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About the Program
The Lotus Volunteer Program in Beijing hosts a wide array of projects and community service initiatives , all of which prove to be valuable and fulfilling experiences for our members.
Our Beijing-based undertakings include working with children with special needs and disabilities and teaching English at orphanages and schools for immigrants. Lotus students choose when and where they wish to volunteer.
Our program gives members the chance to make an important contribution to less fortunate members of our society. Many students and travelers walk away from these volunteering experiences with added perspective and insight, not only into Chinese culture, but humanity in general. And of course you cannot overlook the value of a Chinese Homestay during your visit. By staying with your host family you will not only receive a "home-away-from-home" feeling, but also take part in a unique inter-cultural experience that you can't get from staying in dormitories.
School for Migrants
The School for Migrants was established to help immigrant children of poor working families in Beijing. The school is a not-for-profit private school that receives no financial support from the government. Immigrant parents send their children to these schools because they cannot afford to send their children to Beijing public schools. Teachers and volunteers utilize the limited resources to make the place as stimulating as possible for young learners.
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| Lotus student Carolyn Campbell is teaching English to a girl. |
Lotus students are having a contract song with the students. |
Sun Village: Home for children of prisoners
Sun Village is a non-profit organization dedicated to caring for children of prisoners. Since 2000 , Beijing Sun Village has taken care of over 1,000 children whose hometowns span the 16 provinces across China. Ages range from 3 months to 18 years old and students are provided with a place to live and medical support.
Volunteers requirements
1. Preferably possess a background related to child developmen t , psychology , education , or medicine , school management and human resource.
2. Can be able to commit 1-2 days/week over a sustained period of time or one full week or more.
Orphanage
The orphanage was established to provide education and care for orphans. Our volunteers play work with the children in a number of ways , usually through some creative medium such as drawing or making music. The orphanage is located in the suburbs close to the center of Beijing.
School for Disabled Children
As a private, non-profit organization, this school works with mentally challenged children. Most of the children attending this school have Down syndrome or Autism. The aim of the school is to develop the children's learning abilities as much as possible. A common activity for volunteers is to assist teachers during class time. Volunteers often end up dancing and playing games with the children as well.
Accommodation
Homestay is the only housing accommodation in our program. Please click here for further information.
Volunteer Criteria
If you would like to teach, no teaching experience is necessary. The level of English you will be teaching to these children is very basic. The main requirements are flexibility, enthusiasm and a willingness to help.
Start & Duration
Our volunteer program in Beijing starts whenever you're ready! You can join the program for any length of time.
Price for Volunteer Programs in Beijing (USD)
| 1 week |
2 week |
3 week |
4 week |
Extra week |
| 480 |
880 |
1380 |
1880 |
380 |
The price includes:
- Volunteer Programs
- Excursions and cultural activities organized by the Lotus Beijing office
- Accommodation with Homestay, including private bedroom, breakfast & dinner, computer access and free DSL Internet service
- Airport pick-up and drop-off in Beijing
- Orientation Package which includes: Chinese-English-Chinese dictionary, map of Beijing, phone card of 100RMB and a mobile SIM card
- Welcome dinner prepared by the host family and Lotus Beijing Office
- Supervision and 24-hour phone assistance from the Lotus Beijing office
- Donation to school
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| Teaching at Tibetan Orphan School |
 Xieqing Charity Orphan School is a non-governmental organization. The school is located on a beautiful grassland at the foot of snow-capped mountains in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province, southwest China.
School location: in a Tibetan village at the foot of snow mountains.
 The founder and principal of the school, Gongxia Rinpoche has been dedicated to establishing the school since 2004. After two years hard endeavors, with assistance of donors and volunteers from local Tibetan communities, other parts of China and abroad, Rinpoche fulfilled the construction of a modern school for Tibetan orphans on a highland with an altitute over 4,000 meters.
Gongxia Rinpoche with Tibetan orphans.
Rinpoche completed the first phase of the school  construction in the summer of 2006. The first 50 orphans entered the school in September 2006.
The school is very important to the Tibetans. Living conditions in these Tibetan areas are difficult because of high altitude and isolation. Local people lead a traditional life of nomads and farmers, without access to education. Due to harsh conditions, many children lose one or both parents and become orphans. Although local people are kind-hearted and provide them with basic shelter and food, they are unable to provide the orphans with a nurturing and healthy living environment and an opportunity for comprehensive and modern education.
Children at school opening ceremony in September, 2006.
The school will be a warm home for orphans; and provide them education in Tibetan, Chinese, English languages, mathematics, natural sciences, ethics, arts, etc. Children will also receive vocational training such as greenhouse farming, medicine plant growing, animal herding, environment protection, handicraft arts, tourist services, etc.
Through providing the orphans with education, the school also hopes to introduce advanced concepts and technology of the outside world to these isolated villages; and gradually influence the education and life in rural Tibetan areas. Furthermore, as more and more volunteers and supporters are involved in volunteering their time and skills, etc for the school, more and more people will be benefited from helping others, experiencing a new life and building friendship across ethnic, national and cultural differences.
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 As a sponsor of the orphan school, Lotus hopes to provide the orphans an opportunity to know the outside world and learn knowledge and skills which will be helpful to them and gradually the local communities. We also hope to provide international volunteers a chance to offer help in a Tibetan school, and know a different life and culture.
Who may volunteer?
Volunteers need to be mature, independent and in good health.
What will you do as a volunteer?
Volunteers will teach English to the orphans. Those who have education/working experience in health care, teaching environmental protection and green house building are also welcomed.
Cost in USD: 1,980 with no length limits. We support volunteering from a few weeks to year long at the same price.
What is Included:
Airport pick-up and drop-off in Beijing.
10 nights Homestay in Beijing (for periods before and after volunteering in Tibet), including private bedroom, breakfast & dinner, computer and free DSL Internet service.
Round flight tickets from Beijing to Chengdu
USD 100 donation to the school
Accommodation and food provided by the orphan school
Supervision and 24-hour phone assistance from Lotus Beijing Office
You need to take care by yourself:
International flights, insurance, visa application
Airport pick-up, drop-off and accommodation in Chengdu, transportation from Chengdu to the school
Program schedule
Before departure to Tibet:
Day 1: Arrival to Beijing, airport pick-up and transfer to the host family
Day 2-5: Orientation, crash course in Chinese, meeting with Lotus Beijing Office
Day 6: Take plane to Chengdu, then take bus from Chengdu to the School.
Volunteer in Tibet:there is no length limit to your volunteering.
Back from Tibet:
Day 1-2: Take bus to Chengdu, then take plane to Beijing
Day 3-5: Beijing Homestay
Day 6: Leave China, airport drop-off
Note: Schedule may be subject to change
Others
As the altitude is over 4,000 meters, good health is required to overcome high altitude reaction.
Food in the orphan school is typical Tibetan food, i.e., Zangba (Tibetan food made from highland barley), rice, yak meat, cabbage and potato. Accommodation is shared dormitories.
For visa extension, you can apply for it in the immigration office in Chengdu.
Speak with your college about financial aid opportunities.
For application, please contact us or send email to: info@lotuseducation.org
The volunteer program is free of charge to our students of Chinese Immersion programs, but airfare from Beijing to Chengdu, 10 nights free Homestay, and donation are not included. Students who are interested in the volunteer teaching, please contact our Beijing Office.
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Student Stories: Volunteer in the school, Jul. to Aug. 2007 |
Lotus student Spencer Jemelka (from Occidental College, USA, joined Lotus 12 weeks summer program in 2006) and his friend Tom Gray (from Marietta College, USA) volunteered in Xieqing Charity Orphan School for three weeks from Jul. to Aug., 2007. The followings are feedbacks from them on the school, the volunteering and their life and visits as well as some tips, etc. The pictures are taken by Spencer and Tom.
Transportation: The school is located in a village about 26 hours' drive from Chengdu, capital of China's Sichuan province. To get to Chengdu, students can take either plane or train from Beijing. It takes about 8 hours from Chengdu to Kangding (capital of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture), 14 hours from Kangding to the town of Ganzi, then 4 hours from the town of Ganzi to the school. The nearest small town, where one can find restaurants and a few shops is 1 hour's walk away from the school.
Population and languages spoken: The area is mainly populated by Tibetans, with few Chinese. However in the orphan school, most of the volunteer teachers and staff speak Mandarin Chinese. One of the deputy principals also speaks English.
Temperature: During the summer, the weather is nice; the temperature is from 50 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. During the day, wearing T-shirts and jeans is OK. At night and when it rains, one needs to wear long sleeves or rain jackets.
 
Classes: The students have classes every morning. They take Chinese, Tibetan, English and Math. They also take classes in Tibetan traditional dances everyday.
 
Facilities and Utilities: Electricity and cell phone reception are available in the school. Students can therefore bring  their cell phones and laptops. There is also a telephone line in the school but no internet connection available; the nearest place where are internet cafes is about 5 hours away. There are faucets and running water but no shower; however as boiling water is always available in the school, one can take bath with a basin. The nearest place one can take shower is in the town of Ganzi.
Living conditions: Volunteers live in shared dormitory with other teachers. The dormitory is facilitated with beds, bed sheets and blankets, etc, desks and toilets.
Food: For breakfast, Zangba (Tibetan food made from highland barley). For lunch, rice and meat, sometimes cabbage. For dinner, porridge. Volunteers and teachers can also cook by themselves, but Spenser and Tom chose to eat with the children.
What the volunteers do: Spencer and Tom taught for 2 to 3 classes of English everyday. For the rest of the time, they explored the surrounding areas for the natural beauties: hills, huge mountains, grassland, etc mainly by hiking. They also learned about Tibetan culture by visiting Tibetan Buddhist Temples, attending temple assemblies and learning the Tibetan language from the students. As the school is in the second phase of construction, they also helped with some construction....
What is urgently needed? Education on environmental protection and health care. The Tibetan area is of incredible natural beauty, but it is being polluted. As the locals haven't been educated about undisposable trashes and pollution (In traditional Tibetan life, things they used were naturally disposable; but now it is totally different), they throw trash away on the roads, behind their houses or even throw used batteries in rivers which are also the source of their drinking water. Volunteers with health care knowledge as doctors and nurses are lacking in the school.
Spending and money exchange: Most daily necessities can be purchased at a low cost in the small town one hour's walk away. Students need to bring some RMB if they wish to buy souvenirs and Tibetan stuff there. One can exchange money only in Kangding. The town of Yajiang is recommended for buying souvenirs by Spenser and Tom for the shops there are reasonable. In the town of Ganzi, there are ATMs available for drawing from Chinese a/c.
Tips to avoid sun burnt: Wear long sleeves. Don't stay outside for too long. Bring suntan lotion if necessary.
Tips to avoid high altitude disease: the altitude of the school is about 4,000 meters. To avoid high altitude disease, please drink a lot of water and rest when first arriving.
 
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