Volunteer Maldives

A rare opportunity to teach and live on small islands in the tranquil and isolated Maldives.

The small island nation of the Maldives is renowned for its powdery white beaches, crystal blue lagoons and five star tourist resorts. This life of abundance and luxury however, does not reflect the lives of normal hardworking Maldivians.

Volunteer Maldives have a range of opportunities available on a selection of local Maldivian islands spread across the country, each with a population of between 800 – 7000 people.

Programmes:

Teaching
The schools are of various sizes and student numbers are in relation to the island population. English is the second language in the Maldives with a literacy rate of over 98%, however, with limited resources available to the schools, and with a high percentage of foreign teachers whose first language is not English, the students, between 6 and 18 years old, benefit hugely from enthusiastic volunteers whose mother tongue is English, to guide, encourage, and inspire children on these remote islands.

They have opportunities for both fully qualified and non-qualified teachers:

Qualified teachers can be expected to impart their knowledge and experience in some of the larger schools, teaching up to ‘A’ Level standard, (they would also welcome teachers of subjects other than the English Language).
Non-qualified teachers, with perhaps a TEFL certificate, or though this is not a necessity, more important is a desire to interact with the children through classroom games and fun activities – just spoken English and enthusiasm will be welcomed in a position as Teaching Assistants, and is a great experience for our volunteers to join a warm and friendly community.

The school week in the Maldives starts Sunday to Thursday, with Fridays and Saturdays being the weekend.

There are also programmes available for Sports/Football coaches, Youth Workers, Medical Professionals, and Pre-School workers.

New for 2011 - Opportunities in Art!

Volunteer Maldives offer a range of opportunities for artists of all disciplines, and people with experience of working in museums, libraries and art galleries! Whether a visual, traditional artist, contemporary painter, graphic designer, musician, photographer, museum curator, librarian, drama student, costume designer – they have a large selection of placements in these areas – please contact them for further details.

Programme Dates for Volunteers:
Volunteers can join all throughout the year, for 1 month up to 1 year durations.

Accommodation and Food:
Dependent on the island where you will be placed as a volunteer, accommodation may consist of a Homestay where you will have your own room, and usually en-suite bathroom, a shared house with other volunteers, or we also have some islands with accommodation built specifically for volunteers. Meals will also be included in your stay, which would normally consist of local fare - fish and rice, and healthy, indigenous fruits.

Facilities and Transportation
Facilities on the local islands will vary, but most will have Internet connections, and we will also provide you with a local Sim card so you can keep in touch quite easily with the outside world! Transport will be organised for you, and will be a boat, or seaplane/ domestic flight, depending on the location of your project.

Requirements:
Volunteers should be at least 18 yrs old, and should adaptable and culturally open minded. You will need to be mindful to respect the local culture and behaviour that will be required of you on the islands. For teachers staying a year, you will need to be qualified, and you will need to show your original certificates before they can place you on the programme.

For those staying 6 months or more, preference will be given to those teachers who are qualified – or with a TEFL certificate. For placements less than 6 months you do not have to be qualified, although a TEFL will be advantageous - and you can be placed on the islands as teaching assistants. If you have English as your mother tongue (or certainly to a very good standard of spoken and written English), and they will be able to place you in schools probably on smaller islands as teaching assistants.

Volunteer Maldives also have specific vacancies which are advertised on their website, and special events at various times of the year when specialized volunteers are needed.

*Please see the website www.volunteermaldives.com for other project opportunities.

Costs:

x4 Weeks - $1400
x6 Weeks - $1980
x8 Weeks - $2,400
x10 Weeks - $2,900
x12 Weeks - $3,200

Book 6 months in advance, and save 10%
Couples/friends traveling together – 2nd person receives 10% discount

What’s included?

All meals and accommodation
Transfers to your placement island
In country support
Local Sim card
Basic travel advice and preparation advice before you arrive in the Maldives
Departure pack with handy tips and cultural advice
Project Support on your host island
24 hour emergency contact assistance
Volunteer Maldives T-shirt and bag

What is not included are your flights to the Maldives, and your own personal expenditure.

Photos above by "Zahid"

For more information on Volunteer Maldives and volunteering on their programmes in the Maldives, please fill in the form below:

Contact information:

Volunteer Maldives
T: +00 960 3300609/ 00 960 7820412
Email: info@volunteermaldives.com
Website: www.volunteermaldives.com

Name *
Full Address
Telephone Number
Email Address *
Message