Our time at Baan Dada has been one of the highlights on our trip and is highly recommended. Giving something back to the less privileged is a great part of travelling and will show you the real Country (in our case Thailand) you stay in. Nevertheless, there are several factors to consider before you start volunteering. During our three-week stay we had two volunteers leaving after three days as they couldn’t cope with the circumstances. This doesn’t just make it difficult for the organization, but especially for the children you want to help.
Hard work is a part of volunteering
Volunteering is not a holiday
This is not a five-star hotel. You sweat, you stink, your back will hurt and the only available shower may be a bucket. You are in a different country, so there may just be a squatting toilet (and NEVER flush the toilet paper, it belongs in a separate bin). We were lucky to have a western toilet, but there was no flush, so you had to use the bucket.
Toilet and shower for your time being at the orphanage
At the start we had a warm shower, but there were problems with the water connection, so the last two weeks we had to shower with cold water straight out of a bucket. On some days there wasn’t even running water at all at the volunteer house.
The volunteer room was basic with a thin matt (my back hated me for a week), a fan and a mosquito net. No luxuries but doable for the time being. There were bugs and mosquitos everywhere, one of the reason why one volunteer left early.
Obviously you get traditional food, in our case vegetarian Thai food which we loved. Eating rice three times a day became a little bit too much for me in the end and I bought some corn flakes at the local seven eleven 20 minutes away and some milk.
If you give it a go, you will get a great reward
Be proactive
Some of the volunteers were bored during their time at the orphanage. The kids went to school over the day and there wasn’t a lot to do (in their eyes). Don’t expect anyone to hold your hand guiding you along. This is about what is best for the children, not you. Try to find a task yourself. There is always something to do, especially labour work. Welding, building new toys, painting, office work, the list is endless. If you have a special skill, use it. I work in PR so I created a media kit for donations. If you are good at IT help with the website and so on.
If you cant find anything to do, ask the volunteer coordinator. They will find a job for you.
Working, working, working
Consider how long you stay
At Baan Dada you have to stay for at least a week. We were there for three and considered that a short amount. It is hard to change anything in 21 days, but seven seems even harder. It takes the kids a week to get used to you and it will take you a week to get used to your new environment. After a week you know the schedule and get used to teaching English. Try to stay as long as possible to get the best out of your experience. It is definitely worth it.
Fun with other volunteers
I hope the above tips will help you and wont scare you off. Volunteering is a great experience which will change your point of view completely.
Breakfast in Sydney and Sunset in Rome 