International Volunteer HQ’s partner NGO in Thailand requires volunteers NOW! IVHQ has a range of volunteering opportunities available in the Chiang Rai province working with local villages and hill tribes. 

LOCATION OF THAILAND VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS

IVHQ has volunteer placements located in Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand. Chiang Rai is a great place to volunteer as the weather is nice and the scenery beautiful with green jungles, rice fields, waterfalls, elephants and more. The Northern Thais (both the ethnic Thai and the various hill tribes) are some of the friendliest and most welcoming people in the world. It is very safe and good medical facilities are available. Furthermore, Chiang Rai is easily accessible by air, road and railroad links.
 

START AND DURATION OF THAILAND VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS

Placements begin on the 1st and 15th of each month - this will continue until the end of 2009.  Placement start dates for 2010 onwards are the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month.  If you are only doing a five day program you can also choose to start on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month (this is only for five day volunteers). Volunteers can choose to volunteer for periods of five days to three months. If you are applying for the five day program, you will only be able to select one week on the application form as your minimum time stay. Simply note further down on the form that you wish to do the five day program.

THAILAND VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS

Volunteers must be 18 years or older at the beginning of the program and have at least a high school education.

THAILAND VOLUNTEER PLACEMENT DESCRIPTIONS

TEACHING ENGLISH

In the Northern areas of Thailand such as Chiang Rai many of the local people have not been fortunate enough to have access to any type of formal education. Therefore there is a real need for volunteers to assist in the education of not only young children but also adults from surrounding hill tribes and local villages. Volunteers will be based at IVHQ's partner organization with other volunteers and staff, but may be able to do extra homestays when the opportunities arise.This program has a minimum stay of two weeks. Anything less than that and you will automatically be doing the outdoor work program.
N.B. Volunteers DO NOT need to be a qualified or experienced teacher, but we recommend that they study the available teaching information and resources in preparation for their arrival.

IVHQ PLACEMENT: Houe Khom School
Located just of Chiang Rai in a rural village, this school caters for over 300 Thai children from local villages ranging in age from 7 to 12 . (Please Note - This is just one of many schools on our program and not necessarily the one you will be teaching at).

OUTDOOR WORK

The Outdoor Work placement is for those who are happy to get their hands dirty, who like physical labour, and the sense of achievement felt when a job is completed. Because there are three distinct seasons (hot, rainy, cold), sometimes outdoor work is not possible. This is overcome by researching into methods of agricultural production which could be applied in this area, project presentations to villagers, promotional work, and other work that can be carried out protected from the elements. Some examples of work previously completed by volunteers on the outdoor work project are building water tanks, extending water pipe systems, building check dams, building school classrooms, painting school classrooms, developing the local agricultural project, helping in local vegetable gardens, working on developing plantations, road repairs, repair and maintenance of homes of elderly Thai villagers, building new houses and toilets for elderly Thai villagers, building the new staff office, making bricks for building projects and cleaning.  Some work will be scheduled, and as such, will be expected to be done on a regular basis – daily watering of vegetables, for instance. Other jobs will appear as and when they arrive. Often, work is carried out at short notice, so it is difficult to give volunteers an accurate itinerary of their stay.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

THIS PROJECT IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR GROUPS AND MUST BE ENQUIRED ABOUT DIRECTLY WITH IVHQ (There is no option for this on the application form). The Community Development project in Thailand can encompass a wide range of work. While the work is varied, most tasks are focused on basic construction work (for example, painting and building of infrastructure such as roads, bridges and housing - this is also largely dependent on funds). Volunteer groups that enquire will need to fundraise extra money above and beyond the IVHQ fees listed on the website to fund the building projects. This is not generally a large amount and projects can be designed to fit different budgets, time frames and group sizes. Group sizes should be 5 people minimum. Email volunteer@volunteerhq.org for more information.

NB -In addition to the placements listed above, it is also expected that volunteers will assist with other general chores and activities such as cleaning and cooking occasionally. Dependent on the time of the year and the skills of the volunteers, there may also be other jobs and activities, volunteers can assist our Thailand partner organization with such as; website development, translating Thai into English, assisting local NGOS in their activities, fund raising and participation in development projects (Examples Include: Anti Child Begging Campaign, HIV Awareness Project and Youth Development Projects).

THAILAND PROGRAM COSTS

One of the strengths of IVHQ is our extremely affordable fees. CLICK HERE to see the program cost to volunteer in Thailand and what you receive in exchange for your fees.

ACCOMMODATION AND MEALS

Volunteers are housed onsite at our partner organization’s headquarters in Chiang Rai. Volunteers live in a communal environment (males and females have separate lodgings) with other staff and volunteers. The accommodation is well integrated into the environment as the buildings are made of wood and soil. There are three dormitories for female volunteers and interns. You may find yourself sharing with quite a few people, depending on the period. The cob style dorms are for male volunteers, and made of soil, chaff and straw. A feature of the houses are that they are cool in summer and warm in winter. Also, they are environmentally friendly as the design minimizes tree logging.  Bedding is provided, and mosquito nets are available if necessary. Meals are cooked and eaten in a common kitchen which is also located onsite. The menu mainly consists of Thai dishes however, occasionally, western style food is served. Volunteers can assist our cook if they wish in the afternoons. At weekends, no food is provided so volunteers have to cook for themselves, buy at local shops, or go into town. If you have special eating needs, please let us know ahead of time so that we can make arrangements for you. However, we need to stress the point that you should not expect to eat as you normally do at home. We will do our best to see that you are well taken care of, but also as a volunteer, there is a need to be flexible.

ORIENTATION

Your program will begin on the morning of the 1st or 15th of the month, unless these dates fall on a weekend in which case you will begin on the following Monday. You will be picked up from the airport when you arrive (Mon-Fri), or from your accommodation on the Monday morning following a weekend arrival (Volunteers arriving by bus will need to arrange their own transport to IVHQ volunteer village).  Program start dates for 2010 will be the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month.  You can arrange to arrive in Chiang Rai on the Monday (this is preferable and allows an easy transition into theprogram) and will be collected from the airport.  The orientation will then take place on the Tuesday.  Volunteer work will begin on the Wednesday.  Orientation will be conducted by the local staff, and covers everything you need to know for your volunteering placement. Orientation will involve an introduction to the program set-up and your role as a volunteer. Because you will live on site, staff and other current volunteers will be at your side 24 hours to help you with any problems you may encounter. Volunteers on the 5 day and one week programs will have a more compressed schedule to allow volunteers to particpate more in the first week.

VOLUNTEER WEEK

First Day: On the first day of the volunteering placement, the volunteers will be introduced to the project staff by project coordinator .

Weekdays: While our programs are flexible and can be fitted to your requirements, an example of what some volunteers might experience is outlined below.

• 8.00AM Breakfast
• 8.30AM Morning meeting for all staff and volunteers, followed by volunteer meeting setting out the roster for the day. Attendance is required for both meetings.
• 9.30-12 Work on your designated task, or prepare for your next task. e.g. If you are teaching in the afternoon, you will spend the morning preparing the lesson with your co-volunteers.
• 12noon-1pm Lunch
• 1PM-5PM Work on your designated task, or prepare for your next task. e.g. If you are teaching the following morning, you will spend the afternoon preparing the lesson with your co-volunteers
• 5PM-6PM Free time, unless you are involved in a specific task
• 6PM Dinner

Weekends: During the weekend, volunteers have spare time and usually just relax or take the opportunity to explore other parts of Chiang Rai and Thailand. At least one of your weekends will be taken up with a 2-night homestay trek, sleeping at a Lahu and an Akha hilltribe village. Long weekends can be taken to travel further afield and engage in tourist activities such as trekking, jungle safaris and visits to temples.

Five day volunteers starting on a Monday will not get an opportunity to visit a hill tribe home stay but will do more volunteer work. Five day volunteers starting on a Wednesday will get a home stay hill tribe visit but will not do as much volunteer work.

WHAT PAST VOLUNTEERS SAY ABOUT THIS PROGRAM

Although IVHQ is a young volunteering placement organisation (we were formed in early 2007), we are getting tremendous feedback from our first volunteers who are finishing programs. Here are just a few small snippets of what volunteer's are saying about our programs.
 
"Everything is going great here in Thailand, I love it. Everyone is extremely nice and welcoming" - John Clements, 22, Americus, United States
 
"I think the organisation's goals and work are great, and absolutely everybody there was incredible" - Gary Schumaker, 38, San Francisco, United States
 
"Everything is going great here in Chiang Rai. It has taken me a little while to adjust to the dramatic lifestyle change but other than that I have been enjoying the many experiences on offer. As part of my volunteer work we have stayed in two different hilltribe villages already and tasted many different foods. The last week has been very busy and it feels as if i have been in Thailand for months. Thankyou for everything" - Kirstie Ward, 20, Western Australia

THAILAND INFORMATION

Capital: Bangkok
Population: Dec 2006 estimate: 62,828, 7062  
Official language: Thai
Currency: Baht (THB)
Time zone: (UTC+7)

• FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions we receive about our volunteer placements.
• Why volunteer with International Volunteer HQ?
• How to book with International Volunteer HQ
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