Volunteering in Thailand
The Kingdom of Thailand is one of the most interesting countries in Asia, both culturally and geographically. The country is a charming mix of new and old, of traditional and modern living.
Information
4 projects
4-12+ weeks
From €1199
Volunteering in Thailand
Volunteering in Thailand is a unique way to discover the country, its culture and people while doing a meaningful job. You must be at least 18 years old, independent and outgoing, and have a genuine desire to volunteer.
You can arrive every 1st and 3rd Sunday all year roun. The program begins with a day’s introduction, including language- and culture lessons. The main objective of these introduction days is to give you an overview of the town and local culture where you are going to work.
Participants will be picked up at the Suvarnabhum airport in Bangkok and taken to Ayuthaya, one hour drive north of Bangkok, where they will be accommodated at one of the two volunteer houses. If you arrive earlier or want to stay some extra days as a tourist after your volunteering stay, each extra night costs 20 Euros.
The volunteer houses are about 1 km from down town, bus and train stations.
The Projects in Thailand
Below you will find a description of the different projects available in Thailand.
Note on teaching in general
School holidays are from March until mid May and from mid September until November. During these periods, our local coordinator organizes summer classes in a family house or primary school classroom, in villages or communities, where the children are taught. Volunteers will teach these summer classes 3-4 hours per day in these periods.
Food & accommodation
All volunteers are accommodated in one of the two apartments in Ayuthaya, situated about 1 km from down town, bus / train stations and 2 – 5 km from major touirst attractions.
There is air conditioning, toilets and showers with hot water, free WIFI, refrigerator, micro-wave and toaster. Food is prepared by a Thai cook. It is posible to ask for vegetarian food. Once you start working, you will in most cases get lunch at work. If you don’t intend to spend the weekend in the apartment, please notify the cook.
Child Development Centers
Child Development Centres are located in poor industrial areas. The centres have children from 2 to 6 years old. Parents bring their children here in the morning and pick them up again in the evening after work.
At least one teacher speaks a little English. Participants help with teaching, drawing, painting, sports, games, singing, dancing, etc. It is expected that volunteers plan activities and are able to work independently. Simple English is taught by singing and conversation.
It is a good idea to bring some teaching materials such as books, toys, picture dictionaries, drawing pens, etc. Pictures of your family, friends and country are good to talk about during lessons.
Work is from 8 am to 12 noon. You can continue to work during the afternoon in the nearby primary school.
Primary Schools
Primary schools have children from 5 to 12 years old, and there are between 10 and 40 students per class depending on the capacity and quality of the school. Teachers will help you to prepare lessons. Teaching is simple, mainly conversational English for beginners.
Suitable topics can be body parts, names of food, animals or colours. The focus is on spoken English. The teachers also want to practice and improve their English.
You will work Monday to Friday, 4 to 5 hours per day. You are more than welcome to bring teaching materials here as well. Smoking is not allowed in the school area.
Secondary Schools
Secondary schools are in bigger cities and have children from 12 to 19 years old. These are larger schools with between 1000 and 4000 students. English is taught as the primary foreign language, but the Thai teachers may not be able to speak fluent English. Therefore, your role will be helping them with pronunciation.
Some schools also offer lessons in French, German and Italian. If you have reasonable language skills in any of these languages, you will probably be asked to help teaching these languages as well. Some schools have up to 10 English teachers, but only a few can speak good English.
Conversation lessons are highly appreciated. You will work 4 to 5 hours per day from Monday to Friday.
You will need some time to prepare lessons.
Buddhist temples
There are about 30,000 temples in Thailand, where monks live and study religion. Orphanages are run as schools in Thailand. Therefore some of the children attending temple schools are either orphans or from very poor families.
All of these temples receive donations to preserve the temples and surroundings. Monks are involved with social charity but are also traditionally in charge of children’s education in Thailand.
Tasks will mainly be to teach English on the primary and secondary school levels from Monday to Friday. You will not be teaching the young monks.
Internships for Health and Social Care students
Health & Social Care students can apply for an internship in Thailand in nursing homes, senior housing and other institutions. Educational students can follow internships at various educational institutions.
Voluntary Work
| Weeks | Fees |
|---|---|
| 4 | €1 199 |
| 5 | €1 309 |
| 6 | €1 419 |
| 7 | €1 529 |
| 8 | €1 639 |
| 9 | €1 749 |
| 10 | €1 858 |
| 11 | €1 968 |
| 12 | €2 078 |
Internships
| Weeks | Fees |
|---|---|
| 4 | €1 439 |
| 5 | €1 609 |
| 6 | €1 779 |
| 7 | €1 948 |
| 8 | €2 118 |
| 9 | €2 288 |
| 10 | €2 458 |
| 11 | €2 628 |
| 12 | €2 768 |
Inkluderet i prisen
Frivilligt arbejde i Thailand
Indkvartering under hele opholdet – helpension på arbejdsdage, adgang til køkken på fridage
Hjælp og vejledning af koordinatoren under hele opholdet. Ved praktikophold: hjælp og vejledning af koordinator, tolk, transportomkostninger til arbejdspladser i landsbyer
Håndbog før afrejse
Introduktionsdage med indføring i thailandsk sprog og kultur, udflugter
The following is not included in the fees:
- Visa fees
- Airfares
- Any entrance fee during sightseeing and travelling
- Insurance
- Personal expenses i.e. laundry, telephone, souvenirs, internet, etc.
- Transport to and from working place, if needed (approx 1 Euro per day)
The country
The Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is one of the most interesting countries in Asia. Each year over 12 million visitors land in Thailand. The country has a pleasant blend of new and old, ancient and modern ways of life.
Thailand spreads over 16 latitudes and more than 1100 miles, with one of the most varied climates in Southeast Asia.
The country is geographically split in four: mountains to the north, fertile plains in the middle, the harsh Korat Plateau to the Northeast and the southern region, with its dense rain forests and gorgeous tropical beaches. The Bay of Thailand forms the eastern coast and the western coastline is the Andaman Sea. Hundreds of islands spread into the sea on all sides of the Thai mainland. Most popular are Phuket, Phi Phi, Krabi, Koh Chhang and Koh Samet.
Climate
The climate is tropical with high temperatures and high humidity. In June, the monsoon announces the rainy season.
There are three different seasons – the warm season from March until May, the rainy season from June until September and the cooler season from October until the end of February.
The average temperature is 33 degrees Celsius all year-round.
Religion
Religion plays an important part in Thai culture. Over 95% are Theraveda-buddhists, whilst the rest are Muslims, Christians or Hindus. Buddhism is very important in daily life and the temples are the gathering places for all social and religious celebrations and events in every village. 300,000 monks live in 30,000 temples.
Every Thai male has to be a monk at least for a week or two before he gets married and starts a family life.
Even westerners can become monks, if they wish to learn and practice Buddhism.
Population
Thailand is a place where people from all of Asia meet. Only a third of the 60 million inhabitants of the country are Thai.
There are large groups of Chinese, Laotian and Khmers, while Malayans, Burmans, Indians and Vietnamese form a smaller part of the population.
Despite this mix of nationalities, the sense of cultural and social belonging is very strong in Thailand.
Language
The main language is Thai, which is spoken in most parts of the country. There are several different dialects. Thai is a language of “tones”, which means that a word can have five meanings if pronounced using 5 different tones, depending on where you put the intonation. In Bangkok, the language of business and education is English.
EXIS i Thailand
You will find our projects in Ayuthaya, Thailand’s former capital, which is situated close to Bangkok.
Before you go
Living and working in Thailand is a huge challenge and you will need to adapt. It may seem overwhelming at first to adapt to a completely different way of living, another language and slow pace. Nothing resembles home and people react differently. The sunny hot weather, the spicy food, the humid atmosphere – everything is different. At your work you will confront a harsh social reality and experience things that most tourists can’t even imagine.
You must be flexible and independent to work as a volunteer.
It is emotionally very demanding to work with poor people, but it also gives an opportunity to do something meaningful as you broaden your horizon and gain an experience that may change your life style and that you will never forget.
Please remember to bring a towel, sunscreen lotion and insect repellents.
General information
Visa
For shorter stays, you’ll receive a visa upon arrival. If your stay is more than 30 days, you should apply for a tourist visa in your home country. After enrolment, you will receive an ”invitation letter” from EXIS, which you have to enclose to your visa enrolment form. Visa rules change frequently, please contact your local embassy for further information.
Pick up at the airport
If you arrive earlier than expected, you can choose the following options: Either to be picked up the day you arrive, or spend some days in Bangkok on your own. In this case a new pick up location on will be arranged.
Travel fees
Travel fees are not included in the program fees.
Ready to go?
Reserve a spot to one of our projects in Thailand
