ABDF

Nuwara Eliya District, Sri Lanka.

For a larger version, please click on the map.

A description of the District and the environs of Hatton.

A description of Highlands College in Hatton.

A description of Kotagala School in Kotagala.

Prior work in a developing country.

Details: Culture shock is a very real thing and will happen to everyone. Experience working and living in a developing country helps mitigate culture shock. However, everybody experiences culture shock differently; some seasoned veterans still have a hard time while some newbies have little difficulty. There is no way of knowing how you will react until you try living abroad.

Computer skills, particularly Microsoft Word and Excel, as well as the internet. The ability to use multimedia software for teaching is highly desirable, as is the ability to instruct students and teachers in such software.

Details: The government is pushing IT training courses at the upper grade levels, but in general basic computer knowledge will prove very helpful.

Note: If you happen to be a computer geek as well as a teacher, then your skills are HIGHLY desirable. Depending on what your skills may be, you can do anything and everything from designing a way for teachers to keep their class records electronically, to teaching teachers how to prepare multimedia lessons, to teaching the upper grade basic IT classes – all in English! Keep in mind though that infrastructure will be minimal at best. But really, the sky’s the limit.

Health care / First Aid knowledge. Because you never know what situation might arise.

Details: True, so true. Accidents happen, and most teachers here have little knowledge of what to do if, say, some kid chokes on his food, or cuts himself badly. Let alone the signs of heatstroke or dehydration.

If you are skilled in first aid and health education, we would love to have you! You can teach the Heimlich maneuver, CPR, etc to teachers and students both in your assigned school and other area schools as well. The knowledge is really needed. For example, kitchen burns are a frequent experience, but few people know that putting oil or grease on the burn is the worst thing you can do.

On its part, the Ministry and/or local school will:

Facilitate the approval of all documents deemed necessary by the Government of Sri Lanka, including but not limited to:

Travel Visa and extensions

Approval by the Ministry of Education at Central and/or Provincial government levels, as required by Sri Lankan law.

Any other documents or materials as required by Central and Provincial authorities as well as the Security Forces.

Details: Sri Lanka is a country of slow, oft times obstructive bureaucracy. Unless you have a high-level authority figure pushing through the paperwork, it can take forever to get the proper paperwork and approvals. We have this through the Ministry of Nation Building and Estate Development Infrastructure, our partners in this project. Please note that the Ministry has no funding for this, and so the cost of the paperwork will have to be included in your personal budget. We will give you the details when you apply.

Provide reasonable lodging for the teacher. This could include lodging at the school site, or at a private home. Wherever possible, the decision on housing will be taken in consultation with the volunteer teacher.

Details: You will have several options as far as living quarters are concerned. Most schools will offer you a room at the teacher hostel, which is on the school campus. You are not bound by this, and after a month or so you might find a newly-made friend offering you a room at his or her home. If such an opportunity arises, TAKE IT; there is no better way to learn about a culture and people than to live with a normal family and experience life day-to-day.

You may expect that housing, whether at the hostel or at someone’s house will be basic by our standards. For example, we will require that any housing offered have ceiling fans, a bed (Unless you WANT to sleep on a straw mat on the floor!), and a small refrigerator.

Which brings up food. If you wish it, we will try and get housing with kitchen facilities. We can’t guarantee that a kitchen will be fully equipped, but we’d do our level best. If you want to skip the hassle of cooking, the school can help you make any number of eating arrangements, from finding someone to cook for you, to setting up a deal with a local wherein she cooks you meals for you and you pick them up. Or you can eat out at the many places there are to get a good meal. Keep in mind that going out to eat in Sri Lanka is very inexpensive, and you usually get an enormous amount of incredibly tasty food.

Either way, in terms of your needs for both living arrangements and food, we will do everything we can to work things your way. Please contact us with your needs, and be as specific as possible.

It is to be stressed by both ABDF and the Ministry that any volunteer teacher will be the employee of neither ABDF nor the Ministry, but rather an Independent Volunteer assisted in their work by both. The volunteer is responsible for his/her conduct and activities; neither the Ministry nor ABDF can be held responsible for the volunteers extracurricular activities. That said, both ABDF and the Ministry can, in conjunction with the local school, withdraw their support in the event of any activities engaged upon by the volunteer that are unethical or illegal. This includes political work by the volunteer.

Details: Right now Sri Lanka is in a highly sensitive state, the recent civil war having just been won. The government in particular is very sensitive to criticism, especially from foreigners. Therefore it is vital that you deal with social and political issues with the upmost sensitivity. This is especially true for you, who will be working with an economically and politically oppressed minority.

We strongly discourage you from joining or assisting any outside-the-school groups that have any sort of political, religious, or social affiliation. Given that, if you are Methodist or Catholic or Hindu or whatever, there is no harm in attending the local place of worship; in fact, it might improve your standing in the community. Or if you’re interested in learning cricket, go ahead and join the local amateur team. But please avoid groups involved with politics, civil rights, labor, journalism, etc.

Additionally, we would like to encourage you to educate and inform the folks back home about your experiences here. But if you do so in a public manner, for example with articles to your local newspaper or a group newsletter, we ask that you be circumspect. We are NOT asking you to self-censor or sugar coat the truth in any way, but that you keep in mind that both ABDF and the Ministry would like to continue bringing teachers into Sri Lanka, as well as continue our other development projects around the island.