While you are still making up your mind, you might have a lot of questions regarding the different aspects of the programs, planning the trip and how will the overall experience be. We try to address a lot of generic queries below.
1. What kind of visa do I need for volunteering?
If you plan on staying for 3 months or less you can get an L (tourist) visa. If you want to stay longer you would have to get it renewed.
2. What kind of volunteer work can I do?
We partner with local organizations in Kunming to provide international volunteers to help teach basic English skills to homeless children, deaf and mute children, and children from severely economically disadvantaged families. In general, we now have programs in the field of education, community development, children development and peer impact for disadvantaged women. Your duties are to assist the residents of these welfare centers with daily tasks, teach them and play with them or provide some company.
3. Do I pay to volunteer?
Volunteering is a free service. Impact Abroad, provides volunteers with the opportunity to broaden the horizon of these disadvantaged children and an opportunity to give back to this community.
4. Are there specific start dates for volunteering?
No, you can begin year round. You should let us know what program you want to do at least 2 weeks before you come so we can make arrangements.
5. For how long can I volunteer?
You can choose to volunteer for as long as you like, although that also depends on the placement opportunities. However, all our volunteer programs require you to participate for at least a month.
6. How can I decide what program is right for me?
We will find a brief introduction to our different volunteer programs on our website. We cannot guarantee that you will be placed in the program you chose, however we do our best to meet your choice. Our choice will depend both on your preference, the preference of other volunteers we work with, and with the demand for volunteers in welfare institutions.
7. What if I don’t like the place I volunteer at?
We let you choose your field of volunteering, initially. We try our best to place you in that field. But if you were dislike a particular place we can try solving the problem and arrange for you to volunteer somewhere else. You would be here on your own will so we would not pressure you into doing anything you don’t want to do.
8. Can I intern, or study Chinese while volunteering?
You can learn Chinese in the mornings and volunteer in the afternoons. If you take up our one-on-one program where you would have a private teacher, you can enjoy even more flexibility. Interning would take up a lot of your time but it is possible to intern for a few hours of the week.
9. Can I choose how many hours I will volunteer?
This varies based on the schedule of the volunteer, the organization they are working for and also on the time of the year.
10. Will I be the only foreign volunteer at the institution?
Again this will depend on the Organization and the time of the year. There may be other international volunteers working at the welfare institution with you. Occasionally, this will not be the case.
11. Will I have free time and time to tour China?
As a volunteer, you will have a lot of free time to experience China if you’d like. We only ask that you fulfill our requested commitment to the selected welfare center before you start traveling. |
