New Post Opportunity in Rangoon, Burma

VIA English Resource (ER) Post – Service Coordinator at the Pre-Collegiate Program: Rangoon, Burma

Ideal for volunteers who may have a background in service-learning or volunteerism. This volunteer post is an amazing opportunity to learn about and see firsthand the social issues of the different sectors of Burma through interactions with the students and some of the most poverty-stricken people in the country. The volunteer will learn how organizations such as the UN and Save the Children really operate in Burma and can, if interested, use this opportunity to make connections and decided if they want to work in the field. This post can really utilize the skills of VIA volunteers to make a difference not only to the high-school students but to the greater community.

Post:

The summer 2006 ER post is an appointment at the Diplomatic School, Rangoon, a private, nonprofit school established in 1975. The school is headed by Daw Myo Myint, a respected educator within Burma. The Pre-Collegiate Program guides 15-18 students through group and individual service projects as a component of their preparation for undergraduate studies abroad.

Role:

There are four key components that the volunteer will support: guiding group service projects; connecting students to individual projects; assisting students in capturing their reflections on their service experience in written form; and building and sustaining a database of successful short-term and long-term service opportunities for students. Service is a new concept for most of this generation because for forty years the government has forbidden civil society (except for religious groups) and intermittently promoted state sponsored “volunteer service.” The Burmese students will be new to each other and unfamiliar with the nature of American undergraduate education. Service is an integral part of the Burmese students education in preparing them to attend college in the U.S. All parts of the curriculum are designed to enable Burmese students to transform themselves from passive learners to skilled at memorization into active, inquisitive, cooperative learners.

The VIA volunteer will spend their time working with the students of the school. To compliment the classes the students are taking, the VIA volunteer will be asked to set-up volunteer activities and internships dealing with the issues the students are studying and to contribute to the goals of the curriculum. Previous VIA volunteers have found opportunities for the students to volunteer at local orphanages and have set up a range of internships allowing students to do anything from to design artwork for an environmental organization to help an NGO for the disabled with their newsletter. One VIA volunteer taught the student a class on yoga! Finding these opportunities will require the VIA volunteer to make contact with both international and local NGOs.

Qualifications:

Background and/or interest in service learning and volunteerism. Burmese language skills highly desirable but not required.

Compensation:

A monthly stipend for housing and living expenses. Airfare, one week of language instruction, basic emergency medical/evacuation coverage.

The Place:

Length of position: 1 year

See a list of important dates or download an application.