Volunteer in Rural Community Development in Sri Lanka

My favorite moment from the volunteer experience was either planting the mangosteen trees, or learning how to open coconuts with Sam. Sam taught us many things about Sri Lankan culture and the way that Sri Lankan people live their lives. It was a wonderful experience for me because I got to learn about Sri Lanka from a really kind and interesting person. The biggest impact my volunteering trip had on me was the feeling that I had made a difference. Even if it was not a huge difference I still have that feeling of accomplishment. I would say that volunteering abroad is a life-changing experience and there is little to regret about it. I would say that there is so much to learn from the experience and the impact that you have on the people you help is important, even if you are not sure that you will fully enjoy the experience.

It’s so tough to choose just one favourite moment. Each day brought new and exciting experiences, all of which take pride place at the top of our list of best moments. The people and the place. Sri Lanka is truly wonderful and the people we met were so pure and full of love. Just being surrounded by such warmth and kindness from the locals, and such beauty from the country made us extremely grateful to be alive! Grab your passport and pack a bag. There is not a single thing you’ll regret! Go and enjoy the world :)

I signed up for a 2-week project with IVHQ doing rural community development work in Sri Lanka. It was truly a rewarding experience where I got to: 1) learn about the local culture (via the comprehensive orientation week) and 2) give back to the local community (via volunteering at the local pre-school) From the get go, the volunteers were treated very well. Transportation was arranged accordingly to get me to Kandy from Colombo Airport. Accommodation and meals were provided and a Project Liaison Officer was assigned to each volunteer to ensure our utmost safety. Depending on the duration of your volunteer, you may find yourself wanting to achieve more but unable to due to limited time. And this may cause you to feel dissatisfied. My urge to volunteers is to ensure you go through the programme guide thoroughly and to take the recommended online courses as it will help you better manage your expectations to avoid any dissatisfaction or disappointments. One suggestion for improvement that I do have for IVHQ's partner Green Lion in Sri Lanka is to offer transportation options. I noticed that the long travelling time via public buses (cheaper option) may not be conducive to older volunteers (one of the volunteers in my group was in her 70s) and it can be rather exhausting spending approx. 3 hrs per day on travelling. There should be an option for volunteer to select direct transport (instead of via multiple buses) to travel from Point A to Point B with additional costs of transport choices incorporated. Some volunteers would pay for the additional costs for the convenience rather than spend endless hours travelling. As long as the transport costs & charges are made transparent, volunteers should be given that opportunity to decide on their own behalf how much costs they are willing to bear. Lastly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to IVHQ, Green Lion & the people of Sri Lanka for making my experience such a rewarding one!

IVHQ allowed me to take the single most exciting and educational trip I have ever been on. They took care of me from the time I landed in Colombo Airport until it was time for me to depart. I recommend using IVHQ if you are looking to travel and volunteer. Ambalangoda was my favorite location because the Green Lion workers there are so sweet and caring! Also, I recommend hiking in the Knuckles Mountain range!

I spent 1 of my 3 volunteer weeks in Hanguranketha. The housing, food and local personnel were all excellent. We were a group of 10 people from all over the world. I had the amazing opportunity to teach young monks English for a few hours each morning. It was a great and unique experience. In the afternoon we went to another Buddhist temple where there were about 130 monks, from the age of 7-17. We were able to watch the daily procession of the bringing of food for the monks lunch. We also had the opportunity to eat the same food as the monks, after they were done with their meals. We then spent the afternoon cleaning and painting the outside of one of the buildings where the main classrooms were. It was a wonderful opportunity to observe life at a Buddhist temple.

I volunteered in Sri Lanka for 2 weeks thinking of doing temple renovations only. When the opportunity to help renovate a preschool in Hanguranketha came around, it sounded too good to pass up. I ended up doing one week of each. Our task was to clean up the preschool and give it a whole new look. From day in day out, we had everyone from the village watching and supporting our work. The ladies of the village provided us with so much food, from second breakfasts to tea time snacks. The kids had to be what made this project so intimate and special. Everyday after school they'd run down to see us and watch us in amusement. We incorporated their little hand prints in the flower drawling on the walls and they loved it and kept asking to do more. Leaving Hanguranketha and the people we met was hard, but you could just see how much they appreciated our work and that was very uplifting. I would recommend this project to anyone who loves hands-on work, it is so rewarding.