Voluntary Project Overview

Volunteers abroad are needed to teach English and other subjects to pupils from 4 to 14 years old whose first language is Mandinka, Fula or Wolof. By raising the level of English, volunteers facilitate entry into Secondary schools, which are English medium. Many local people also welcome the chance to improve their English, so volunteers looking for further work will find plenty to do.

The Volunteer Abroad Role

Our volunteers abroadcan get involved in teaching English, Maths and PE at Lower Basic schools, but also assisting at local nursery schools. Volunteers can teach their own classes, or work with another teacher or volunteer, depending on their preference. They can also assist in working with local teachers to try and encourage some more imaginative teaching methods to improve the effectiveness of the classes. 

The intercultural exchange is invaluable for both parties. As a teacher, you will gain greater confidence and will have plenty of opportunity to use your imagination and creativity.

Other Volunteer Abroad opportunities

Volunteers abroad also help in adult literacy classes as many local people welcome the chance to improve their English. In addition to these educational projects, there are various other Mondo programmes in the area. These include business development projects helping with rural bee-keeping, and HIV support.

Voluntary Programme Requirements/Eligibility Criteria

Career break volunteers need good communication skills, an open mind, lots of enthusiasm and a good sense of humour! Our philosophy is to encourage the students to learn by having fun in the lessons.

Volunteer Accommodation and Living arrangements

All these teaching projects are located in safe areas, in rural villages. This allows you to experience the real Gambia. Most of our teqaching programmes are based in the Kombo North region, near some of the most beautiful beaches of the country. The Gambia has a wonderful, dry climate throughout the November – May period, with temperatures in the 25-35°C range.  The wet season starts around June and reaches its peak in August. The regular downpours during the summer months tend to be predictable and are often fairly quickly over. They help clear the air!

Accommodation will be provided in a family compound just a few minutes from the school. Families are carefully chosen and, along with their generally extended family within the compound, will make our volunteers abroad very welcome. You will have your own room, and private "outside bathroom en suite" and generally a front room parlour.

What’s included in your Programme Fee?

• Project selection and placement - Our in-country teams work constantly to identify and select projects that are doing exemplary work in developing countries but need your skills and effort. Our staff are in dialogue with you to ensure that we choose a project that really needs you, where you will use your skills and contribute, because at MondoChallenge, we believe that a great volunteering experience is largely dependant on matching you with the right project
• Pre Departure Briefing - Before you leave, we will arrange for a pre departure briefing where we help you with small but extremely helpful details on your chosen destination. Things like: what to pack, local culture and customs, food, safety and precautions if any - simple things to make your life easier!
• Guidance for processing visa - MondoChallenge will arrange for any relevant documents and guide you through the visa process.
• Airport Pick Up - Arriving in a new city and not knowing where to go and how to go can be quite unnerving. A MondoChallenge representative will meet you at the airport and take you to your place of stay where you can put your feet up after a long flight.
• In country Orientation and Welcome Pack - When you arrive at your location, you will be given an orientation where you could meet other volunteers from MondoChallenge, learn all about your location, how to find your way around, where to get SIM cards for the phone, small bits that you will need help sorting out in the first few days.
• In Country Support - Our local co-ordinators are there to guide you through out your stay. They will make sure that you are settled at your project, are comfortable with your accommodation and provide guidance on local culture and customs to ensure that you have a memorable and rewarding experience.
• Accommodation - In most cases you stay with a local host family. It gives you a taste of the daily life of a local. You will be sharing a room with another volunteer, however if you prefer to have a single room to youself, this can be arranged but a cost supplement may apply. If you prefer totally independent accommodation, this maybe possible in certain areas at an additional cost and our Programme Managers will be able to assist you with this.
• Breakfast and Dinner - Local home cooked food, will be provided at the home stays. This gives you a chance to experience local dishes.
• Optional Contribution to the Education Grant - The Educational Grant helps projects like the one you will volunteer with, to get basic infrastructure and resources. Open air schools need a roof, some need tables or chairs and some need books for children. We identify needs and constantly work at improving the conditions at our partner projects. We also encourage you to identify needs at your project and let our local management know of any specifics that you feel may help. The grants are made through our registered charity, FutureSense Foundation (Charity No: 1132101). In the project fee above we recommend an optional contribution towards these grants. If you would like to fund raise or contribute further amounts towards this directly to the foundation we can assist you through the process.

Not Included:

• International Flights
• Visa and Travel insurance Costs
• Vaccination
• Local Transport and Travel
• Personal Expenses

Project photos

Testimonials