Vanuatu

Placement locations

Placements are located on the islands of Ambae, Pentecost, Paama and Tanna. All are accessible by Twin Otter planes.

Roles explained

Vanuatu is certainly unique amongst the choice of placements offered by Lattitude Global Volunteering, or in fact by anyone! Volunteering in Vanuatu is an incredible experience to say the least. Volunteers not only get to live amongst spectacular and beautiful island landscapes, they also get to live amongst the welcoming people of this fantastic country. The importance of community life is the cornerstone of Vanuatu culture and volunteers soon become a valued and important part of village life in all placements offered in the Lattitude Global Volunteering programme. Although these placements focus around the schools where volunteers work is based, it is without doubt that volunteers will be involved in the many aspects of community life. Whether helping community members with sport, music, art, drama or simply socialising with your host family as you watch the sun set. Volunteering in Vanuatu is a real opportunity to experience a life different from the one you may be used to!

Teaching

Placements are in primary and secondary schools, which are basic and have limited resources. Volunteers teach a range of subjects such as English, maths, science, geography and history. Additional duties may include general boarding supervision and assistance with extracurricular activities such as sport (soccer, volleyball and basketball), music and drama. Volunteers work full school days and have some occasional evening boarding work.

Placement details

Our teaching placements in Vanuatu are undeniably some of our most challenging. They are without a doubt, however, our most unique. Be prepared for basic living conditions: most villages will not have mains electricity and rely on generators for their basic electrical needs. No one teaching placement is the same, but here are a few examples of where your volunteering experience could take you.

You could be placed on Malekula Island in the traditional village of Lambumbu. In this instance your host placement would be an Anglophone school of around 170 students and 5 permanent staff. Your main responsibility at this placement would be English teaching but given that the majority of staff are untrained locals you might also be asked to help with other subjects such as maths, science and sport. Your core hours will be 7.30am-3.30pm but this could vary depending on how many extra subjects you decide to take on.

Alternatively you could be placed in a secondary school on the island of Maewo. This school is also mainly English-speaking and is responsible for the education of just under 100 students between the ages of 12 and 16. This is a boarding school for all the children on the island, so on top of core teaching duties, volunteers would also be expected to help out in the boarding house.

Another option would be to work in our host placement on Pentecost Island. This is a predominantly French-speaking school so previous knowledge of the French knowledge would be helpful but not essential. At this school it is expected that pupils will be fluent in both English and French by the end of their studies, so if you do have French language skills you may have the opportunity to teach French as well as English. Working hours are generally between 8am-3.30pm, but this may vary depending on how many different subjects you end up teaching.

Is it for me?

In Vanuatu you will work as a full-time teacher and draw upon your own educational background. These challenging placements will suit academically confident, hardworking and responsible people. You will discover if teaching is for you while truly immersing yourself within the rich culture. Placements in Vanuatu offer the chance of real grass-roots volunteering and volunteers must be willing to forgo most luxuries, even running water and electricity and be prepared to truly integrate into island life.

Accommodation

Accommodation is either provided within the host school or with local families in the surrounding community. It is basic but is no different from the accommodation that most Ni-Vans have. There are bush toilets, no hot water, bucket showers and little or no electricity.

Food

Food is supplied and is quite simple, with a typical diet consisting of rice, bread, local cabbages, vegetables, fruit and tinned meat. Volunteers may need to cook for themselves and have the resourcefulness to make meals more interesting with herbs, spices and sauces. However, volunteers are often surprised by how little they miss their home comforts, particularly in the welcoming communities of Vanuatu.

Need to know

• Pre departure briefing - all volunteers are invited to a group briefing prior to departure
• On arrival - all volunteers travel together to Port Vila where they undertake a one-week orientation

Free time and travel

Volunteers will spend a lot of time with their host families and communities and become very involved with their placement. The welcoming spirit of the local people ensures volunteers are involved in every aspect of community life. So there will never be a dull moment, whether working at your placement or in your free time. Previous volunteers have been involved with all sorts of activities, including sports, swimming, helping to cook or just sitting back and watching the sunset with your new found friends and (host) family.

Volunteers soon find that Vanuatu is a delight to explore. If action is what you’re after, then the long list of potential activities open to you includes hiking up the world’s most accessible active volcano, abseiling down waterfalls, delving into stalactite-decked caves, and exploring the wreck of a luxury cruise liner with just your swimming trunks and snorkel for company. The adventurous may choose to sandboard down volcanic slopes or gallop along palm fringed beaches. You must not miss the N’gol ritual on Pentecost Island where men and boys “land dive” from 30 metre high towers with a vine attached to their ankles to celebrate the yam harvest.

If culture is more your bag, Vanuatu is full of villages where the way of life has not altered for generations. Travel to Malekula Island and see some traditional cultural ceremonies and dances for yourself. If after all of that you need a bit of a break, you will have your pick of beautiful, untouched beaches to relax on.

Costs

Lattitude Global Volunteering fee:
All departures: £2,500

As part of the placement the following is provided:

What’s included?

• Accommodation & food (provided by host family)
• In-country support
• 24/7 support
• In-country orientation
• Assigned Volunteer Coordinator to help with all pre-departure support and offer guidance
• Pre-departure briefing
• Debrief
• Airport pickup
• In depth matching process to align your skills and interests with a placement that really suits you

Please note this fee does not include the cost of getting to Vanuatu or extras such as insurance or any inoculations you may need. For an estimated break down of all costs you may have to budget for please click here

Fundraising

As a charity we always recommend our volunteers fundraise to help meet the costs involved in volunteering overseas. In many ways it is part of the whole experience. For more information and fundraising ideas please click here

Planning your trip

*Application deadline refers to the time by which your application must have been accepted and the £25 interview deposit paid.

Please note that the deadline is the last possible time allowed to get an application form in that allows us enough time to match volunteers and begin sorting out visas.

We always recommend applying as early as possible in order to secure your place.

We are currently accepting applications for departures in 2016 and 2017.

Volunteer in Vanuatu: apply now>>