Volunteering in Myanmar is a rewarding and rich experience. If the hustle and bustle of a big and quickly modernizing city don’t sound ideal, Mawlamyine is a perfect alternative. A quick, cheap, and easy 6-hour bus trip from Yangon, Mawlamyine is a beautiful city with a diverse mix of people, a hilltop covered in picturesque temples, and plenty of trees and fresh air. It is a lovely spot to stop for a month or so and do some volunteering. JCSDO is happy to provide opportunities to volunteers willing to take on the following work:
Teach English in Mon kindergarten
JCSDO’s Women Empowerment Program Director is also the founder of a Mon-language for adorable Mon youngsters. If you love cute kids and know some songs and activities for children aged 2-6, then this is an ideal place for you! We will accept both long and short-term volunteers for this position.
Teach English to Mon Youth
We are also looking for English teachers for our Program and Organizational Management course students. These students are young people from rural villages, with limited exposure to foreigners. They join the course because they are eager to learn, serve their communities and bring progressive change to Mon society. We welcome any volunteer interested in assisting with the English classes for these students. For this placement, we prefer a longer duration of at least one month, but would also be willing to negotiate shorter-term activity.
Teach English in our Women’s Shelter
JCSDO runs a small but busy women’s shelter for women escaping violence in Mawlamyine. We would be pleased to have an English teacher for these women. Most of them would be brand new English learners, so we require a very patient and understanding volunteer for this position. There are often children staying in the shelter, and the volunteer could arrange activities for these kids too! Any volunteer at the shelter would be asked to respect the need for the women’s privacy and not post photos of the women or their children online, as their safety may depend on it.
Women’s Shelter
The women and children in our shelter have experienced violence and trauma, and we have very limited resources to provide nurturing and empowering activities for them. We would be happy to accept any volunteers to the shelter that could provide the following training or activities:
- life skills (sewing, house-cleaning techniques, fixing things, small engines and machines, anything that might come in handy!)
- health and wellness (yoga, meditation, aerobics, massage)
- sexual and reproductive health (anatomy, contraceptives, STIs, sexual and reproductive rights)
- pre and neo-natal health and well-being (many of our residents arrive pregnant as a result of assault)
At this time, JCSDO cannot provide support for obtaining a visa or finding accommodation as there are strict rules about where foreign guests can stay. Mawlamyine has a range of guesthouses and hotels including inexpensive dorms where volunteers can stay.
If you are interested in supporting our activities for a short time, please get in touch with us via email through Mi Myint Myint Mon at program-director@jeepyah.org