Project summary

Volunteer to help disabled children at a school providing a safe and educational haven for disabled, autistic, and deaf children from 4-16 years old.

A typical day

You will be assisting the teachers at the centre ensuring that the children receive the attention that they need. All the children learn together as much as they can, spending time in classes aimed at developing their social skills such as arts and crafts, life skills, dancing, reading, and meditation.

You will help with the different classes that are run and can also help the children at snack and meal times.

The day starts around 7.30am and finishes at 3pm.

The location

The school is located in the district of Kathu on Phuket, Thailand's largest and most popular tourist island, on the stunning Andaman Coast.

How you can make a difference

Both skilled and unskilled volunteers are very welcome at the school, as everyone has a valuable contribution to make.

Skilled volunteers with experience in this field can share their expertise and wisdom with the staff and children. All volunteers can provide the individual human contact that overworked staff may be unable to provide on a daily basis.

With your help, the children can receive dedicated attention which will help them get the most out their time at the school.

What's included

• A comprehensive information booklet and pre-departure support
• Travel advice and assistance
• Being picked up from Phuket airport and transfer to the project
  
• Accommodation (shared room)
• Lunch at school
  
• Ongoing support, help and advice from our local team
• Donation to the school and support of other local projects
  

What else to budget for

The following items are not included and estimates are given as a guide for your budgeting: flights (£450-£600), visa (free if staying less than 30 days), travel insurance, personal spending / living costs (£75 per week).

Other projects you might also be interested in....

* Orphanage in Thailand

* Orphanage in Cambodia

* Orphanages & care homes (including special needs) in Peru

* Teaching English in Thailand

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More details

Background information about the project

The school aims to provide the children with a caring and stimulating environment to help them reach their potential in life. The school cares for around 25 children who come to the school on a daily bases from the surrounding area.

Volunteer accommodation and food

Accommodation is basic but clean, comfortable and close to the school.

Lunch is provided at school and there are plenty of local restaurants within walking distance for you to savour the local dishes for breakfast and dinner.

Freetime and travel opportunities

Evenings and weekends are free for you to relax and explore the local area, which is very accessible by local buses and taxis. 

The school is only a 30-minute ride from picturesque Phuket town and around 20 minutes to the famous beaches of Patong and Kamala. There are also shopping malls and cinemas in these area.

Challenges

You should be comfortable with and enjoy working with children and teenagers, especially those with special needs.  The children sometimes may scratch or pull your hair unintentionally. You should be mentally prepared for these incidents.

The staff will do their best to inform you on what’s going on and what is expected of you, however there will be times when you have to use your own initiative to organise activities, locate resources or information. Things may be organised differently from back home and things might not always make sense. You should be open-minded, patient, willing to accept new things and be prepared to get stuck in. 

Where does your money go

PoD is run as a non-profit organisation and does not receive any external funding. We charge a fee for all our placements to cover the overseas costs of volunteering and the costs of running our organisation in the UK. 

For this project approximately 70% of the fee you pay is passed to Thailand and part of the fee is a direct donation to the school.