Do you recognize that feeling that you always wanted to do something for so long, but never found the courage or time to do so? Or whatever reason came up not to make it happen? And the feeling comes back over and over again, until one day, you finally make the decision. That’s where I am right now; I decided to do something which I always wanted to, and that’s to volunteer abroad.
I’m very fortunate to fluently speak English, which gives me the opportunity to do my job, travel around the world to organize and attend conferences, and even move from one country to another. However, this is not a given thing for everybody, and not everybody has this opportunity. I want to help other people and communities, starting with teaching English and educational support for the chance for a better future.
In the early 90’s when my sister, my parents and I left our home country Yugoslavia, I very well remember many people who voluntarily helped me and my family when we arrived in the Netherlands. The people back then made an impact on me and our family’s future and up until today, I’m very thankful and will never forget these amazing people. Now I feel it’s my time to have a positive impact on someone else's life and hopefully return that same feeling I received when I was a child.
I’m excited to share that I will be away for 4 weeks in February 2020 to volunteer in Indonesia and Vietnam. These are the programs I will volunteer at:
Tianyar, Bali, Indonesia | Educational Support at yayasan widya sari
Photo credits: Yayasan Widya Sari
Yayasan Widya Sari was founded in 2008 with the aim of enabling all village children to receive an education and have the tools and knowledge necessary to build a brighter future for themselves.
“Yayasan” is an Indonesian term that designates non-profit foundations and “Widya Sari” has a double meaning in Balinese: the first is “essence of education” and the second “a better life through education.”
I'm looking forward to meeting the local community and to support their learning and confidence in areas such as English, Computers, Sport, Music and Arts.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Teaching English
Photo credits: Love Volunteers
The teaching programs where I will volunteer at are a shelter for street children, a community center and/or a Vietnamese school. At these institutions where under-staffing and skills shortages are an issue, I will support in teaching English.
As is common in many of the world’s poorer communities, an ability to speak English unlocks a new world of possibilities – in education and in job opportunities.
I'm very eager to contribute to the goal of this project, which is to provide free English language classes to disadvantaged Vietnamese children and youth, to improve the future prospects and to help them break the poverty cycle.
In case you would like to follow my upcoming volunteering trip to Indonesia and Vietnam, keep an eye out on my blog where I will be writing about my experiences and impressions abroad.
Thank you for reading my blog!