The 4 weeks I have spent at the project site have been a fantastic experience! I’m back in Denmark now, back to my “normal life”, my nice apartment and comforts, my busy social life… But thinking at the time at the foundation I can’t help smiling! It has been a journey for me.

I had one entire month vacation and I was looking for inspiration on how to spend it: I wanted to do something different, see something new and possibly give a meaning to that experience, so there I found the best project, just browsing the net: the website, the information, the places shown in the pictures: they all looked good, professional, well organized, so after some investigation I thought, why not? And I sent my application. So here I come! First time in South America and first time as volunteer!

When I arrived in Santa Elena (after an incredibly long trip) I was wondering where I was and trying to grasp what that was all about. The place was really beautiful, the nature and the landscape were breath-taking. The project site is really an amazing place for personal development: you can make what you want out of it! There are different options on the way you can contribute and my experience in the teaching and tutoring programs was really rewarding. Working with the kids had been good fun and I loved it when they expressed words of appreciation to our work and the fact that they enjoyed learning English and eager to try new things out. And when meeting them on the streets in Santa Elena and hearing “Hola Profe!!” I must admit that made me feel good!

The cooperative living part was the least easy for me, used to total freedom and independence, the life together in a shared space sometime was pushing my limits a bit. But the people I’ve met have definitely left a trace in me: Sarah, we arrived the same day and we bonded a lot and had great time together. Yunior, fantastic friend, my staying would not have been the same without him. We were the early birds of the project and it was nice starting the day chatting with you in the kitchen while preparing breakfast. And we had really good time playing pool and enjoying a Polar Ice. Kelvis, short but sweet, would have been fun if you could stick around a bit longer. Ruben, todo bello, the man full of resources.

Once we got to know each other better it was really good fun to spend time and have a laugh together. Andrea, it was great meeting you. And very encouraging to see that being a volunteer and working with NGO’s can be a truly professional experience, requiring the right background and motivation that can be closer to the world I know, and it is not only for idealists and visionary people that are trying to save the world before trying to save themselves. I think that the experience of being there and working with Manfred in the NGO management of the project will be brilliant for you and your future career.

Manfred, you are the men! I hope that your ambition of being dispensable at the project site will finally work (a bit at least) so that you will be able to take your well deserved vacation! I hope that the other volunteers will have the chance, as I did, to get to know you better and hear some of your stories. Your passion and dedication to the organisation cause are absolutely admirable and this world needs quite a few of your kind! I’ve been really impressed and inspired by your stories: your life and experiences, working with street children in Caracas, moving to Santa Elena, starting everything again from scratch… I hope you’ll have the chance to travel back to Germany with your gorgeous daughter, and give your mum the pleasure to meet her only grandchild. Manfred, take care, and thanks again for the experience!! A big hug to everybody!

Cheers Eva

Want to know more about this community and conservation project in Venezuela? Find out more at Ecoteer Volunteer Venezuela.

Interested to browse volunteering projects in other parts of the world? Try Volunteer in Malaysia!

Moses is a teacher from the a primary school in Bujagali Falls Uganda, is a very dedicated teacher. Besides teaching the kids, he is very much involved in many things related to the community development around the school. Uganda as many people know, is a poor country with high cases of AIDS. Many of the kids who attend the school where Moses taught, are orphans as their parents were victim to AIDS. With that, many of the kids have little or no money at all.

Thus Moses with another 15 teachers form a volunteering project to provide for the children and community needs. Most of the children need books, stationary, uniforms but these are generally quite expensive so most of the children drop out from school not soon after they have joined. However this does not deter the teachers to make a difference.

Moses and his team of teachers form projects to help make their school and community environment a better one. The projects were successful with the help from local and foreign volunteers as well as donations.

Children could not concentrate in class because they have no breakfast and lunch, so porridge are provided to help with the children concentration. Now the school have a new kitchen thanks to the volunteers and more porridge can be prepared to fill up more tummies to make these children feel more energetic! The children now also have a room called ‘Library’. However more books of reading age 7-15 are needed to fill the shelves of the Library. But it is a good progress looking back from how the school started just from a few shacks.

Volunteers who had participated in this projects are touched by the dedication of Moses and his team of teachers put in to the projects. The ex-volunteers donated some money and with that Moses has recently put electricity, running water, showers and flush toilets in the volunteer accommodation so that the volunteers could have the benefit of this.

Currently in this project, donations are needed to provide the children with teaching and learning resources, three new classrooms, science equipment and raw materials to conduct basic experiments, cupboards and shelving, metal doors and shutters and second hand digital camera used as teaching resources.

Besides that, the girls are in need of sanitary pads because it is too expensive for the poor communities. Without sanitary pads, it becomes very unsanitary and disallow the girls to go out from their home during during their periods. Most of the time, the girls would be using water from the puddles to clean themselves because they have no access to nearby clean water sources. Thus sanitary pads would help them and reduce the unhygienic conditions.

Volunteers are welcome to join Moses and his team to help out in the projects to make the school and the community surroundings a better place to live in. More stories about this project at Success of Volunteers in Uganda.

Find out more about this project at Teach/ Help a variety of task to help develop a poor Uganda primary school.

Here is a video on the children singing the Busoga tribe national anthem before their school starts.

Want to find for other humanitarian volunteering projects? Find out more at Ecoteer – Humanitarian Projects.

The Star newspaper is one of the main daily newspaper read in Malaysia and today on the 17th of January 2012, an article on Ecoteer was published! Of course quite an amount of effort was put in to have this article published in a quite glorious manner.

Our two full paged article appeared in the Star 2 section paged 2 and 3 of this newspaper and hopefully it looks attractive and would inspire local and foreign tourist to opt for a low environmental impact holiday. The article included an introduction on how Ecoteer was found by Daniel Quilter, followed by the concept of Ecoteer and how this concept of volunteering while holidaying is quite foreign to Malaysian tourist.

The article also included some background stories about the community & conservation program and turtle conservation project in the lovely tropical island of Perhentians as well as the English project located in the palm oil estates of Sukau, Sabah.

Read the original article in The Star Online: Ecoteer – Vacation with a difference

Want to know more about green traveling and responsible volunteering? Find out more at Ecoteer: Travel With A Cause or drop us an email to inquire more about our projects at contact@ecoteer.com.

The Ecuador Amazon rainforest is one of the Earth’s treasures, a highly biodiverse place and also the home to the Shiwiar people. The Shiwiar territory is one of the most pristine and isolated places in the Amazon forest and could only be reached by air transportation.

A hardcore nature lover could spend their whole day living in this jungle observing unique, wonderful or even weird creatures roaming around in the forest while enjoying the peace and serenity of this pristine undisturbed forest. Sadly the Ecuadorian government does not value the forest and indigenous people of the Amazon. Lands are being sold off to multinational companies for short term profits, destroying the fragile ecosystem and the negatively affecting the lives of the indigenous people.

With that, a natural instinct to protect ones home came to Pascual Kunchicuy from the Shiwiar tribe. An ecotourism project was set up to invite people to come and have a look at the Shiwiar people way of living. The money will then be used to purchase the forest land with the long term aim of protecting the forest.

Volunteers are welcome to experience their culture but at the same time volunteers would be helping out in tasks such as teaching English to the local tribes, construction, accountancy, floral and fauna studies, hosting tourist and many more.

Volunteers are also needed for the biodiversity research programme working in conjunction with local community projects. The expedition is a biodiversity research expedition working in conjunction with local community projects and research findings will help to more effectively manage and conserve this endangered habitat. Volunteers will be able to study rare and endangered species, hear the sounds of the Dusky Titi and Howler monkeys in the mornings while exploring the Amazon forest and learn a wide range of methods used in biodiversity research. It is the perfect project for nature lovers who are looking for green eco projects during their gap year, career break or just simply for the fun of it!

Interested and want to know more about this volunteer project? Find out more at Volunteer For The Conservation of Amazon Community.

This video shows what drives the Shiwiars to protect their forest and their future.

I’ve always wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. I’m not sure why; maybe it was because I had such wonderful memories of my kindergarten that I wanted to give the same to other children.

In March 2011, I left for Semporna to teach children in rural Sabah. I chose to volunteer in Borneo for many reasons, but mostly because the concept of the NGO is a novelty in this world: providing education for stateless children who have no access to education because of their parents’ illegal status.

It fascinated me – how was this possible? What was the methodology of teaching? Are these kids even eager to learn, or were they forced to attend school? Who are these children? How do they manage in school? How do they get to school? How far out do they live? What kind of environment do they grow up in? What is life like for these children? Is it embarrassing to start kindergarten at 13? What lies ahead for some of them have when they finish primary school at 19?

I experienced some of the heart-breaking answers first-hand. What I breathed and lived every day for the next 3 months in Semporna, was only a fraction of what these children have been through.

The hot showers that I missed out for 3 months, is something the children have never seen nor experienced. Their showers consist of a big well in the corner of the house, or just outside their DIY house, separated by a flimsy curtain. Privacy, which I’ve been privileged to have had coming from a small family, does not exist in their vocabulary : you sleep with 6 other siblings on a king size bed in the master bedroom, while your parents sleep out on the floor, with the little baby brother.

The ‘tiring’ 2-hour bus rides to and fro school in a comfortable air-conditioned 40-seater bus that I used to dread, is luxurious enough for a queen, compared to what they endure. Some of these kids walk 20-30 minutes to school every single day in the hot scorching sun, past huge nauseating rubbish dumps, and often weaving in and out of potholes larger than a car wheel. One day, I walked a sick kid home. He had a nail in his foot, from playing around the backyard where his dad was fixing the house. He limped but kept walking through tarred road, bushes and long weeds, unpaved roads, past coconut trees and finally, after my shirt had soaked through a 20 minute walk, we reached his barren house. His living room was completely empty except for a bulky 19” TV in the living room.

Are they eager to learn? Eager is probably an understatement. These kids are hungry and STARVING to learn. They pull a face when we tell them it’s a public holiday and school is closed. They ask me if they can come in on weekends. The Year 6 kids pounce on my suggestion to have additional English classes – “Ya Ma’am! Mau kita!” (Yes Ma’am, we want!) They crowd around the dusty make-shift library, excitedly flipping the books. For some of them, this is the first time they’ve held a storybook in their hands.

When we had to combine the whole school into one classroom, to make way for the practising of the Regatta Lepa festival dancing, the classroom looked like a cramped fishmarket. Yet, they continued to do their exercises and continued with life.

The legs of two long tables gave way at one of the island schools, leaving only the planks on the floor. The children didn’t let that interfere with their zest to learn – they knelt on the floor and continued to write.

For some of these children, it is their first time in a real school. They might have attended religious classes prior to this, which meant they only knew how to write Jawi. The alphabets that ‘normal’ children learn at 4, are a foreign language to them and many struggle. At 14, some are in Primary 1 where I taught them common occupations. They finally learn that their father’s occupation is “fisherman” in English. When they finish their primary education, some of these children will likely be 16, or have reached adulthood. Their cracked voices, slick John Travolta hair belies the fact that they’re in Primary 3 and will finish school when most other adolescents their age, have already finished high school and getting ready to backpack across the world. For some, they would be lucky if they ever leave the Semporna town.

Currently, there are 10,000 children (and still counting) enrolled in HCAS schools, concentrated mostly in Lahad Datu and Semporna areas.  The schools are funded by international aid agencies, several local plantation companies, MNCs as well as foreign (mostly European) companies.

How can you help?

Contact Ecoteer Responsible Travel or visit their website www.ecoteerresponsibletravel.com to see if you can volunteer for some of their teaching projects in Borneo. There are on-going education projects in Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Semporna. They are always in need of volunteer teachers who are looking for a life-changing experience. Ecoteer Responsible Travel can be contacted at Daniel@ecoteer.com and you can check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ecoteer.

Written by Ecoteer Member Liz Liew

At the start of November, RUDEC also welcomed Alex Bradley from the UK. Alex will be volunteering until the end of January and brings with him a wealth of experience of working with, and supporting, the most deprived and disadvantaged families in the communities of the UK. During his time in Belo, Alex will be working with Phil to develop and launch a new development project which utilises the power of sport. Football4Action (F4A) aims to empower young people to be leaders of social change. By providing educational workshops which combine football with health/life skills F4A will help young people to develop their personal & social skills, give them a safe environment to express themselves and discuss important community issues, and lay the foundations for a legion of F4A Ambassadors (peer-educators) capable of spreading their message throughout the region. The project start date is January 2012 and Phil and Alex are hard at work laying the necessary foundations to make the project a success. Donations of footballing equipment are essential to make this project possible.

Any donations (financial or equipment) are greatly welcomed and will enable RUDEC to provide young people with rights that are not currently being adequately met: The ‘right to full opportunity for play, recreation & sport’ (principle 7, Declaration on the Rights of the Child) & ‘the right to a voice on matters that affect them and to havetheir views taken seriously’ (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child).

Not unlike many of its African neighbours, an astounding number of Kenya’s children are left without parents because of HIV, AIDS, and malnourishment. With over 70 per cent of the population under 30 years of age, these detriments have compounded effects on children who must fend for themselves, raise their siblings, and go without education. As a volunteer, you will gladly be accepted into any of a number of programs to rebuild communities, educate and counsel children, apply immunisations, and clean up the environment. While all it takes is a little determination to participate, a briefing on the distinct cultural practices of the Masai Mara and Kenyans in general will go a long way.

One of the most culturally and historically rich countries in West Africa, Ghana’s inhabitants depend largely on agriculture for sustenance. Establishing a sound familial structure, then, is essential for farms to remain in operation and keep crop yields high. When the parents are no longer in the picture, volunteers are called on to help educate children on how to plant, water, and harvest crops so that they can reap a liveable profit and become self-sufficient.

Whether the assignment is in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, or anywhere else, volunteers are empowered with an entire slew of rewarding benefits and the experience of a lifetime. Besides the assistance they bring to the community, volunteers in Africa help develop and support an advanced global perspective, creating a higher level of consciousness for the entire world. Volunteers are rewarded by the immense gratification from the work itself and the opportunity to serve as an agent of change both in Africa and on the home front. As volunteers will attest, all the rhetoric in the world couldn’t capture how it truly feels to save lives and inspire hope in others. As an added benefit, the cultural insight gained from a volunteering experience in Africa helps to understand and appreciate the reasons why people do what they do.

To be a part of this important transaction of resources and hope, search for flights to Africa, show up, and make a difference. The rest will return to you tenfold.

Search the Ecoteer.com website to find your perfect volunteering project in Africa.

The centre is home for lions, leopards, deers and various types of primate.

The centre is in desperate need for more volunteers to help provide assistance to their growing number of injured and rescued animals.  There are various roles which volunteers can fill.  Volunteers with veterinary qualifications and experience will receive reduced fees dependent on length of stay.

The centre is offering a 20% discount for any volunteers starting in 2011.

For more information please go to their Ecoteer page at Volunteer in Malawi

It is weird …
I look out of the window and I don’t see the clear ocean no more
Instead , I’m overwhelmed with the sight of buildings and the ever deafening vehicles
I see people walking on the streets with an obsession to a fast paced society
I wonder what is going through their heads right now
They don’t look at ease but they sure are walking it

I miss the hills that stood high on the island
The mist that subsides at dawn
And the bats that used to fly narrowly missing my face
The locals who walked by greeting me
As I sat there smoking on my bright blue porch

One season passed and many friends made
Memories that one would cherish
But could never chase
Grab your snorkels to the tide that we embrace

I now sit humbly on the corner of my bed
Fuck me , the world is getting smaller
But time seems to be pacing
Dare to dream and dare to live
Are you in a rush to get somewhere
Why do we even bother

It’s been a good run of faith and dedication
Snap back in the real world
Kickin’ it like a rock and rolla
Dreams are made for a reason
And the reason is nothing but a bare self confession

The Ecoteer House Project is based in the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia.  The project aims to conserve through education be it the diverse marine environment or the  Malay culture.  To find out more about the Ecoteer House Project please go to www.ecoteerresponsibletravel.com.

Follow Pavin’s rock and roll life by reading his blog at Trippy and Twisted.  He is currently building his own Eco adventure Park in Ipoh, Malaysia.  Good luck Pavin we are all behind you 200%!!!

Below is an article from a blog I found which address’s this issue, listen to the radio talk show, it gives interesting listening.

I was recently on a radio show on CBC radio in Canada called “Q with Jian Ghomeshi” in a segment titled “Do gap year volunteer programs do more harm than good?”.
You can listen to it here if you’d like. I agree with the comment regarding animal and conservation projects (trail clean-ups etc) as being examples of volunteer programs which have the potential to add a lot of value. And I agree that it’s not black and white. My main point in speaking on this issue is that we need to consider our impact – collectively and individuals – when we engage in programs claiming social impact as a main purpose. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Comment by a reader

thats the problem that its not always black and white and there is so much disinformation competing with cautionary advice like yours that its hard to tell whats what.

unfortunately marketing which is designed to connect with a potential volunteer on an emotional level and claims something like “make an amazing difference on people more unfortunate than yourself” will always outshine cautionary advice for a gap year youngster who hasnt yet had enough life experience to become as cynical as us

the problem with animal conservation centers at least here in South America is that some trap animals and keep them like a zoo and claim they are rehabilitating them to bring lots of unsuspecting gringos and cash – but then again there are some great animal rescue centers out there as well where an high turnover of lots of short term volunteers make a difference

how do we get the message out about the good guys without resorting to the same wild marketing claims?   naming and shaming the bad guys?  trying to set a good example?  hope someone else can help answer !

So please before you go on a volunteering project ASK them many questions especially ‘HOW does your project make a positive impact’ and also ask for past volunteer emails.