Would you like to spend some time abroad doing something that matters? You know that you have the talent and the capacity to work with children, adults, or people with different abilities? Then, you need to volunteer in Education!
Global literacy statistics do not paint a pretty picture. Illiteracy affects over 785 million adults worldwide, this means that around 1 in every 5 people on the planet have almost no education at all; of these people, two-thirds are women.
The low global literacy rates have detrimental effects on communities all over the world. Many people take literacy for granted, but this is not the case for everyone: 98% of illiterate people are concentrated in three key areas: South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab States. This does not mean that development nations aren’t facing illiteracy problems. Approximately 93 million people have basic or below basic literacy skills, in the US alone! For Africa, the literacy rate is only 60% for the whole contintent. Needless to say: something needs to change SOON!
The difficulties to access to education could be due to different political, socio-economical or environmental factors. And help in this area is desperately needed! Volunteer in education and support the work of teams on the ground. With your help, we can help to increase the self-sufficiency within communities by assisting in a wide range of teaching activities. Most programs want to ensure passing on knowledge that will give people their best chance in life, to give them skills to earn a better income and to ultimately become self-sufficient.
Top 5 benefits of being a volunteer in education
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[item title= “Mutual Learning Opportunities”]You can help to foster educational progress in rural areas or underprivileged countries, and you will be surprised by how much you will learn as well. Use the time to improve your skills and learn different ways to teach, to interact with people and to make use of your creativity to reach your goals and help others to reach theirs.[/item]
[item title= “University credits”]
You might be interested in volunteering in education for quite a while, but have not find the perfect time to do it yet, because of your studies. If this is the case, we have good news! You might have the opportunity to make validated internships in some volunteer programs. If you are a student and need some motivation to volunteer in education, do not hesitate to check out our website and let us convince you about why this is not only important work, but it is something that won’t interfere with your studies.[/item]
[item title= “Meet other people”]If you volunteer in education in one of the many volunteer programs that are being offered worldwide, you will have the opportunity to meet other volunteers from other parts of the world, and of all walks of like. This will be an enhancing experience, where you won’t only make a difference in a community in desperate need of help, but you can use this experience to get in contact with different cultures and create long-lasting connections for life.[/item]
[item title= “New Experiences”]
Volunteering is a brilliant way to expand our knowledge of the world. Whether you teach the A-B-C or you help to build a library, you will be a witness of the problems millions of people are struggling with every day. Through hands-on work you can gain a better understanding of issues that you might have never seen before. It is always a good to make an effort to empathise with other people who haven’t had better opportunities in life. Help is always needed![/item]
[item title= “Health Improvements”]Multiple research have demonstrated that volunteering leads to better health, and a saner state of mind. Those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer. It may have to do with the fact that your body is aware of the positive impact you generate with your actions. Now, this might sound like a lot of talk to you, but you can experience being a volunteer yourself and judge its benefits. By being a volunteer in education, you will not only helping others, you will be helping yourself![/item]
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Fields of interest for a volunteer in education
Adults
When you are struggling to survive on a daily basis, education might not be a priority for you. In most cases, people won’t even have money to cover their daily expenses, much less consider to give away money to learn. That is the reason why some social programs are meant for volunteers to provide the educational resources that will help working adults to find better jobs and a better chance in life.
Either by helping them finish their basic education, teaching them new skills, or giving them the opportunity to learn English, you will make a change in a person’s life. It is important to know that being a volunteer in education for adults require a set of skills and experience that most people do not possess! If you have any experience in education (especially in education for adults), your efforts can help to make a difference.
Children & Youth
You do not choose where you were born, and a lot of children face poverty and lack opportunities are part of it all. If you are interested in working with children, and have the capacity and the training to do so, please volunteer in education for children.
You will support the learning progress of children in kindergarten, primary- or middle school by assisting teachers or by planning your own classes. Some schools don’t even have enough equipment that propitiate good learning, and a lot of countries lack of capacitated -and capable- teachers to take up to this enormous task. So, as a volunteer in education, you will be taking in an enormous task, but a task that will have immediate results. Education keeps children from joining gangs, it better their chances in life, and gives them an opportunity to help their families.
Conflict Prevention
Would you like to participate in a project that fights inequality and aspires for peace? Your work as a volunteer in education is the perfect way to achieve these goals. Join a social project whose priority is to raise public awareness about conflict prevention, rape, child-based violence, ethnic conflicts and bullying. Promote peace and work with these communities through fundraising, facilitating peace education workshops or improving the capacity of traditional councils in conflict resolution. These tasks require enormous compromise –we cannot stress this enough!-, and a certain amount of knowledge. So, amongst other things it is expected of you to have the availability to work on these projects, and to speak English at an intermediate level; in some cases, French at a basic level is required.
IT Training
The world is moving fast and people need to adapt to what companie are expecting of them. Today it is crucial to know how to use a computer, and a lot of people in the underdeveloped world are falling behind and loosing work opportunities, because they lack this knowledge. It is crucial to create opportunities for underprivileged societies to learn about technological development.
By becoming a volunteer in education, you can change a person’s life and its whole job perspectives, by imparting IT-Courses. For this, you must have at least basic computer skills (proof of this is that you are reading this, right know, on your computer). So, don’t be afraid to share your knowledge: teach adults and children how to use a computer and help them improve their future.
Languages
Volunteering jobs as an English teacher is probably one of the most common -and most solicited- subjects to teach abroad for people that volunteer in education. English is the language of business, having these skills gives people a competitive advantage vis-à-vis other potential competitors. If you think you have a special talent to teach English, you should check out the various programs that are offered all over the world. You can find one in almost every country! In most cases you do not need to have an actual teaching background; a basic level of English should be perfectly fine. But if you’re up for a little challenge, you can get creative, prepare your classes, or assist a teacher while doing this.
Special Needs
Some children with disabilities have the misfortune of not having enough money to take care of themselves, and they need a great deal of help! Luckily, there are projects that are willing to take this challenge and provide adequate attention to every single person in need. Volunteers are very welcome to support social projects in their daily tasks! If you are a caring, open person who isn’t afraid to get in close contact to foreign people, and you also have experience working with children with special needs, then this kind of volunteer program is ideal for you.
A lot of help is needed in these social organisations every day. You will expect to get a wide range of different duties. Volunteer in a day-care centre and design activities that foster physical development or get involved in school lessons and assist teachers in speech therapy lessons. Without question, this experience will be something you will never forget and, hopefully, the children you help won’t either.
Business Training
Help communities in disadvantage to better their situation and volunteer in education with focus on business training. Use your knowledge to organise communities, and aid them to build their own businesses. You might coach them on a series of different topics going from accounting to community leadership. As different cultures handle things differently, you will probably need to be creative and might need to optimise processes yourself. Business training is not just about helping people to get started, but about fighting competitive disadvantage on rural areas and disadvantages women face, as well. Become a volunteer in education and support these organisations now!
What qualifications do I need to volunteer in education?
Teaching is certainly an ability that not everyone possess! You might feel inclined to “just do it” and might be highly motivated, BUT this is a field where certain skills, and a certain degree of preparation is needed. Teaching someone a language, a skill, etc. takes time and it is a very important task! These communities will eventually benefit from this knowledge, so if someone’s going to do it, he/she better do it right!
Generally speaking, these are some qualifications that a volunteer in education needs:
- [At least] intermediate English knowledge, for all programs. And advanced English, and English certifications are needed, if you are volunteering as an English Teacher.
- In some countries, basic to intermediate knowledge of the country’s spoken language is also needed, especially when interacting with children.
- If you are working with children, a lot of programs will request that you provide a criminal background check report.
- Also, working with kids requires that you have some kind of experience, and for some programs a degree in Pedadogy or studies/degree on a related field is preferred.
- In programs that require volunteers to work with children with disabilities, experience is expected. Some of the knowledge/qualifications a volunteer could have are: Psychology, Physiotherapy, Pedagogy, and other related fields.
- For programs that feature business programs or IT courses, studies in business or IT, as well as qualifications/experience in any related studies are expected.
In which countries can I volunteer in education?
Supporting education is an important cause all over the world. And we have given you a general overview of some of the programs offered, in various areas of education. If you are convinced you can do a great job assisting some of these organisations, then your job now is to choose where it is you want to volunteer. There are various destinations that offer you the option to volunteer in education. Click on the map to see which opportunities are currently available for you!
By living together with all of the other volunteers and working together you will end up with some unique friendships all over the world.
– Saskia (22), volunteer from the Netherlands
General program requirements to volunteer in education
To find the right program for you, it’s advisable to know how a typical program looks like. To make it easier for you, this overview provides the most important information that you have to consider when choosing a program:
- Average duration: 4 – 50 weeks
- Average fee: $350/week
- Average working hours: Monday – Friday / 8.00 am – 16.00 pm
- Requirements: Intermediate English, minimum age of 18 years, health declaration, criminal backgorund check
How to Apply
After reading so much about the different programs available to work as a volunteer in education, you might be interested in how you can apply for the project that meet your interests. Just follow these steps and you’ll get to volunteer abroad in no time.
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Find Opportunities
Browse your program in Education and have look at which program you would like to help. Choose where to volunteer and which cause you prefer to support.
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Send Application
Go to the program page of your favourite volunteer program and click on “Apply” on the right sidebar. Set the date for your stay, cross check your personal information, upload the required documents and click “send application” afterwards.
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Receive Invitation
If you’re accepted, the social project will send you an official invitation, including your duration and program fees. Accept the invitation to reserve your spot.
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Now you have every information you need to find the program that meets your interests and abilities. Browse to learn about the various programs available on Volunteer World.
This platform is all about making volunteering simple and transparent. Featuring more than 500 volunteer programs in 70+ countries, it is a one-stop resource for volunteer abroad opportunities. If your are interested in other categories or ways to volunteer abroad, click here for more inspiration.
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