Volunteer
Thank you for your interest in volunteering. Children’s Village welcomes volunteers and outside assistance. However, there are some things you may wish to take into consideration.
Children’s Village is in a very remote area of Kanchanaburi province, Thailand. It is surrounded by beautiful nature, but there is very little else within walking distance.
While many love the natural surroundings, this comes with many insects and forms of wildlife. If you are not comfortable in the rugged outdoors, the village may not suit you.
Thai is the primary language used in the village. Few people speak English. This can make you feel lonely at times. We suggest trying to learn some basic Thai words before coming or else communication may be very difficult. First lesson, Children’s Village in Thai is called “Moo Baan Dek”.
Children’s Village does not allow alcohol or tobacco products in the village.
VOLUNTEER FAQ
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We accept all kinds of volunteers but our most common are those that teach English, music, or arts and crafts. Unless you speak Thai, those subjects are usually the easiest to teach.
That being said, in the past we have had volunteers that were fitness teachers, yoga teachers, photography teachers, and farming specialists who all had a meaningful impact on our village.
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No, you do not need to be an accredited teacher in order to volunteer.
For example. While having your TEFL certificate is certainly a plus, we do not have strict requirements in order to teach English in our school. Our children know very little English, and any exposure to it is great.
Constantly speaking English to the children, both in and out of the classroom is highly encouraged.
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Our students range anywhere from kindergarten age all the way to high school. Volunteers generally interact most with our younger students, but that’s not a hard rule. For example, high school students are much better suited for something like a photography class.
We do have another facility that deals primarily with newborns to the Pre-K age range. If you are interested in volunteering at that facility, please state that in the application and we can provide more information.
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We divide our volunteers into 3 categories.
1) Long - term. We consider a long term volunteer as anyone that stays one month or longer. Due to our limited administrative resources, long term volunteers are always given placement preference.
2) Short - term. We consider a short term volunteer as anyone that stays less than one month. Only around 30 percent of our volunteers are short term.
3) Special visitors - Special visitors are a unique category of volunteer such as a band, dance troupe, puppeteers etc... These are volunteers that normally only come for a one time performance to give a special show for the kids.
Other examples are groups of international students who would like to visit and do something nice for the school, such as help build a playground, create a mural, or just play games with the kids in the spirit of cultural exchange.
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Volunteers usually stay in our village although it is not a mandatory.
Volunteers are given accommodation, and three meals per day. While we deeply appreciate your desire to volunteer, our resources are extremely limited. Volunteers are asked to cover the cost of their accommodation and food.
For short term volunteers(less than 1 month) the cost of accommodation and food is 500thb($15 USD) per day
For long term volunteers(more than 1 month) the cost of accommodation and food is 250thb($7.50 USD) per day
For long term volunteers who commit to 3 months or more, the school will cover your food and accommodation
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For the average volunteer a typical day starts with helping in either our organic farm or kitchen.
Afterwards, volunteers will usually head to their class and teach.
After lunch, volunteers have the option of teaching another kind of class, playing with the children, or helping with additional village chores.
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We are currently not hiring, nor can we provide work permits to international applicants.
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Yes, our village is often visited by other schools and donors from all over the world. We are happy to give a tour of our school and explain our education philosophy.
We also now have a small cafe, which serves as a vocational training center for our students. Feel free to pass by and grab a cup of coffee.
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First, thank you for you interest in volunteering. We will try to get back to you within 14 days. If we have availability, we will follow up to schedule an interview via zoom or Microsoft teams.