Posts Tagged overseas volunteering

Two Generations Take Part In Fundraising Bike Ride

Last week marked the end of one mans epic journey from John O’Groats to Lands End. Jonathan Hyde and his Dad travelled 918 miles by bike in an effort to raise £1,000 for Lattitude Global Volunteering and help Jonathan to reach his goal of volunteering in South Africa.

Jonathan, who has just left Farnborough Sixth Form College, decided to take a gap year after hearing about Lattitude’s volunteering opportunities from his sister’s boyfriend. As a youth development charity, Lattitude specialises in providing unique experiences of voluntary work placements for young people from around the world.

Asked about his desire to volunteer abroad, Jonathan said: “I want to experience living in a different country and doing something different from my usual day to day life. Latitude was recommended to me, and the outdoor activity placement offered in South Africa sounded right up my street. I couldn’t think of a better way to volunteer!”

Jonathan’s inspiration for his fundraising bike ride came from his Dad: “When I was younger I used to go on bike rides with my Dad and he would tell me the stories of all the rides he has done. When he was telling me about when he rode John o’Groats to Lands End when he was my age I said to him that when I was 18 and finished at college that I wanted to do that ride with him and we never forgot!

Of course, there were challenges along the way, but these were quickly forgotten when the father and son team peddled in to Lands End on the afternoon of the 12th of September.

“I’m so pleased we’ve finished,” Jonathan continued, “It was a journey I’d been looking forward to taking for years. I’m glad I’ve managed to combine my wish to complete this bike ride with my Dad with fundraising for my placement in South Africa.

You can still sponsor Jonathan at: http://www.justgiving.com/jonathanhyde

A True Gap Romance: Lattitude Volunteers Who Met In China Wed

In February 2006 Joanna Warson travelled to China with Lattitude Global Volunteering. Her aim was to teach English at a Senior Middle School in Sihong, Jiangsu province. Little did she know that fellow volunteer, Lawrence Parr, would have quite such a big part to play in her life. Here Joanna, now a PhD student at the University of Portsmouth, talks about how her decision to take a gap year changed her life.

I first met Lawrence in Reading at a pre-departure meeting organised by Lattitude Global Volunteering. The meeting was a great opportunity to find out more about my placement and what to expect during our five months in China. It was also a chance to get to know my fellow volunteers, especially those placed in same province as me – Jiangsu – including Lawrence. Lawrence and I chatted quite a bit during the breaks and after the meeting, and I was happy to have met someone so nice before I even left for China. My mother, who also attended the meeting, claims she knew from that moment that Lawrence and I would get married. I was a little slower on the up take!

Lawrence and I got to know each other better during the first orientation week in Beijing and Nanjing. When we arrived at our schools, we kept in contact via email – it was great to have someone to talk to during the massive culture shock of arriving in China. China is completely different to anywhere else I have ever been. Each day I would wake up and know to expect the unexpected, with memorable events such as judging a local pre-school show and being made an honorary member of the local police force! My blossoming relationship with Lawrence was equally unanticipated. From the outset, we regularly visited each other at the weekends, meeting up with friends and exploring our province and further afield, lapping up both true Chinese culture and more Westernised imports. One particular highlight was a trip to Shanghai to see the Rolling Stones in their first concert in mainland China. It was spectacular.

Once we had completed our placements in China, we both travelled separately to South East Asia, but we missed each other, so arranged to meet up in Vietnam and then again in Thailand. Upon our return to the UK in late 2006 we remained in touch and eventually our shared experiences and friendship turned to love.

In the years that followed, we stayed together whilst I completed a BA in History and an MSc in the History of Empires at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Lawrence returned to work in IT and business management in the marine retail sector and has recently been made a Director at Force 4, the company where he has worked for the past three years.

On Saturday 26th May 2012, Lawrence and I were married at St. Peter’s Church, Titchfield, Hampshire. My bridesmaid was another Lattitude February 2006 alumnus, Hannah Riches, who was placed at a primary school in Taizhou. We had an absolutely wonderful wedding and are looking forward to a long and happy life together.

My gap year was definitely one of the best things I have ever done. I not only met my now husband and several other close friends, but I also learnt a lot about myself. It is a fantastic way to see the world, learn about different cultures and languages, and gain more confidence, independence and courage. A gap year is not just about just a few months overseas, away from your parents and outside of your comfort zone. It is a completely life changing experience that will be with you forever. Lawrence’s and my story is proof of that!

Travel Photography Tips and Techniques

More than memories! Great photos of your experiences are a fantastic keep sake, this was taken by Charlie
in Tanzania at The Irente point (world view) in Lushoto, with local man sat looking over the flat expanse of Africa

By Roberta Geraci

When away on holiday or travelling, we all want to capture the moment by taking pictures. If a picture tells a thousand words than we all want those pictures to reflect the location, experience, event and emotions we were experiencing at that time. Travel photography is particularly important as we feel we may never get to witness the same moment again and we want to be able to show all our family and friends what we have seen. No pressure to get that shot perfect then! Below are a summary of some of the main tips and techniques for what to look out for when taking pictures while travelling.

1. The right equipment

Today digital cameras are cheap and almost ubiquitous, nearly all phones sold today have a camera built in and compact cameras can be purchased for under £100. However it is important to consider that not all cameras are made equal, and there are many different types available, suiting many price ranges. If you are someone who does not know their Aperture settings from their ISO settings, then before shelling out a fortune it would be wise to do some research into which camera would best suit you. Technology website, The Verge has an excellent article about what to look out for when buying a digital camera. Once you have your camera sorted other important things to consider are;

Tripods - great for taking night shots but not always suitable for travel.
Case – It is important to get a good case that protects the equipment and does not stand out too much.
Spare batteries – If your camera takes standard batteries then remember to pack spares. If going away for a long trip then purchase a spare rechargeable battery to keep you juiced up.
Memory Cards – Make sure to check your compatibility and purchase an extra memory card if away for a long time. Usually these are cheapest on the Internet so shop around.

2. What to shoot

The equipment is less than half the story, the most important thing about taking a good picture is the subject, be it a person, a landscape, a city or an animal. Depending on where your going, your subjects will change. According to Robert Caputo from The National Geographic, the best tips to help you choose your subject are:

Understanding the customs and traditions of the place you are visiting
“Getting out there” and experiencing the location and customs before taking the pictures that capture those experiences
“Getting Lost” and experiencing things off the beaten track or away from the heavily tourist areas will give you more unique pictures.

Remember when taking pictures of other people, especially children, it is important to ask for their or their parent’s permission.

3. How to Frame your shot

Framing your shot correctly is the difference between a good picture and a great one.

Traditionally when taking pictures “the rule of thirds” is a good place to start. According to Bryan F Peterson the rule of thirds is a guideline which “proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.”

The below image demonstrates this as the position of the tree and the horizon lie along the intersections of two-thirds lines.

travel photography, hints & tips from Lattitude Global Volunteering

While the rule is a good place to start some of the best pictures are those that defy convention. Try taking multiple shots of the same subject from different angles, either up high or down low, to convey different emotions. Don’t be afraid to zoom in on certain details or take wide-angle shots to capture a bigger picture.

Remember the convenience of a digital camera means you can take as many pictures as you want, you can always delete some of the less successful ones later.

We love seeing travel pictures by our volunteers so please share them on our Facebook page and why not enter our photo competition. Happy Snapping!

Sources:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/2/2663464/camera-buyers-guide

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/travel-photography-tips/

Bryan F. Peterson - Learning to see creatively: design, color & composition in photography

5 Quick and Easy English Games for the Volunteer Abroad

Will Peach is one of the site editors over at Gap Daemon, the gap year travel website for backpackers and young travelers. You can also catch him writing on My Spanish Adventure about his travels in Spain where he works as a private English tutor.

So you’ve rocked up abroad and you’re about to start your new teaching placement. Nervous yet? It’s only natural. But before you start quaking in your boots and worrying about how you’re going to fill your time in front of class, take a moment to breathe and grab yourself a warm cup of coffee. I’m about to soothe your pain.

Quick and easy “teach English” games are a staple in the life of the volunteer abroad. As any teacher will tell you, having these in your arsenal is a failsafe akin to travelling the world on the riches of Bill Gates. The best thing about these however? You don’t need a classroom or much time to prepare. They really are simple enough to take with you and use anywhere at anytime.

Ready? Let’s get cracking.

Bonk

The rather rude sounding “bonk” is actually rather innocent in nature. This game involves getting all your “students” to stand in a circle and then you start off by shouting out a category they will know vocabulary from (works well with beginners and things like animals, sports and months - with higher levels use things like adverbs for example). Each student shouts a word related to the category out in a clockwise motion starting from the student on your left. If a word is repeated or a student hesitates you “bonk” them on the head with a soft object and they sit out the game. The last one standing wins.

Listen Closely

“Listen Closely” is one of my favourite teach English games because it allows you to really get to know the personalities of your students. It works by dividing the students into teams (pairs or threes works best) and giving them each a name. You then say a sentence that is either correct or incorrect using the vocabulary they know. For beginners try: “Will is wearing a skirt and blue socks” and for higher levels say something like “Will studied in the University of Sussex”. Each team has to then say whether the sentence is correct or not and if not they have to give their correction. Switch around the team that goes first to make it fairer.

Draw What You Hear

This game involves having something to draw on and works best if you have students running (or walking) from a distance. “Draw What You Hear” is a great game to gauge the language level of your students and to revise things they might have just learnt. It involves separating a class into two teams and then having them run to some paper or a board and drawing what you describe. The fastest team to draw the correct thing gets two points, if the opposing team draws the correct thing you also award them a point. This is especially great for describing things like people (body parts/clothes) and landscapes (natural/buildings).

Would I Lie To You

How many times have I used this one? I can’t even remember! “Would I Lie to You” is based on the BBC panel show featuring Rob Brydon and is an incredibly useful game for introducing yourself to a new group of students in order to “break the ice”. Playing it is easy. List five things about you, three sentences must be true and two should be lies. Make these sentences relatively easy to understand if it’s your first time with a class and be willing to repeat them several times until understood. Once finished get the students to place bets on the ones they deem true and the others they feel are false. Once finished and the correct answers are revealed switch the game around and get your students to do the same for each of themselves and play as a class.

Hot Seat

This last game I’m recommending I’ve taken with me to places like Russia, Vietnam - and now Spain - and still students seem to love it. Setting up is quite easy; all you need is a more than four students and a bit of space for two of them to sit with their back to you. You’ll need to choose words or phrases they’ve previously studied and have them written out or whispered so that the students facing you can understand them. Then these students have to mime or explain the word or phrase (without saying the word itself) so that the students with their backs to you can guess. The first correct guess wins.

And that’s it! It’s pretty safe to say that these five games became the lifeblood of my English classes abroad and it’s entirely possible, of course, to interpret them in a way fit for your own circumstances. Just make sure you get some serious teaching in their somewhere!

Good luck and safe volunteering.

Make a job application stand out, add volunteering overseas to your list of achievements

Volunteering could make you stand out from everyone else!

In a recent survey 63% of 250 HR professionals agreed that a constructive gap year spent volunteering or gaining work experience was one way to make a an application really stand out.

It is well known that embarking on a voluntary placement is a sure way to gain skills and build confidence in young people. It is a process we, as an international youth development charity take very seriously. We ensure all our placements are long enough and that each volunteer is placed in an environment that will challenge and interest them and so build skills and confidence.

If the extra pressure the rise in university tuition fees has caused you to take an unexpected year out then the survey carried out by YouGov suggests a working productive gap year could be beneficial.

Almost half (46%) of HR professionals surveyed said they would be more likely to employ someone with gap year experience involving volunteering overseas, or other independent travel than one without.

Tom Griffiths, Founder of gapyear.com, said: “It’s never been more important for young people to make the most of their time between school and career. This survey shows that a constructive gap year involving independent travel, volunteering or work overseas makes a big difference to potential employers.

It’s understandable that anyone with a university place this year won’t want to defer, but, for the many thousands without that option, a constructive gap year has to be one of the best alternatives.

To ensure that our volunteers have the opportunity to discuss their placements and know how to demonstrate the skills they have learned we offer a returned volunteer debrief. We are fortunate enough to be sponsored by Grant Thornton, a large graduate recruiter who not only let us hold our debrief in their central London office but also help us run seminars that offer the latest advice on graduate recruitment.

Lattitude volunteer, India talks about life as a volunteer in Neuquen, Argentina

Number of gap years expected to rise as Uni applications down 13%

Recent article by Mary Short of gapyear.com believes the decreasing number of university applications may indicate an increase in those taking a year out.

The figures show the number of young people applying for places at UK universities is 158,387, down 23,427 on this time last year. These UCAS figure show a staggering 13% drop from in comparison to last year

Unsurprisingly the reduction in applications has been attributed to the vast increase in tuition fees which were introduced for students starting in September 2012. 2011 was the last year for which tuition fees were capped at £3,000. Next year that cap moves up to £9,000.

“Recent changes in higher education funding mean that application patterns this year may be different to previous years and we are gearing up for a possible late surge close to the 15 January deadline where applicants have taken more time to research their applications.”

Mary Curnock Cook, UCAS chief executive said “We expect some depression of demand due to a decline in the young population but it is much too early to predict any effects from changes in tuition fees.”

The fees rise has seen numerous demonstrations from students and the public, the latest of which has come in the form of an occupation at Brighton University.

It is thought that there will be a boost in the number of pre-university students taking gap years in 2012 due to the rise in tuition fees and these UCAS figures certainly ad

d weight to the theory.

It is also thought that there are many now looking to do something productive such as volunteering abroad. Which will build skills and confidence.

Volunteers prepare for departure

At the weekend we held our briefing for groups of volunteers heading out to Fiji, Vanuatu and Malawi in January. It was a very interesting day and understandably there was a lot questions from volunteers and parents. Thanks very much to those ex-volunteers who came along and shared their experiences and photos. It really helped everyone to prepare.

Volunteer pre-departure briefing November 2011

Penny, the UK and Europe Director talks to volunteers and parents prior to their departures in January

Laura was the returned volunteer who, last year was in Malawi. As the winner of our ‘Spirit of the Country’ photo competition the briefing was also a great opportunity to present her with her prizes which included the winning shot on canvas:

Penny from Lattitude Global Volunteering presents Laura with her prize for winning the annual photo competition

It was a great day and thanks to you all for coming. As always if you have any questions please do get in touch!

Go on a Gap Year, Make a Difference and earn UCAS points!

You can now earn UCAS points during your Gap Year! In what can only be an acknowledgement of the importance of alternative forms of education and experience, the universities and colleges application service has linked with ASDAN (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network) to allow students opting for a gap year to use their experience to help get into university. In order to gain up to 70 points under the personal effectiveness category, you must have your volunteer project registered with ASDAN and then build a portfolio of your activities as proof of the skills you have acquired whilst on the project. Once these have been verified, you will qualify for a Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) level 3, with which you can claim your UCAS points!

Anna Davis, Education correspondent for the London Evening Standard, wrote that the CoPE is equivalent to getting an A at the AS level. The key is making sure the higher education institution (HEI) and course you’ve chosen will accept ASDAN certificate towards entry points. Currently there are 34 higher education institutions that will accept CoPE points. I expect the number of HEIs that will accept CoPE to rise in the few years given the rise in university fees and the push for students to couple formal education with practical skills and experience. The CoPE-UCAS agreement is also welcome news for those planning to work and live abroad. This reinforces the need for early and thorough gap year planning. However, it is important to remember that not all HEIs accept CoPE and that for most courses a good grade in the specific AS will be the best way to achieve the required UCAS points. But Professor Alison Wolf, who led a government inquiry into education qualifications, said: “There is a danger that people will believe that universities will treat all points as equal and a terrible danger that the most vulnerable people will be misled and make choices they shouldn’t make.”

The gap year will give you the opportunity to explore the world, make a difference in another community, learn about yourself and gain useful work experience and skills that will transfer to either higher education or work…or both! If your preferred HEI isn’t currently accepting CoPE, don’t let that prevent you from missing out on a wonderful gap year experience. So, go on that gap year, make a difference and maybe earn some UCAS points!

London Graduate Fair

It has been over a week since the London Graduate Fair. It was a really busy day and we enjoyed meeting all of you and discussing overseas volunteering and gap year opportunities with you all! It is always great to discuss our history as a overseas volunteering charity, our mission and our placements with new and energetic people!

Lattitude Global Volunteering at London graduate Fair

Thanks again those of you who came over and met us at the Lattitude Global Volunteering stand and we would like to remind you that if you have any questions regarding a gap year or overseas volunteering opportunity then please do get in touch!