If you volunteer with the Foundation of Goodness, whether for two weeks or two years, you are likely to return home having had the experience of a lifetime.

Since the tsunami in particular, when our work greatly increased, volunteers have come from across the globe to assist those so much worse off than themselves and all have benefited hugely from their time here.

Volunteers have brought a wealth of experience, expertise and enthusiasm to the Foundation and have left as members of the family. Most volunteers keep in touch, many continue to assist us from afar in whatever capacity they can, and some return time and again to greatly enhance the work of the Foundation and improve the lives of the Sri Lankan people in this area.

Volunteer Programmes: There are a number of organisations that arrange volunteer programmes across the developing world and we are lucky to be one of the charities they send their volunteers to. For example, we have had volunteers through: United Nations Volunteers (www.unv.org); Mondo Challenge volunteers (www.mondochallenge.org); and The Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development programme (www.ayad.com.au).

Independent Volunteers: As the Foundation of Goodness is a small NGO we often attract independent volunteers who come directly through friends, family or word of mouth:-

• Skilled Professionals (20+): Most of our independent volunteers are qualified and experienced professionals who come to the Foundation to offer us their skills and expertise, often setting up their own projects and initiatives. They are a real asset to the organisation as they are able to immediately get up and running on projects, working with and training local staff in best practice, leaving behind good working systems and enhancing the skills base of the Foundation’s staff.

• Young People (18-20): We have a lot of interest from young people - particularly those on their university GAP Year - and we welcome anyone keen, proactive and willing to put in some hard work. Unlike some of the larger NGOs we are unable to offer structured itineraries for young volunteers and we expect those who join us to be able to work under their own initiative - it is important they are self sufficient and willing to run their own schedules as there will often be no-one to oversee them. This of course works for a lot of young people who are keen to do just that, particularly those who have had prior volunteering experience in their own countries and are keen to work abroad.

Volunteer roles: Roles here are diverse and range from working with the local children to building housing complexes, teaching centres and cricket pitches; starting up small business; setting up sports programmes; teaching and running training facilities. We have had a whole host of professions working with us: engineers; builders; carpenters; journalists; film makers; teachers; doctors; nurses; social workers; youth workers; educational specialists; IT experts; project managers; small business specialists; management consultants; micro finance advisors; sports coaches to name a few.

Clink on the link to read about the experiences of some of our past volunteers: Past Volunteers.

Accommodation and Expenses

All our volunteers are required to cover all their own expenses, including flights, insurance, accommodation and food. We are currently building accommodation for our volunteers in Seenigama so there will be somewhere for them to stay in the near future. Currently we are able to organise accommodation for volunteers within the village, which provides a unique chance to live amongst Sri Lankan villagers and get to know a culture rarely seen by the tourists who travel to the island. Local houses provide both accommodation and food at very good rates – approximately USD $150 per month.

Visas

A lot of our volunteers are either here for a short period of time (thereby travelling on a tourist visa), or are here through structured programmes which organise visas, work permits, expenses, etc. For anyone interested in volunteering long term there is a lengthy process to go through so it is important that we are contacted at least three months before anyone wishes to join us.

More information & applying

If you would like to volunteer with us please email your CV, or any queries, to Volunteer Coordinator Faye Ruck-Nightingale at uccompassion@sltnet.lk.