# Another Volunteer wanting to work in Thailand!



## lucarrive

Hi Guys
I am planing to move to Thailand at the end of this year.

I have some money on the side so I am ok. 
I am looking for some volunteer work, I have a TEFL certificate so I will be able to teach English as a foreign language.
I am just looking for an organization that can offer a bed, some food, and a letter for a year visa, in exchange of my services.

Is that realistic? possible? or am I dreaming? 

I have looked everywhere online ....headache!

I really want to get involved with an organization to make a difference but cant find the right one.

Any advices welcome...
Thanks


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## brianmarinus

Hi!
I have a friend in Chiang Mai,Nort-Thailand,who is working on a school for aids children and children from very poor families,and I know they can need a person like you-I am not sure,what they can offer you,except the visa,but take a look at the home page from the school and if you like it,contact Hugo Raunholt Thomsen-he is danish and a grest guy.
Otherwise-try google-SOS childres village-I know they have some places out here to-one here in Chiang Rai,and it looks pretty fine-really nice houses and so

www.aidsboern.dk


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## lucarrive

i!
I have a friend in Chiang Mai,Nort-Thailand,who is working on a school for aids children and children from very poor families,and I know they can need a person like you-I am not sure,what they can offer you,except the visa,but take a look at the home page from the school and if you like it,contact Hugo Raunholt Thomsen-he is danish and a grest guy.
Otherwise-try google-SOS childres village-I know they have some places out here to-one here in Chiang Rai,and it looks pretty fine-really nice houses and so


Hi Brian,
Thank you very much for your help & advices. I will send your friend Hugo an email and also search on google for SOS Children village.
For the visa, I can get a few months with a tourist visa, I am sure I will find a solution on site for longer term.

Cheers


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## Song_Si

I think the request for accommodation and food may be very limiting and is imho unrealistic for a year; you would effectively be asking for money from them, something that in most cases they do not have.

I have had involvement with an orphanage and another children's charity, they had so little money and I was happy to help out and pay for resources, not the other way around!

Maybe the one Brian has advised of is well-off for cash, accomm and resources; as a financial supporter of a children's charity I know they would not be able to provide food/accomm and also at a guess it would be outside their terms of operation to spend donated money on housing and food.

If you have Googled for 'Volunteer in Thailand' there are plenty of places, but they charge money for a reason - they need to.

Sorry if this sounds harsh but that's the way I see it. As a volunteer I chose to more than pay my own way.


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## lucarrive

Song_Si said:


> I think the request for accommodation and food may be very limiting and is imho unrealistic for a year; you would effectively be asking for money from them, something that in most cases they do not have.
> 
> I have had involvement with an orphanage and another children's charity, they had so little money and I was happy to help out and pay for resources, not the other way around!
> 
> Maybe the one Brian has advised of is well-off for cash, accomm and resources; as a financial supporter of a children's charity I know they would not be able to provide food/accomm and also at a guess it would be outside their terms of operation to spend donated money on housing and food.
> 
> If you have Googled for 'Volunteer in Thailand' there are plenty of places, but they charge money for a reason - they need to.
> 
> Sorry if this sounds harsh but that's the way I see it. As a volunteer I chose to more than pay my own way.
> 
> Hi
> You may be right after all. The truth may be harsh but it helps! Organizations have very little moneythat is a fact.
> I guess I will be going toward that direction. Thailand is very cheap so expenses wont be huge.
> Cheers


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## brianmarinus

lucarrive said:


> Song_Si said:
> 
> 
> 
> I think the request for accommodation and food may be very limiting and is imho unrealistic for a year; you would effectively be asking for money from them, something that in most cases they do not have.
> 
> I have had involvement with an orphanage and another children's charity, they had so little money and I was happy to help out and pay for resources, not the other way around!
> 
> Maybe the one Brian has advised of is well-off for cash, accomm and resources; as a financial supporter of a children's charity I know they would not be able to provide food/accomm and also at a guess it would be outside their terms of operation to spend donated money on housing and food.
> 
> If you have Googled for 'Volunteer in Thailand' there are plenty of places, but they charge money for a reason - they need to.
> 
> Sorry if this sounds harsh but that's the way I see it. As a volunteer I chose to more than pay my own way.
> 
> Hi
> You may be right after all. The truth may be harsh but it helps! Organizations have very little moneythat is a fact.
> I guess I will be going toward that direction. Thailand is very cheap so expenses wont be huge.
> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> Hi!
> I think you are right-they can not afford to pay eny one.
> If you think you can live up here, in Chiang Rai-I can get a appartment for you-around 3500 baht-and if you send some mails to the schools in the area,I think you can have a chance to come in there,as a teacher-and they can and will then pay and fix all about papers and so.
> And in this part of the country-everything is so cheap-I think 30-40 procent of what they pay around Bangkok and Pattaya, for a living.
Click to expand...


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## Song_Si

there is a lot to consider

TEFL - but can you teach for full days, 5 days a week? In a small school there simply would not be a need for this. Are you a teacher? Four-week Teflers have a dreadful reputation with many expats, and eh TEFL qual is not acceptable to some schools.

Speak Thai? We live in eastern Thailand - apart from a few who can exchange basic greetings, and when ex-locals come home for from Bangkok or uni etc at NY and Songkran, there is not a single Thai I have met who I could have a conversation with. Even the local English teacher does not speak English as such, I think she is just a few lessons ahead of the class! I'd be lost without my partner, I cannot read Thai and speak only basic level I do mean lost at times, no road signs in anything but Thai script, the main bus station 46km away has a few signs bi-lingual but that's it. I've been lost cycling and had to phone home, find a Thai and get my partner to translate, Can be scary. 

We are rural and eg the local 10-12 year olds have 2 x 1 hr English sessions per week in their syllabus - that's all. It's a moderate size school maybe 300 pupils, not sure when English teaching starts but suspect around 8-9 year olds. As this is a government school they cannot have volunteers - you would be taking a job from a Thai person.

I had involvement with another school about 18 months ago, very poorly resourced the teacher's only English books were some books donated by a USA church hat were designed for teaching Mexican children English - all the kids' names, place names etc very focused on Mexican lifestyle. There were no books for the children, the reality is their limited funds were spent on subjects determined to be more valuable (and we could argue that one forever).

Research, and research more. I'd suggest a lot of Google searches, contact organisations who host volunteers and ask to be put in touch directly with a current volunteer. Find out about regional living costs - the cities cost more but living remote/rural is not for everyone, and you'll need to buy transport.

And one mention re money. A school teacher at a rural government school is likely earning about 12,000 baht a month. that's 242 pounds. Our local ones get free housing -six share one house, there is no luxury. I have a lot of respect for them.


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## Song_Si

there is a lot to consider

TEFL - but can you teach for full days, 5 days a week? In a small school there simply would not be a need for this. Are you a teacher? Four-week Teflers have a dreadful reputation with many expats, and eh TEFL qual is not acceptable to some schools.

Speak Thai? We live in eastern Thailand - apart from a few who can exchange basic greetings, and when ex-locals come home for from Bangkok or uni etc at NY and Songkran, there is not a single Thai I have met who I could have a conversation with. Even the local English teacher does not speak English as such, I think she is just a few lessons ahead of the class! I'd be lost without my partner, I cannot read Thai and speak only basic level I do mean lost at times, no road signs in anything but Thai script, the main bus station 46km away has a few signs bi-lingual but that's it. I've been lost cycling and had to phone home, find a Thai and get my partner to translate, Can be scary. 

We are rural and eg the local 10-12 year olds have 2 x 1 hr English sessions per week in their syllabus - that's all. It's a moderate size school maybe 300 pupils, not sure when English teaching starts but suspect around 8-9 year olds. As this is a government school they cannot have volunteers - you would be taking a job from a Thai person.

I had involvement with another school about 18 months ago, very poorly resourced the teacher's only English books were some books donated by a USA church hat were designed for teaching Mexican children English - all the kids' names, place names etc very focused on Mexican lifestyle. There were no books for the children, the reality is their limited funds were spent on subjects determined to be more valuable (and we could argue that one forever).

Research, and research more. I'd suggest a lot of Google searches, contact organisations who host volunteers and ask to be put in touch directly with a current volunteer. Find out about regional living costs - the cities cost more but living remote/rural is not for everyone, and you'll need to buy transport.

And one mention re money. A school teacher at a rural government school is likely earning about 12,000 baht a month. that's 242 pounds. Our local ones get free housing -six share one house, there is no luxury. I have a lot of respect for them.


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## Song_Si

MODS - please delete above double post
The joy of remote living - can take 3-5 min to submit a text post, must have clicked twice
thanks


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## Song_Si

*volunteer info*

I didn't realise my post had actually submitted, and did a re-write in Word as lost net connection altogether last night.

Firstly - and I should have said this first - *good on you* for considering giving some time for a voluntary organisation. 

thinking about the benefits of going through an organisation who is set up to take volunteers

* support. Should be able to provide the relevant advice on travel, medical, insurance, a translator for when you start, someone you can call if you have questions/problems
* orientation; have seen some who have the first one-two weeks where you learn about cultural aspects, some basic Thai etc
* other volunteers. It could get lonely
* for teaching, resources, lesson plans, and some guidance from more experienced people

and a note on Internet – I use an aircard, there have never been phone lines here, so no ADSL internet or cable tv. The aircard is adequate at times, non-functional at others, reasonable for text/emails but insanely slow for anything with graphics.

Here is an article Four months in volunteering in northern Thailand not promoting that organisation but there is a lot of info on their site. Note their costs: One month or multiple months: 14 000 Baht per month - includes accommodation, push-bike and volunteer support. A well-set up place like this may be an ideal place to start.

Attached pics a couple of local signs - when I saw the first one I thought it was for an elephant park for tourists. Turns out it's a warning that I was cycling into a wild elephant zone. We have two within 12km of here. Nice to see, but I keep my distance. I like to think I can out-pedal a charging elephant (adrenaline!)

Second is a typical road sign - means nothing to me - sometimes I've felt like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs so I can find my way home. 

Cheers


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## Chewy

lucarrive said:


> Hi Guys
> I am planing to move to Thailand at the end of this year.
> 
> I have some money on the side so I am ok.
> I am looking for some volunteer work, I have a TEFL certificate so I will be able to teach English as a foreign language.
> I am just looking for an organization that can offer a bed, some food, and a letter for a year visa, in exchange of my services.
> 
> Is that realistic? possible? or am I dreaming?
> 
> I have looked everywhere online ....headache!
> 
> I really want to get involved with an organization to make a difference but cant find the right one.
> 
> Any advices welcome...
> Thanks


I have found an organization that operates orphanages in Phuket , 4 locations in Indonesia and one in Kenya . They seem reputable . You will be given the opportunity to teach children and work in local public works programs . You will pay all fees associated with your stay . The school has deals with local establishments to give a reduced rate for accomadations and meals . The cost for all is relatively low compared to many other volunteer organizations I have found . I will have to check on this organization a bit more myself and see what the full deal is . Several of my Thai friends in phuket have heard of the place though and said it was a good place


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