A lot of our volunteers go out in the summer months to fit in around university and teaching holidays, unfortunately this means that it is monsoon season in Thailand, India and Sri Lanka! Locals will try and stay inside when it is monsoon rain but there are times where you get caught out in it…and […]
Tag Archives | sri lanka
New 2011 Photos
We’ve been able to collate photos from a number of our 2011 volunteers and have just added 4 new photo galleries… Kerala 2011 Thanks go to Elaine Abili & Kath McGuire for their photos from the summer of 2011. Elaine was helping to develop a new project in Southern Kerala for 3 months from June […]
A review of 2011
2011 has certainly been a busy year for VESL… here are a few highlights from the year : Kerala We had great success with our new programme working in schools within fishing communities in Kerala (South India). All of this year’s volunteers did a magnificent job in helping to lay down the foundations of this programme. […]
Help! I Don’t Understand What People Are Saying!
Sometimes you will have trouble understanding the people around you. It might be your host family or the other teachers at the school or your students or the bus conductors or the people in the shop or just about anyone. There are things you can do to make it easier. Ask Them To Slow Down […]
What To Wear While Teaching in India & Sri Lanka
It is important to be dressed appropriately while teaching. And what is considered appropriate is different in different countries. (These suggestions apply to Sri Lanka and India) For Male Volunteers First rule – Don’t wear shorts! It’s important to be seen as a respected member of the teaching faculty and, even if you don’t […]
Sri Lankan Buses – The Pragmatics
Sri Lankan buses can be quite scary and unpleasant at times. At other times they can be a lot of fun. Whether you enjoy them or not, they are certainly useful and you’re bound to get on one at some point whilst volunteering in Sri Lanka. They go pretty much everywhere. They are usually frequent […]
Accessing Money While Volunteering Overseas
Getting to your cash is a very important thing when you are travelling. Having reliable access to funds whilst you’re teaching overseas is crucial… whether that’s as trivial as enabling you to travel at weekends or whether it lets you sleep soundly knowing you can get yourself into a safe position if something unexpected occurs. […]
Gifts For Your Host Family
I’ve stayed with lots of people whilst volunteering in India and in Sri Lanka and I’ve always found it difficult to buy gifts for people. What exactly is an appropriate gift?
VESL Volunteers Profiled in Adult Gap Year Guide
Two of VESL’s past volunteers in India and Sri Lanka have been profiled in Susan Giffith’s new book, ‘Gap Year’s for Grown Ups’
Past Volunteers Join VESL
We’re extremely pleased to announce that two past volunteers have joined the VESL team; Kath McGuire will be producing new content for the volunteer blog and Caroline Abbotts will be helping to produce a newsletter for us…
Video : Good Morning Teacher
VESL Volunteer (Rachel Cooper) records her class singing ‘Good Morning Teacher’ at her project in Sri Lanka, 2009.
What’s included in my volunteer contribution?
Details of what is and isn’t included within your volunteer contribution / project cost…
MEETING WITH SRI LANKAN MINISTER FOR PEACE
VESL’s trustees were extremely honoured to receive a formal request to meet with Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Sri Lanka’s Minister for Peace, earlier this week during his visit to the UK. Prof. Wijesinha was keen to discuss the possibility of VESL returning to Sri Lanka’s Northeast with an aim to establish a new programme supporting educational […]
WORLD OF DIFFERENCE INTERNATIONAL GRANTS
We’d like to thank everyone who has been in touch to enquire about applying to work for VESL via Vodafone’s World of Difference International grant programme. Vodafone aims to select 8 winners from over 1000 applicants, each of whom will receive a grant to work overseas for their chosen charity for 12 months. It’s been so encouraging […]
