mother and grown up daughter vlunteering thailand, thoughts please

danbim

Hi all my daughter is keen to go to Thailand for the winter to volunteer she is really keen for me to go with her as this is also something I am interested in but I could only get 2-3 weeks of work where she would go for a min of 2 months , I currently work with children and families so have lots of experience in that area .My main concern is that I will be to old (mid 40's) or that the amount of time I can give is not enough?

also I not a huge lover of the heat 20-25 is enough for me and I realise Thailand is more nearer the 30's

any useful advice for both of us would be great fully received, many thanks

InsideInsurance

Volunteering doing what? If you're doing manual labour then your level of fitness is the question not your age. If you are teaching then your age is irrelevant.

Voyager2002

Do be aware that in order to do anything useful you need to have a specific skill, and make a commitment for at least six months. In fact, people who stay for two or three years generally do their best work in the final half of their stay, since it takes that long to adjust to the context and local working practices.

In sum: you will be going for a holiday with an added 'feel-good' factor. At best, you will gain insights that conventional tourism does not give you, and in the longer term may be able to use those insights for the benefit of those in poor countries.

You should therefore plan your holiday on the basis of what you enjoy, and what kinds of activities you will find satisfying.

quidsy

it is illegal to volunteer without a work permit in Thailand. Alot of these companies who offer volunteering positions don't pass that information on, even when taking your money for the priviedge of finding you a position. The currently militray run government are cracking down on immigration offenses & take a very short view on any kind of work, paid or unpaid, that doesn't have the necessary permits attached.

I would research more before making a decision. Thaivisa dot com is the best place for you to be checking.

littlereddevil

If you don't like the heat what's the point?

zagfles

Watch out for scams as well, particulary concerning orphanages.

danbim

Thanks everyone for your useful replies , as stated I'm not a liver of the heat but I assume I can volunteer in a school or similar , I have worked in a school previously and have 20 years plus of working with children and have relevant qualifications so defiantly have experience in that field . My daughter has worked at camp America and currently works with children so again has experience


Didn't realise that would have to commit to 6 months +to make it worthwhile , I could not offer that type of commitment at this moment in time 😞

Doshwaster

zagfles wrote: »

Watch out for scams as well, particulary concerning orphanages.

Yes, there are loads of them. People pay their "fees" up front to volunteer in a school, orphanage or animal sanctuary and when they turn up in Thailand there is no job. Or school.

Then again, legitimate volunteering organisations also get hit by people signing up to help who then let them down. People get a sponsored visa and then just treat the whole thing as a holiday and don't turn up for work. They need people who are committed so I doubt many would be interested in having someone for 2-3 weeks.

duchy

If a foreign national rocked up in Britain wanting to volunteer for a week or two most schools would be unlikely to be able to offer them work from a purely practical point of view as well as a guardianship angle. Even if preplanned it would need some kind of personal connection to arrange.
Thailand isn't really any different.

Any reason why Thailand in particular ?

danbim wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your useful replies , as stated I'm not a liver of the heat but I assume I can volunteer in a school or similar , I have worked in a school previously and have 20 years plus of working with children and have relevant qualifications so defiantly have experience in that field . My daughter has worked at camp America and currently works with children so again has experience


Didn't realise that would have to commit to 6 months +to make it worthwhile , I could not offer that type of commitment at this moment in time 😞

danbim

hi all, thanks again for all the useful replies, I think we are both thinking of Thailand as its somewhere we would both like to visit and also my daughters friend volunteered there last year with starfish, and luved it x

duchy

Maybe look at it the other way around that your daughter goes as a more traditional volunteer and once she has got herself a bit established you go out for a holiday and volunteer on an informal basis that she has arranged wherever she is volunteering. Far more likely to be possible once she is a known person to the school or whatever and can vouch for you.