Volunteer teaching in Borneo
Are you looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world.
Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
How this vacation makes a difference
Environment
The surrounding forest is home to an abundant array of wildlife including endemic species such as the Borneo Orangutan and the Pygmy Elephants. Many of the wild animals can be seen inside of the plantation but are scared off by the workers. The Elephants are the biggest offenders. To increase the environmental awareness of the children the volunteers run a weekly environmental lesson during school time for the children. The volunteers taught the children about rainforests, coral reefs and mangroves from all around the world. In 2011 the volunteers help fund environmental fieldtrips for the children to go wildlife spotting along the Kinabatangan River and to see orang-utans at the world renown Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. These fieldtrips were the first time the children and even the teachers had been on a river cruise and were enjoyed by all. The volunteers followed up these trips with various arts and crafts sessions.
In 2010 the volunteers introduced recycling bins at the schools which are being used by the students. Volunteers have also successfully introduced environmental awareness into the English lessons and asked the children to write about the life of a Baby Orangutan. These children will become the future Palm Oil Workers so it’s imperative they care for and respect these animals.
Community
The project is focused on educating the children living on the plantation. The children’s parents originate from Indonesia and work on the plantation. As these children are not Malaysian they are not eligible to go to the government schools. There are over 100 learning centres in Sabah giving basic primary education to 3,000 children. There estimated to be over 50,000 children in Sabah without basic primary education, so much is still to be done.
The students are taught Maths, Malaysian Language, Indonesian Culture, Islamic Studies, English, Art and Crafts and Science. The teachers come from Indonesia and their level of English is very low so the volunteers provide improved English teaching and also bring in new and fresh teaching ideas and methods. The volunteers have helped to fund televisions, sports gear and various books which have helped to create more diverse and rich learning experiences for the children. Music and games are always loved by the children especially maths bingo!
The volunteers have introduced ‘walk in’ afternoon sessions for the children which focus on sports. These sessions increase the contact time between the volunteers and the children helping to increase the children’s English ability passively.
The presence of volunteers are providing the children with more opportunities to learn in a more diverse way.
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