Welcome to the fundraising page for Sarah Katrīne Kettle's lattitude global volunteering placement in China. This page shows all of the information that you might want to know.
There are currently no fundraisers. Ideas are desperately needed!
When are you going?
The placement begins on 28th August 2008 and finishes some time in January 2009.
Where are you going?
I'm going to an impoverished and/or disadvantaged community in either a rural or small city area of China. I won't know my exact location of my placement until four months prior to departure, at which point I'll update this information with a more helpful answer.
What will you be doing?
I've been accepted for a TEFL placement, that is to say I'll be teaching English as a foreign language in a middle school, college or university. I will also perhaps be given the opportunity to work in a primary school for a short time to gain experience working with younger children. I will be working full-time on this placement, which may also include Saturdays. On my days off (including a week's holiday at an agreed time in that six months) I will most likely be sightseeing or socialising with my colleagues.
Where will you be living?
Accomodation is arranged for me and a flatmate (another TEFL teacher, either from the UK or from Canada, Australia or the USA) by the institution. I'm told it's very comfortable and that the Chinese are very hospitable to their guests, so I am quite looking forward to that.
Are you sure it's safe?
I will be taking a lot of precautions before and during my experience of China. Prior to departure, I'll be getting vaccinations, packing a first aid kit and rape alarm, and I'll also be bringing a Swiss Army Knife for added self-defence (although hopefully this will only be used for more mundane purposes, like filing my nails!) My parents and lattitude themselves will have constant contact with me during the six-month period, and lattitude has a 24-hour helpline for emergencies that its clients may encounter on their adventure. Of course, I'll be on my guard and using my common sense, too - always a travel essential you can't afford to leave at home.
What if you start to feel homesick - isn't it a bit of a culture shock?
No matter how much I miss my home back in England, I will on no accounts be returning home before the full term of my placement has passed. The only conditions on which I will leave China will be a medical emergency or a serious family issue which requires my being back home - both of which are unlikely.
I can't deny that I will definitely feel homesick at some point during my placement - but part of the gap year experience is learning how to deal with being independent in an entirely new environment, surrounded by new people you may have never really met. I've signed up for this totally aware of the possibility that I may start missing fish & chips and my daily cuppa.
Exactly why are you doing this?
I'm hopefully off to study Chinese at university the following September, so this will be invaluable first-hand experience. I have wanted to do a gap year since my childhood, in particular one which gives me the opportunity to help those in third-world countries, and also to participate in the global community doing something productive and worthwhile for those I will be working with, as well as myself. The China placement fulfils both of those main ambitions perfectly.
I am considering becoming a teacher of TEFL permanently once I'm done with uni. This should provide a really great insight into this line of work, and additionally into the culture and language which I'll be studying in 2009.
What is lattitude?
lattitude global volunteering is the charitable organisation with whom I'll be doing my gap year, meaning that any money you send is helping me continue their charity work. I won't be paid anything for the whole time that I'm there - I will be paying for it all with donations and my own savings. I'll be working as a volunteer for a charity, that charity being lattitude.
If you would like to more about lattitude, please visit their website. Lattitude Global Volunteering is a registered charity, no. 272761.
Why should I donate?
It's not just me benefitting from this. lattitude's projects are designed to help people all over the world, as well as the gapper themselves - remember that it's a registered charity, and it's all legit. China is a third-world country and the community I'll be working in will be underprivileged in terms of education - often, the schools rely on teachers from lattitude and I'll be one of them. Because I'll be teaching the students English, they'll have a firmer grasp on a useful language they will be able to use in careers to better their lifestyles and provide for their families. The Chinese people really appreciate the work lattitude and associated companies do for them - so please donate to this worthwhile cause and help not only me, but possibly hundreds of others.
Is the donation procedure secure?
It is fast, secure and the money will go straight to funding my placement. I promise to use any donations through PayPal to fund the placement only.
Brilliant! How do I donate?
Send payments through PayPal to prettymecha @ gmail dot com. If you wish to write a cheque instead, please email me for an address and make all cheques payable to lattitude global volunteering, Ltd., making sure to write my full name on the back of the cheque so they know who it's on behalf of!
I have a question you have not answered here. Can I ask you via email?
Sure. Drop me a line at prettymecha @ gmail dot com, and I'll try my earnest to answer it for you, as accurately as I can.