On your Volunteer Teaching Programme in Kandy, Sri Lanka, most of your time will be spent helping children learn the basics of English. However, you’ll also be assisting the local staff with other day-to-day duties, as well as teaching other subjects including drama, music and foreign languages across different projects.

Your weekly schedule may look like this:

Daily Schedule

Tuesday – Friday

• Breakfast
• Volunteer Teaching
• Lunch
• Volunteer Teaching
• Dinner
• Free Time

Project Locations

Preschool Teaching

• Primarily teach English, but also teach drama, games, music, art and foreign languages
• Encourage children in academic work and promote all-round development of the child
• Assist teachers and other staff
• Prepare lessons

Special Needs School

• Engaging in educational activities with children as advised by the teachers
• Communicating with children through creative activities
• Playing games

Teaching English to Adults

• Teaching to write and speak English
• Improving communications skills in English

Village Children

• Preparing lesson plans
• Teaching English to children
• Organising cultural sharing activities
• Engaging in games and other interactive activities to improve their spoken and written English abilities

Please note: This schedule can be changed and/or amended depending on weather conditions, local conditions and unforeseen circumstances.

Evenings and Weekends

After a day of medical volunteering, you can choose to explore the area or head further afield on the weekends. In fact, many of our volunteers enjoy mixing with their new volunteer friends during the week and plan their weekend adventures as they go!

Places to Visit

You will want to plan your own journeys with friends whilst you are here!  We recommend the Royal Botanical Gardens, Knuckles mountain range, Udawatta Kele Sanctuary, Hortons plains National Park – and don’t miss taking a boat ride on Kandy Lake!

Famous for the Temple of the Tooth and many ancient sites, Kandy is a vibrant city and bustling market town. Indeed, this is a culturally diverse city, and offers a host of cultural events and handicrafts, as well as ancient temples and adventure activities to discover. Interestingly, Kandy was a royal capital and the last stronghold of the Kandyan kings against foreign powers, and therefore, enjoys a very rich history. This is a great place to meet other travellers, and to experience history, culture and great cuisine as you volunteer!

Accommodation

Our accommodation is comfortable and is located 2 – 4 km from Kandy centre, comprising single-gender rooms sleeping 4 – 8 people. Further, private rooms can be requested but are subject to availability, depending on the number of Sri Lanka volunteers. Subsequently, if you would like to book these, please let us know at the time of booking your week. Likewise, if you have any dietary preferences, such as vegetarian, let us know so that we can cater for these.

Food Arrangements

You will be provided with three meals a day on weekdays and two meals per day on weekends. Usually, the meals are a mix of Western and Sri Lankan food, consisting mainly of vegetarian dishes including rice and vegetables. However, you can also eat out at any of the local restaurants for some great authentic Sri Lankan cuisine!

Facilities

Our volunteer centre is located 2 kilometres away from the city centre (a 15-minute walk), and you can find anything you might need for your Sri Lankan holiday here. Further, you will find ATMs, and a supermarket nearby, where you can buy anything you might need for the week ahead.

Population: approx. 20 million
Capital: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte and Colombo
Language: Sinhalese, Tamil
Currency: Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)
Time zone: UTC +5:30

Sri Lanka’s over 2000 years of history and culture can still be seen in every corner of its cities and the details of its ever-beautiful ancient temples. With eight UNESCO World Heritage sites and its short distances between the main sights, Sri Lanka is a country that, despite often being overlooked in itineraries, has left travelers filled with awe.

Visit the sacred home of the world’s oldest living tree in Anuradhapura, wander around the colonial architecture of Colombo, get sun-kissed at the untouched beaches that inclose the territory, snorkel in the crystal-clear waters, head to the hills for a cooler temperature and get surrounded by lush natural, visit two thousand year-old temples or get overawed at the sight of hundreds of elephants in Minneriya.

While traveling through Sri Lanka you will experience adventures from the highest and chilliest mountains like the famous Adam’s Peak – a stairway mountain considered sacred in three different religions, thru the elephant shelters, to the most peaceful beaches up north near Trincomalee and their tiny- one floor- hostels facing the calm sea.

Tru Experience Travel welcome people from all over the world to join ongoing Sri Lankan programs and you can even compose your schedule the way you like it. With this flexibility it enables you to say when you are on site and when you spend time with the new friends you have made from all over the world.