India and South-East Asia
UCDVO has worked in India since the charity was founded in 2003, on a range of community development, education and health programmes with partners in New Delhi, Assam and Meghalaya.
In 2024 UCDVO will run a pilot volunteer project in Cambodia for the first time, with local organisation MOEI on education programmes for marginalised communities.
See our fundraising page for project related costs and fundraising targets for 2024.
2024 Planned Projects
MOEI, Battambag, Cambodia
MOEI was established by the Faculty of Social Science, University of Hong Kong in 2008. MOEI was initially formed to provide intensive English-language education for migrant children and adults from Burma located along the Moei River section of the Thai-Burma border. Since 2008 MOEI has expanded its reach to Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos & China. MOEI is now run as an independent volunteer organisation, registered in Hong Kong.
MOEI engages with students from member universities of Universitas 21 and works closely with local communities.
Project: MOEI Education Project, Battambang, Cambodia
Dates: Two groups: 17 June – 19 July (5 weeks) and 15 July – 16 August (5
weeks)
Project Overview: alongside teachers from the participating schools in Battambang, volunteers will assist in teaching English as a second language to students attending local free community schools, to a range of different ages.
The 2024 program will follow a 1 + 4 format – 1 week of training and 4 weeks of class teaching at project location, in addition to online preparation sessions (these are in addition to the UCDVO programme days):
- Online preparation sessions held before volunteers travel to project location.
- 1 week training to provide participants with essential cultural orientation and teacher training for teaching English as a second language.
- 4 weeks of in-class teaching. In-class teaching generally takes place for 3-4 hours per day from Monday to Friday. Class sizes tend to range from 10 to 40, and pupils are often aged about 12-20. Instruction is usually at the elementary or intermediate level.
Volunteers: This project is open to students from all backgrounds but may be of particular interest to students on the Bachelor of Education programme.
India
UCDVO also partners with the following organisations in India - Assam Don Bosco University, the Ferrando Speech and Hearing Centre, and Society for Working Life – Women’s Work and Health Initiative. Due to the difficulty in obtaining visas in 2023, these projects are under review and may be adapted to online volunteering in 2024.
Assam Don Bosco University, Guwahati, Assam
UCDVO has worked in partnership with Assam Don Bosco University in Guwahati, Assam since 2014. Volunteers from Assam Don Bosco University, Department of Social Work participate alongside UCDVO volunteers on community development projects. These activities include running workshops in response to social issues identified by the community. This project will be of special interest to social science and social work students.
Ferrando Speech & Hearing Centre, Shillong, Meghalaya
UCDVO has partnered with the Ferrando Speech & Hearing Centre in Shillong, Meghalaya, since 2014. The Ferrando Centre provides specialist care for the prevention and reduction of the effects of preventable hearing impairment in young children through early identification, intervention, and preschool education. Alongside this, the Ferrando team work towards the empowerment of the families to face the challenges in bringing up their hearing-impaired children.
Society for Working Life (SWL) and Women, Work and Health Initiative (WWHI), New Delhi
The Community Educational and Development Centre (CEDC) in Sangam Vihar, New Delhi, is supported by UCDVO (with start-up funding from Irish Aid). The centre is run by SWL and WWHI and enables 100 children from the poorest areas of the city to access education and nutritious meals.
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