Experience:
Organisation:
Name: Rosemary
Hometown: Market Harborough
Destination: Thailand
Project type: Teaching English
Organisation: Project Trust
What were your impressions of your destination?
The project I worked in was very rural and we were very well looked after by the locals. They were very pleased to have native speakers in their town and took every opportunity to integrate and involve us into the community.
Was the work interesting and challenging?
The work involved 3 different schools, 2 primary and one secondary. We were asked to produce our own lessons and teach them ourselves, and this made the project very challenging and fun.
What was your accommodation like? Did you feel comfortable and welcome at all times?
We stayed with a host family for 2 weeks at the beginning, as a way into the culture of the Thai family, and we were very well looked after, our host mother worked hard to ensure we weren't bored or hungry at any time. We then lived in a house that our employers found for us, a sort of shed with rooms on stilts, which had everything we needed, bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom (squat toilet!), living area, which was a balcony. We didn't have a sink however, so we had to wash things in a metal bowl and throw the dirty water out of the window.
Were you happy with the organisation and the staff that were responsible for you during your stay?
We had an excellent support network, with the Project Trust staff back on the isle of Coll always working to ensure our safety and wellbeing, as well as a representative in Bangkok, a former volunteer, to whom we could always ask for help with our employers or projects, since he spoke excellent Thai and was happy to help.
Do you feel that you got value for money on the project?
The standard fundraising total of almost £4,000 is a very small amount to pay for the experience I had during my year in Thailand. This total helped to pay for all of my flights, insurance and support network, and I am very happy with the way the charity uses the money volunteers fundraise.
Would you recommend the project to others?
Yes
