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Fantástico 4.54rating (29)
  • Gender Equality

English & Life Skills for Rural Women

location
2 - 20 semanas  ·  Edad 18 - 50+
Verificado

Puntos Relevantes

  • Teach English to rural Sri Lankan women who are already literate in Sinhala or Tamil - it is English specifically that was closed off to them.
  • Run focus group discussions where the women talk about their own lives, rather than sessions designed entirely by outsiders.
  • Train the local NGO staff alongside the women, so the English capability stays in the community after you leave.

Puntos Relevantes

  • Teach English to rural Sri Lankan women who are already literate in Sinhala or Tamil - it is English specifically that was closed off to them.
  • Run focus group discussions where the women talk about their own lives, rather than sessions designed entirely by outsiders.
  • Train the local NGO staff alongside the women, so the English capability stays in the community after you leave.
  • Understand the history you are working inside: 26 years of civil war and the 2004 tsunami pushed rural women out of stable work and into insecurity.
  • Start from two weeks, live across the road from Unawatuna Beach, and get three meals a day, every day.
    • Todavía no tienes que pagar nada

    Especialmente adecuado para

    Edad 18+
    Solteros y solteras
    Parejas
    Grupos
    50+

    Sobre el programa

    Teach English and life skills to rural Sri Lankan women. They are literate in Sinhala or Tamil already - English is the door that stayed shut.

    It is worth being precise about what this placement is, because the usual women's-empowerment story does not apply here.

    The women you will work with are not illiterate. Most read and write Sinhala or Tamil perfectly well. In the 1950s Sri Lanka made education free at every level and switched it from ...

    Sobre el programa

    It is worth being precise about what this placement is, because the usual women's-empowerment story does not apply here.

    The women you will work with are not illiterate. Most read and write Sinhala or Tamil perfectly well. In the 1950s Sri Lanka made education free at every level and switched it from English to the local languages, and the result was a rapid expansion of schooling for girls — by the 1970s the gender gap in education had largely closed.

    What that reform also did, unintentionally, was put English behind a wall. And in Sri Lanka today English is the language of the better job, the tourism economy, the interaction with a doctor or an official who switches languages to establish who is in charge.

    Two things then made it worse. The civil war of 1983 to 2009 displaced communities and cut social spending, and the quality of health and education services in poorer areas fell with it. Many women were pushed out of formal employment into marginal, insecure self-employment. Then the 2004 tsunami hit this coast — the coast you will be living on — and took much of what was left.

    So this is not a project about teaching women to read. It is about handing back a specific thing that circumstance took away.

    What you will actually be doing

    Teaching English, in small groups, pitched at conversation and confidence rather than grammar drills. Alongside it, life skills sessions built around the things the women say they want: dealing with their children's schools, handling money, managing health appointments, applying for work.

    You will also run focus group discussions, which are less one-directional than they sound. The point is that the women describe their own lives and needs, and the sessions get built from that rather than from what a visitor assumed on arrival. Volunteers consistently report these as the part where they learned the most.

    And you will help train the local NGO staff in English too. That is the part with the longest tail: staff who improve their English keep the capability in the community permanently, long after any individual volunteer has gone home.

    Who this suits

    Fluent English is essential because you are the model. Beyond that, what matters is being able to teach adults as adults. These are grown women, many of them mothers, several of them running households on very little. A volunteer who treats them like a school class will not last; a volunteer who treats them as peers who happen not to speak this particular language will do well.

    Teaching experience helps but is not required. Volunteers are aged 18 to 50. Placements start from two weeks, though four or more gets you past the introductions and into the actual work.

    Día típico

    Saturday — Arrival. Met at Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) and driven to Galle on the shared transfer. Check the timing before booking: two shared transfers each Saturday, morning and afternoon/evening. Outside those windows a private transfer costs USD 100.

    Sunday — Settle in at ...

    Día típico

    Saturday — Arrival. Met at Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) and driven to Galle on the shared transfer. Check the timing before booking: two shared transfers each Saturday, morning and afternoon/evening. Outside those windows a private transfer costs USD 100.

    Sunday — Settle in at the volunteer house in Unawatuna.

    Monday — Orientation: welcome presentation, health and safety, cultural briefing, a project session on the women's group and how the classes run, and an area tour.

    Tuesday to Friday — the working pattern:

    • Morning — Breakfast at the house, then planning and preparing session materials, using the in-house teaching library
    • Afternoon — Sessions with the women's group. The coordinator travels with you by air-conditioned van or tuk tuk
    • Evening — Dinner at the house with the other volunteers

    Session times flex around the women's own commitments, which are considerable — most are managing households, children and some form of income work alongside coming to class. When a session moves, that is why.

    Extras the house runs — weekly rooftop yoga, weekly film nights, a monthly bike tour through the paddy fields, a monthly barbecue. All included.

    Weekends — Free. Unawatuna Beach is across the road, Galle Fort twenty minutes away, and Mirissa, Ahangama, Tangalle, Yala and Sinharaja all within a weekend.

    Actividades de tiempo libre

    Sessions run in the afternoon, so mornings are for preparation and then whatever you like. Unawatuna Beach is across the road, snorkelling off the point is good, and surf lessons are cheap.

    Galle Fort is twenty minutes away and repays several evenings: Dutch colonial ramparts, small museums, good ...

    Actividades de tiempo libre

    Sessions run in the afternoon, so mornings are for preparation and then whatever you like. Unawatuna Beach is across the road, snorkelling off the point is good, and surf lessons are cheap.

    Galle Fort is twenty minutes away and repays several evenings: Dutch colonial ramparts, small museums, good food, and a sunset the whole town turns out for. Mirissa runs whale-watching from November to April; Ahangama and Tangalle have the better surf.

    Inland, Sinharaja rainforest and the Yala and Bundala national parks are weekend-sized, and the hill-country train to Ella is worth a long weekend of anyone's time.

    The volunteer house runs weekly rooftop yoga, weekly film nights, a monthly bike tour through the paddy fields and a monthly barbecue, all included.

    Requisitos

    Requisitos

    Edad mínima: 18 años

    Para participar en el programa debes tener al menos 18 años en la fecha de inicio del programa. Puede haber excepciones si muestras el permiso de tu(s) tutor(es) legal(es) o si vas acompañado de tus padres.

    Verificación de antecedentes penales

    obligatorio

    Documentos necesarios

    Criminal background check, passport copy and travel and medical insurance

    Restricciones de nacionalidad

    Sin restricciones. Las manos amigas de todo el mundo son bienvenidas.

    Otras habilidades

    Fluent English is essential because you are the model. Teaching, tutoring, adult education, ESL or community work experience all help, and so does anything involving facilitating a discussion rather than lecturing - the focus groups need someone who can draw people out. Experience of working with women's groups, or from a similar community background yourself, is a genuine asset. A clean criminal background check is required.

    Tiempo dedicado

    Necesitaremos tu ayuda los Lunes, Martes, Miércoles, Jueves y Viernes de 13:00 - 17:00

    Servicios incluidos

    Servicios incluidos

    Servicios in situ

    Included in the programme fee:

    • Accommodation in a volunteer house in Unawatuna, with Wi-Fi
    • Breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, including weekends
    • Shared arrival transfer from Colombo airport on Saturdays within the set time windows
    • Orientation and training on arrival, including a cultural briefing
    • Local transport to and from the project by private air-conditioned van or tuk tuk
    • A project coordinator who travels with you and supports session planning
    • Access to the in-house teaching library
    • Guaranteed placement, experienced bilingual operations team, staff on 6am to 8pm, 24/7 emergency support
    • Weekly rooftop yoga, weekly film nights, monthly bike tour through the paddy fields, monthly barbecue
    • Comprehensive pre-departure information and a certificate of participation on request

    Not included:

    • International flights
    • Sri Lankan ETA (visa) fee
    • The return transfer from Galle to Colombo — arranged for you but paid locally
    • A private arrival transfer if you land outside the Saturday windows
    • Travel and medical insurance, which is mandatory. Buy it through us at extra cost, or bring your own and send a copy
    • Vaccinations
    • Weekend travel and personal spending

    The price shown already includes your application fee – there is nothing further to pay us on arrival. Payment can be split into interest-free instalments, with the balance due 45 days before you start.

    Recogida en el aeropuerto Bandaranaike International Airport

    Read this before you book your flight. The arrival transfer is included, but with conditions that catch people out.

    You are collected from Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) and driven to Galle, about two and a half hours south. The included transfer is shared, on Saturdays only, within two set windows — one morning, one afternoon or evening.

    • Land on a Saturday inside a window and it costs you nothing.
    • Land outside the windows, or on any other day, and a private transfer costs USD 100.

    Timing your flight to a Saturday window is the easiest hundred dollars you will save on this trip.

    The return transfer from Galle to Colombo is not included. The team arranges it and you pay locally in Sri Lanka at the end of your placement.

    Alojamiento

    You stay in Unawatuna, in one of two volunteer houses about a hundred metres apart, both overlooking Unawatuna Beach and the Indian Ocean.

    The beachside house is directly across the road from the beach: twelve bedrooms of varying sizes, all en-suite and air-conditioned, most with an outdoor balcony, plus a dining area, lounge, terrace, small garden and an office with permanent staff on site. CCTV throughout and an overnight security team.

    The larger house has thirteen en-suite bedrooms, most with ocean views, a private forty-foot swimming pool, three kitchens, three common rooms and a large dining area.

    Rooms are shared and all have Wi-Fi. Which house you are in depends on availability.

    The in-house teaching library is here too — manuals, books and materials you will use when preparing sessions.

    Comida y bebida

    Breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of the week, weekends included — unusual on volunteer programmes and worth noticing when comparing prices.

    Meals are cooked at the volunteer house and lean Sri Lankan: rice and curry in its many forms, dhal, coconut sambol, hoppers and string hoppers, fresh tropical fruit, and western options in rotation. The fish on the south coast is excellent.

    Tell the team about allergies and dietary requirements before you arrive. Vegetarians are very well served in Sri Lanka; vegans and anyone with a serious allergy should flag it early so the kitchen can plan.

    Acceso a Internet

    Buen acceso al lugar del proyecto
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    ¿Qué NO está incluido?

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    Boletos de avión

    El aeropuerto más cercano es Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) en Colombo. Te ayudamos a encontrar vuelos baratos a Sri Lanka. ENCONTRAR VUELOS BARATOS

    Seguro de viaje

    Ir al extranjero es una aventura y siempre es mejor estar preparado. Enfermedad o lesión repentina, cancelación o robo: un seguro de viaje para Sri Lanka proporciona seguridad y es una ventaja tenerlo. OBTENER UN PRESUPUESTO

    Vacunas

    Si tiene intención de realizar un voluntariado en Sri Lanka, debe solicitar asesoramiento médico antes de iniciar su viaje social. Comprueba las vacunas que necesitas para Sri Lanka. COMPROBADOR DE VACUNAS

    Detalles a la llegada

    Start dates — Weekly, year-round, arriving on a Saturday. Minimum stay two weeks.

    Getting there — Fly into Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB). Galle is about two and a half hours south on the expressway.

    Transfers — read before booking your flight

    • The arrival transfer is included, but only as a shared transfer on Saturday inside two set windows: one morning, one afternoon/evening.
    • Outside those windows, or on any other day, a private transfer costs USD 100.
    • The return transfer from Galle to Colombo is not included — arranged for you, paid locally at the end of your stay.

    Dress — Modest clothing for sessions: shoulders and knees covered. This is a rural community and the women will read your dress as a signal of how seriously you are taking them.

    A note on language — You do not need Sinhala or Tamil, and the coordinator interprets where needed. But learning a few phrases before you arrive changes the temperature of the room, and the women will enjoy correcting you, which is a good way to start a class about language.

    Visa — Sri Lanka requires an ETA for most nationalities, applied for online before travel. The fee is not included.

    Age — 18 to 50 on this programme.

    When to come — The south coast is driest December to April. May to September brings the southwest monsoon: rain in bursts, fewer tourists, cheaper travel. The programme runs year-round.

    Disponibilidad
    Enero Feb. Marzo Abr. Mayo Jun Jul Agosto Set. Oct. Nov. Dic.

    Cuotas del programa

    $397 tarifa semanal 2 - 20 semanas Edad 18 - 50+

    Métodos de pago

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    SIN GASTOS DE TARJETA DE CRÉDITO

    Duración

    2 - 20 semanas

    Depósito

    Reserve su plaza con unos pocos clics y un pequeño depósito seguro. Puede pagar con tarjeta de crédito, PayPal u otros métodos convenientes.

    Pago final

    Acordarás el método de pago final con tu organización local durante el proceso de solicitud. Este pago final solo deberá efectuarse cuando se acerque el inicio del viaje.

    Todavía no tienes que pagar nada
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    Ubicación

    Asia > Asia Meridional > Sri Lanka > Galle

    Conoce a tu coordinador de proyecto

    Sahil
    29
    reviews
    4,54
    Fantástico
    2007
    Fundada

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