disagree), it is probably the BEST opportunity to fundraise and to make a big dent in your fundraising target! So over the next seven weeks we will be bringing you a Christmas […]
Volunteer Diary: Don’t Think: ACT!
“If you are thinking about volunteering with VESL my message would be don’t think – act! You are guaranteed an incredibly rewarding experience you will never forget. The schools here in Sri Lanka desperately need more volunteers to help improve their English speaking and listening, and your efforts will be more than appreciated. Come and […]
Video Diary: Life in Thailand
Jodie Thackray volunteered with VESL in Thailand in Summer 2012, here she has put together an excellent video of her time there, from teaching in school to eating crickets! Jodie recently graduated from MMU and is a freelance film-maker, photographer and artist – check out her website. Thailand 2012 VESL from Jodie Thackray on Vimeo. […]
Fundraising Idea: Bag Packing
Bag packing is a great way to raise money for your target and it is relatively easy! Why do bag packing? It involves relatively little preparation, past volunteers have been able to raise over £300 from one days bag packing and if you are going overseas as part of a university group you can do […]
Fundraising Idea: Car Boot Sale
Car boot sales are a great way to raise money, even if you aren’t a hoarder you can ask your friends and family to do a clear out and donate their unwanted items to you to help you raise money. Autumn is a great times to hold a car boot sale before the winter rain […]
A day in the life: India Project
Olivia Higginson is currently in India on a three month project and has written an excellent article below about what she does on a day to day basis… Morning 7:00am Wake up. The family are normally all up. Ama (host mother) has often been up since 5am preparing vegetables and cooking for the day. My two […]
Dealing with reverse culture shock…
What is reverse culture shock? If you have volunteered with VESL for a long period of time you may find the shock of coming back to the UK bigger than the initial culture shock in your host community. Reverse culture shock can be harder to deal with as it is unexpected and can occur even […]
