Namibia Volunteer On A Mission to Provide Calculators to Her Students

When volunteering abroad, there are plenty of times a teacher notices a lack of materials or room for improvement, but it's not always easy to find a solution. With a little creativity and a lot of exuberance, Hannah, Year Namibia Volunteer, relates her story of  providing a much needed resource to her math students.

Ever since our term 2 exams, I have made it my personal mission to find some organization somewhere that could help supply my school with calculators. I was invigilating (proctoring) some math exams and was struggling to watch 5, 6, or even 7 kids sharing the same calculator. Many of these exams are really long and kids struggle to finish within the allotted time. This problem is fueled when kids are waiting in line to use a calculator. After some research, I happened upon an incredible organization called Charitable Calculators.

Culture Shock or Unique Customs? Reflections from Costa Rica

When thinking about moving to a new country, how do you prepare for the possibility of culture shock? Are you aware of different traditions in your new home? Stephanie, a WorldTeach volunteer in Costa Rica, shares her observations of some unique Costa Rican customs:

Costa Ricans eat every meal with a spoon. It makes sense, really. Using a fork to eat a Costa Rican meal would result in what I like to imagine as the outcome of a Jackson Pollock coming back to life and painting one last masterpiece with rice and beans. No one wants to struggle with that kind of spillage, so the spoon is the utensil of choice in a typical Costa Rican household. Or so I was told.

25 Years & Going Strong: What makes the WorldTeach model work?

Since its inception in 1986, WorldTeach has placed thousands of volunteer educators in communities throughout Asia, Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Pacific. Now in our 25^th year, WorldTeach continues to promote and address the growing interest among people in the U.S. and elsewhere to serve, teach and learn as volunteers overseas. Read on for Nell Wollner’s thoughts on what makes the WorldTeach model work, and how it will manifest itself in our newest program in Georgia. Nell was a WorldTeach volunteer in the inaugural American Samoa Year program, a Field Director in Thailand, and is currently a Program Assistant at WorldTeach’s headquarters.

WorldTeach partners with Ministries of Education and local agencies: 

Part of what makes the WorldTeach model so special, is the partnership it builds with local governments and agencies. In Georgia, WorldTeach volunteers will be working with the Teach and Learn with Georgia program. The goal of this program is to help Georgian public school students learn English. This is a fully funded program. The Georgia Ministry of Education and Science will provide housing, medical insurance, flights, and a volunteer stipend of approximately 300 USD per month, of which volunteers will contribute 100 Lari to their host families. Finally, year-long volunteers who depart by September are offered an additional round trip ticket for a flight back to their hometowns. This is a true partnership, where both WorldTeach volunteers and Teach and Learn with Georgia make the program possible. 

A Few of My Favorite Things: Reflections from a volunteer in Panama

One of our newest programs, Panama offers an exciting opportunity for volunteers to be an integral part of shaping a WorldTeach program and setting high expectations for future volunteers.  Panama is a melting pot of cultures, the gateway between two continents and two oceans.  Applications for the Panama Year and Spring Semester programs are due December 1.  Learn more and apply here.

A few weeks into her WorldTeach experience in Panama, volunteer Colleen took some time to reflect on some of her favorite things about her new community.  Here are some excerpts from her blog: 

A few of my favorite things:

- When I cross paths with a guy holding a gunny sack in one hand, and that sack is emitting enough chirps for me to know that there are at least a half dozen chicks inside, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. 

How To Make A Difference?

Colombia Year Volunteer and talented writer, Mike, recently published his second article in USA TODAY. Read an excerpt here!

With three months left in Colombia, I find myself contemplating what to do when I return to the United States. Obviously, I cannot continue to work for free—I want to settle down, get my own place, and have an adult life. This costs money.

But I also cannot reconcile the thought of going back to a cramped cubicle doing uninspiring work.

For those of us who feel the visceral urge to do more with our lives than merely increase the number of zeros on our paychecks, finding work that is both lucrative and fulfilling is indeed a herculean task.

This leads us to the question: Is it possible to make a living while also making a difference? I wish that I could tell you I knew the answer, but I’m still working on it. It is quite possible the two are mutually exclusive and the idealistic job-seeker will need to choose one or the other. 

Room to Learn: Building Project Update from Namibia Volunteer

Current Grade 4 Classroom

For the past few months, Amy, Namibia Year Volunteer, has been working hard on a personal project to improve her school: working with her community to build a much needed classroom for her Year 4 students. Read through the highlights of her amazing experience below. 

Now that I have gotten official Ministry of Education approval, I have some big/exciting/overwhelming news!


I am building a classroom. 

September Alumni Newsletter

Adjustment to life back in the home country after time abroad has by no means been similar across WorldTeach volunteers. While some face reverse culture shock, others welcome the change in scenery and seamlessly ease back into life at “home.” Click here for stories about WorldTeach volunteers returning from American Samoa, Ecuador, and China. While their experiences might be different from each other and from your own, you will surely be able to relate to their stories about things lost...and found.