Volunteer in Laos
Many people are choosing to volunteer abroad in a lot of popular neighboring countries like Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Laos probably needs more help than the countries mentioned before.
If you choose volunteer work abroad it's worth to consider volunteering in Laos. There are different volunteer programs in Laos and we will explain some options.
If you choose volunteer work abroad it's worth to consider volunteering in Laos. There are different volunteer programs in Laos and we will explain some options.
Volunteer work with an NGO in Laos
Let Laos Learn is officially registered as INGO in Laos, this means that we are able to provide you legal volunteer opportunities in Laos. Voluntary work in Laos with our organization is completely legal thanks to our official registration.
Besides our volunteer programs in Laos we also are actively raising fund to build schools. We are proud that we already provided decent school infrastructure for over 1.000 children. Not many organizations cooperating with volunteers are actively fundraising for the projects in which their volunteers are committed. |
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Volunteer in Laos with Let Laos Learn, Laos’ most transparent organization
Even it’s not required, you can find the financial reports of our local operations at our transparency page.
Besides this we are also officially registered as a nonprofit organization in Belgium, where we annually provide our financial statements to the Department of Justice in order to prove that we use our fund for our targets, namely: education projects in Laos.
We consider quality more important than quantity, we only accept a maximum of 8 volunteers at the same time. All our volunteers have to complete a detailed application form because we want to know who will be part of our team.
Volunteering at another organization than Let Laos Learn? We do not have any problem with this, on the contrary, we want to encourage everybody to make a difference in Laos. But we want to clarify some issues when you choose an organization to volunteer in Laos, so you are sure that your contribution is really having an impact on the local people.
Besides this we are also officially registered as a nonprofit organization in Belgium, where we annually provide our financial statements to the Department of Justice in order to prove that we use our fund for our targets, namely: education projects in Laos.
We consider quality more important than quantity, we only accept a maximum of 8 volunteers at the same time. All our volunteers have to complete a detailed application form because we want to know who will be part of our team.
Volunteering at another organization than Let Laos Learn? We do not have any problem with this, on the contrary, we want to encourage everybody to make a difference in Laos. But we want to clarify some issues when you choose an organization to volunteer in Laos, so you are sure that your contribution is really having an impact on the local people.
International volunteer organizations in Laos.
Many volunteer abroad organizations are active in Laos, like: International volunteer HQ (Ivhq); international volunteer headquarters; global vision international; workaway; ubelong; Plan My Gap Year; Projects abroad; Kilroy; openmind projects; but also many others.
You find these international volunteer organizations being active in “their projects”. In fact it are not their projects but they only act as a middleman for different local “organizations”. Who are these “partner organizations”?
We seriously have our doubts about their structure. How come you charge up to 2000 USD for a 2 week placement in Laos? Why can you not pay for your housing in Laos? How are they financially supporting “their projects”?
We strongly advise you that you insist in paying your housing fee directly to the people who are organizing these services, If you consider to volunteer with these organizations.
Before you apply ask them also everything about their partner organization in Laos, so you can learn more about their service projects in Laos and the impact on the local community.
You find these international volunteer organizations being active in “their projects”. In fact it are not their projects but they only act as a middleman for different local “organizations”. Who are these “partner organizations”?
We seriously have our doubts about their structure. How come you charge up to 2000 USD for a 2 week placement in Laos? Why can you not pay for your housing in Laos? How are they financially supporting “their projects”?
We strongly advise you that you insist in paying your housing fee directly to the people who are organizing these services, If you consider to volunteer with these organizations.
Before you apply ask them also everything about their partner organization in Laos, so you can learn more about their service projects in Laos and the impact on the local community.
Local volunteer organizations in Laos
Besides the international organizations you also have local organizations organizing voluntary work in Laos. Unfortunately they are not always reliable and transparent. Some of them are also engaged with the international volunteer organizations.
They can tell great stories about how helpful they are for the local community, but are they really helpful for the local community? As a volunteer it can be a big hassle to figure this out.
If you choose to volunteer with a local organization in Laos, ask about their financial reports of the last couple of years, so you can see what they did with their fund. If they cannot provide this to you, you better be careful.
We understand the cost of living, meaning that we also understand that “volunteers” are regarded as a source of income especially if you annually attract hundreds of volunteers.
It is very important for you to ask how many volunteers they usually have at the same time, nobody needs more than a couple of volunteers every single time, especially when you're a local project.
A few local organizations that you can find on the internet are Big brother mouse, Project Kajsiab, Dauw village, Equal Education For All, Saelao, Bright Centre in Luang Prabang, Aay’s village etc…
We do have a good connection with some local organizations in Laos and maybe they are not mentioned in this article. The main reason is that some of them are not constantly looking for volunteers.
If you have more questions please contact us, our development specialist will provide you answers to all your questions, so you personally can figure out if the organization is something for you.
They can tell great stories about how helpful they are for the local community, but are they really helpful for the local community? As a volunteer it can be a big hassle to figure this out.
If you choose to volunteer with a local organization in Laos, ask about their financial reports of the last couple of years, so you can see what they did with their fund. If they cannot provide this to you, you better be careful.
We understand the cost of living, meaning that we also understand that “volunteers” are regarded as a source of income especially if you annually attract hundreds of volunteers.
It is very important for you to ask how many volunteers they usually have at the same time, nobody needs more than a couple of volunteers every single time, especially when you're a local project.
A few local organizations that you can find on the internet are Big brother mouse, Project Kajsiab, Dauw village, Equal Education For All, Saelao, Bright Centre in Luang Prabang, Aay’s village etc…
We do have a good connection with some local organizations in Laos and maybe they are not mentioned in this article. The main reason is that some of them are not constantly looking for volunteers.
If you have more questions please contact us, our development specialist will provide you answers to all your questions, so you personally can figure out if the organization is something for you.
Free volunteer work in Laos.
Yes it is possible to find free volunteer work in Laos. We want you to be very careful with these providers. Housing a volunteer costs money, where is the money coming from to house volunteers? Maybe the organization where you are volunteering is charging the community that you are helping. This actually means that the organization is making money from the local community without paying locally trained staff, so they in fact they make profits on the head of the local community they supposed to help.
Also local businesses like bars, especially around Vang Vieng, are using backpackers as a “volunteer” in their business in exchange for food and accommodation, this is illegal. It is possible to hire local employees at probably to same costs as a foreign “volunteer”. These so called volunteers actually take away the work from the local people.
On a regular base people provide their services to us in exchange for food and accommodation, unfortunately we cannot respond to this. If we would possess the means for housing a volunteer we rather would spend this money on a local trained employee who can commit for a long time. The reason we work with volunteers is because we do not have enough fund to pay for extra local staff.
Also local businesses like bars, especially around Vang Vieng, are using backpackers as a “volunteer” in their business in exchange for food and accommodation, this is illegal. It is possible to hire local employees at probably to same costs as a foreign “volunteer”. These so called volunteers actually take away the work from the local people.
On a regular base people provide their services to us in exchange for food and accommodation, unfortunately we cannot respond to this. If we would possess the means for housing a volunteer we rather would spend this money on a local trained employee who can commit for a long time. The reason we work with volunteers is because we do not have enough fund to pay for extra local staff.
Volunteer with Buddhist monks in Laos
Buddhist Monks in our regular English classes
Many Buddhist monks in Laos are actually not really monks, but young novices that are sent to the monastery by their family. Let's clarify one thing; financial reasons are not the main reason why local families send their children to the temple or monastery, but karma and gain respect for the family is.
Teaching English to Buddhist Monks in Laos seems to benefit the Monks, which is true. But when you are volunteering in a temple for Buddhist monks you are excluding 50% of the population. Girls are not allowed into the Buddhist temple schools, so they are excluded from the training you provide for free.
Every respected nonprofit and NGO follows the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations and all their member countries (Laos is a member). Target number 5 from the sustainable development goals are talking about gender equality.
At Let Laos Learn we also follow the sustainable development goals and we open our volunteer programs for everybody. We welcome both girls and Buddhist Monks, and yes, Buddhist Monks attend our regular English classes.
Teaching English to Buddhist Monks in Laos seems to benefit the Monks, which is true. But when you are volunteering in a temple for Buddhist monks you are excluding 50% of the population. Girls are not allowed into the Buddhist temple schools, so they are excluded from the training you provide for free.
Every respected nonprofit and NGO follows the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations and all their member countries (Laos is a member). Target number 5 from the sustainable development goals are talking about gender equality.
At Let Laos Learn we also follow the sustainable development goals and we open our volunteer programs for everybody. We welcome both girls and Buddhist Monks, and yes, Buddhist Monks attend our regular English classes.
