From Mongolia to Laos on a
Volunteering Adventure
I was between jobs and planned to travel, but I
wanted it to be a productive time for me and
I wanted to contribute to the communities that
I was visiting. When I tried to locate volunteer
opportunities before I left, I could only find pro-
grammes where I had to pay a considerable
fee. For this reason, I located places to volun-
teer through word of mouth while travelling and
this worked out very well for me.
I wanted to work with children, since my
background is teaching and I have a Master of
Education. On the train from Siberia to Mongo-
lia I met an American living in Ulaanbaatar, and
I asked him if he knew of an orphanage where
I might be of help. He gave me the name of
Didi Kalika, who founded and runs The Lotus
Children’s Centre. Before I left Mongolia, I asked
her if she knew of any programmes in Laos and
she told me about the Sunshine School.
At the Sunshine School I had two roles. I
assisted the English teacher in the classroom.
Also, as curriculum developer, I researched and
added games and interactive activities to the
English curriculum. I volunteered there for two
months and I was able to finish the curriculum
project. Even so, I was sad to leave; though it
wasn’t enough time to really become part of the
community and to learn the language.
I felt safe when volunteering and I was able
to ask for support when I needed it. Often these
schools and organisations (and I speak not just
of the Sunshine School, but of all the places
where I volunteered) are operating on small
budgets or with few staff and they need volun-
teers who can be independent and who don’t
need much hand-holding. On the other hand,
I think volunteers should make sure that they
communicate with the people in charge when
confused or not comfortable with their tasks.
This ensures that you are doing what they want
and also that you have a good experience.
One piece of advice I’d give is that before you
end your time volunteering, try to tie up any
loose ends and leave clear notes on what you
did. Many organisations get so many volun-
teers coming and going that improvements or
suggestions can easily get lost in the shuffle.
Volunteering in a foreign country is an expe-
rience that changes you forever. You grow as
a person and you meet people who are kind
and generous regardless of their financial
status. It was a shame that I was volunteering
at each of these places for such a short time,
but I see fundraising as a way of continuing
to assist these people in their efforts to make
these children’s lives better. I think that there
is a risk that, as volunteers, we drop into
people’s lives and have this great, reward-
ing experience and then we just jet back to
the developed world and simply resume our
lives with barely a thought for those we’ve left
behind. For me, it is important to try to keep
some contact and maintain the relationships
that I made, in order to honour the kindness
and generosity my hosts showed me when I
was a guest in their home.
Sally Armbrecht
Sally Armbrecht took on independent
volunteering roles in Laos, Mongolia
and Burma during a career break.Photo: Timo Virtala