GoCamp Volunteer in Ukraine: Teach English, German or French

Name: GoCamp Volunteer in Ukraine: Teach English, German or French
Brand: GoGlobal
SKU: 211493
Rating: 5 (14 reviews)

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Location

Ukraine

Length

2 - 4 weeks

Program Tags

Camp Jobs Cultural Immersion Instructor Teach Abroad

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Program Details

Timeframe

Summer

Housing

Host Family

Pricing

Starting Price

Price Details

Project organizers cover: transfer from the Kyiv airport; orientation training after the arrival to Kyiv (including meals and accommodation); pre-departure support by email; visa support; travel to your host community and back; SIM-cards for local calls; support from office staff and a hotline 24/7. During the period of the camp itself, accommodation and meals are provided by the school and the host family.
The volunteers cover their flight tickets and pay registration fee of 70 USD (65 EUR).

What's Included

Accommodation Airport Transfers Meals SIM cards Transportation

What's Not Included

Airfare Travel Insurance Visa

Last Updated: Sep 29, 2023

Last Reviewed: Apr 26, 2019

Wish List

36 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Volunteer in Ukraine — explore the trendiest destination in Europe!

GoCamp invites you to share your English, German or French language skills as well as your culture with Ukrainian kids in summer camps. The programme is approved by EVS (The European Voluntary Service) and is supported by UN Volunteers, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, British Council, French Institute in Ukraine, Goethe Institut, Embassies, leading media etc.

GoCamp is a new format of school-based summer camps all over the country. During the two-week program, children who might have never been to other countries or have never interacted with foreigners get an amazing possibility to become real team players, critical thinkers and tolerant people who are ready to work in a multicultural environment. Volunteer! Make you impact!

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Video and Photos

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Program Highlights

Experience Ukrainian hospitality and culture while living in a host-family all over Ukraine.
Motivate kids to break their language barriers, think creatively and critically, be tolerant and communicate in a multicultural environment.
Join global GoCamp family of more than 1100 volunteers from 75 countries and 165 000 Ukrainian kids.
Get an affordable opportunity of traveling with a purpose.

Program Reviews

5.00 Rating

based on 14 reviews

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Rating Spread Volunteer

5 rating 100%
4 rating 0%
3 rating 0%
2 rating 0%
1 rating 0%

Impact 4.8
Support 5
Fun 4.95
Value 5
Safety 4.85

Good for Solo Travelers, Students, Adventure travelers

Showing 9 - 14 of 14 reviews

If you are looking for an experience where you discover this whole new country and rich culture, help schools in establishing a great program to train their kids AND learn a lot with fun ... GoCamp is the way to go !
You'll work with an ONG and all its experience !
You'll exchange with local teachers !
You'll work with volunteers from around the world !
You'll learn new tricks to be a better teacher !
You'll exchange with kids and inspire them for their future choices !
You'll eat a lot hahaha !
You'll meat the most welcoming people ever !
You'll want to come back for another year !
You'll fall in love with the country !
You'll get tired (maybe) because of all the energy you'd spend with the kids, they are just lovable !
And you'll discover many cultures ;)

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?

Discover more about the country and use my week-ends better

A lifetime experience.

I was involved both in Kyiv and in the countryside, and I'm grateful to GoCamp for taking me on board. The team was fun and helpful, school teachers were very welcoming and kids were eager to learn - and also to teach you a thing or two about Ukraine, their life there, the cultural context, etc.

Ukraine is a wonderful and huge country - you can spend hours looking through the window in trains taking you to Lviv, Odesa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Poltova...

It's also an ideal place to master the art of the cyrillic alphabet and to learn or improve your Ukrainian and Russian. When in Kyiv with GoCamp, my schedule was arranged to allow me to attend my classes in the center.

Also, did I mention that Kyiv is fantastic?

Go and see for yourself!

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?

Went up the Mount Hoverla (highest mountain in Ukraine) with my GoCamp family!

This was my first time volunteering abroad! I was super nervous, but everything ended up being amazing. My host family and school were above and beyond, I arrived extremely sick and they took care of me for 3 days. It didn’t even feel like I was volunteering, it felt more like a vacation. We visited many museums, theatres etc! The kids I got already knew a ton of English, so I was mostly helping with grammar. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for an incredible experience! It was 100x better than what I expected in my head, and the friendship and connection I made are with people I keep in contact with regularly. This was definitely my favourite volunteer experience and I cannot recommend it enough. Do not give this a second thought and just go for it and have the most amazing experience of your life!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

Be prepared to teach m, but also be prepared to have fun!

The best part was the hosting family engagement; we were engaged in the Ukrainian community and challenges. It was not a sightseeing trip; it was a life engagement human experience.

It was a full time work, we had to prepare the classes daily but it worth every moments. the children were so intelligent and cooperative. The school and hosting family made a great effort, by the end of the program i had a true beloved family in Ukraine.

I believe that the Ukrainian and Egyptian have lots of similarities. And i encourage Egyptian specially to participate in this program as it suits our culture and life style. The Ukrainian families respect a lot any differences which i found minors.

I went to the program with a lot of emotional discomfort due to work stresses and fear of expectation and just spending the day with the children healed it all. i am still connected after a year with the teachers , families and student and i thank God every day for this life changing opportunity.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?

We engaged the parent and invited them spontaneously to a meeting as we noticed the need of their engagement. And when I presented to them their children’s projects output, I was so touched and proud. i believe this need to be part of the program main targets.

It was my first time volunteering abroad, and I am so happy that I chose to do it with GoCamp. TheGoCamp team was so friendly, always available to answer questions and lend a helping hand. The training session they organized at the beginning of the trip was the most fun I can ever remember having, it was a brilliant way to get to know the other volunteers, make a few good friends, discover the different cultures, learn new skills and play games. The kids were all very nice and very eager to listen and communicate, as were their school teachers. It's a wonderful opportunity to visit a beautiful country and meet some great people, and a lot of the volunteers stay an extra week to visit a few of the big cities and mahor landmarks. It's an amazing experience which I hope to relive some day soon and which I fully recommend!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

If this is your first time doing something like this: don't stress. The members of the GoCamp team will be behind you every step of the way, if you have any questions or worries they're always just one short email/phone call away. They are incredibly resourceful and helpful, and they make sure you never feel alone, no matter how far away from home you are.

Taken during one of the many outings organized by the school!

I volunteered in this program. I think the program is managed and planned very professionally, and with attention to detail.
The registration fee is much lower than in many volunteer programs, that's why I also recommend this. It does not matter if you have travelled in Europe or Eastern Europe before, or if you speak the local languages or not.
Recommended if you want to get experience and build your CV, or if you want to travel while doing something impactful, making children happy and learning about other cultures.

Phone service was not a problem, and there is mobile wifi in many places. The country is very beautiful in summer. I can recommend volunteering also in other places than near major cities, since there is nature and historical buildings in many places.

What was your funniest moment?

Visiting zoo and amusement park with the school group

Questions & Answers

Do I have to be a native English speaker in order to be able to participate in this project?

Hi, thanks for asking! You just need to be able to speak English fluently to be able to participate.

By Go Overseas on August 6, 2018

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you choose this program?

I grew up as a Ukrainian-Canadian, which shaped a lot of my youth experiences and identity. Friday nights were spent Ukrainian dancing, 15 years of Saturday school, and Sunday was church. We spoke Ukrainian at home. In my 20's, I distanced myself from that identity to "find myself". Today, I would identify as a cultural Ukrainian. I joined GO CAMP because I wanted to see Ukraine, give back to the country, meet my family, and spend time with mom (as she was retiring from teaching that year).

What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

I was a last minute addition to the team, so I am happy that GO CAMP accepted my application. They supported with in-country training sessions, booking trains, placement and home-stay family organization, and logistical support. We were responsible for booking our own flights, criminal background check and a few other personal (logistical) things.

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What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

I wish I was more excited! At first, I was bit unsure of what to expect. But I ended up making friends from all over the world (during the 3 day-training). Make sure you make yourself available for the 3-day training, and wrap-up final session. It's totally worth it! As a vegetarian, with a placement in a tiny town, it was very hard for accommodations to be made. I wish I brought more snacks :) Talk to your teacher ahead of time and ask how you can best support. Can you bring books? School supplies? Take risks, and take control of your own volunteer experiences. Bring your skills and strengths, and offer to share them. For example, I teach "leadership" as a career. I asked if I could take the older students for 1-hour a day during "camp time" to teach basic leadership skills (teamwork, communication, problem solving etc.). I also took advantage of my time there, and gave it 100%. Each night, I would walk back to the school and play volleyball for 2 hours with a bunch of the kids.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

I think it depends where you get placed. If it's a school or a day camp, it might look different. Some people were volunteering 3 hours a day, some 6 hours. Mine was 8am-2pm (to finish before the heat was very intense), with a lunch break in between. The teachers (lead teacher - who was my homestay family mom, and 2 other support) were amazing, and really stuck to a routine. We had morning songs, games etc. I would then leave for an hour with the older students to do leadership modules, while the younger kids worked on basic English skills. We would then work on the summer project, which was all about "healthy food". Some days we would take field trips (to the forest, or the caves). Each experience will be different - be flexible!

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

My biggest worry was that the city I was placed in would not speak much English or Ukrainian, or they would not understand my Ukrainian language (stemming from 1910). They spoke Surjik (Russian/Ukrainian mix). I did my best and communicated in various ways (in writing, non-verbal communication etc.) and we made it work!

What are the top 5 tips for volunteers participating in GO CAMP?

Be flexible and open to change.
Take initiative of your own learning/teaching - put in the effort and jump right in!
Extend your trip to Ukraine by 5 days at least!
Bring a journal. Reflect often on your experience.
Use your skills and strengths - you're there for reason!

About GoGlobal

GoGlobal is an initiative of Global Office NGO aimed at promoting language learning and volunteer movement in Ukraine, fostering intercultural dialogue and public diplomacy. Our mission is initiation and implementation of projects which promote dialogue between Ukraine and the world without barriers and creation of conditions for educating a new...