Volunteer Travel for Families Sri Lanka

Volunteer Travel for Families In Sri Lanka

Bond with your family while you teach through example

Introduction

As travel increasingly becomes more about experiences and less about transient sight-seeing, volunteer travel take off as the hottest new travel niche of the 21st century. Here we’d like to break a myth that volunteer travel is only for the teen and millennial generation. It is also for families who want to take the time to bond together on holiday, while making it a meaningful and wholesome experience for all.

So if you are planning a family holiday, then why don’t you make it an unforgettable experience for all, combining it with volunteering? A handful of immersive experiences with locals, days filled with volunteering activities, fun-filled hours of sight-seeing and lots of “together” moments – the perfect recipe for family travel of a lifetime!

As more and more families choose to volunteer abroad as a way of experiencing a new country while giving back to the local community, IDEX has become the ideal provider of affordable family volunteer vacations for those looking for the perfect way to holiday abroad while helping make the world a better place.

Why Volunteer travel for Families?

Still not convinced and wondering whether your kids would be bored? Having second thoughts about not making it an R&R holiday? Curious to know how you would benefit as a family?

Then, read on, and find why family volunteer travel is the best thing in a digital era where families do not get to spend quality time together. Family Volunteer Travel helps to

Bond as a family, as you share meaningful experiences with your children and your partner.
Create beautiful experiences that you can cherish as happy memories when you look back years down the line at some of the best days you spend together.
Teach your children on-the-go, for every experience during volunteer travel lends an opportunity to teach one another through the real-world instances.
Teach through example – for what better way to teach your child the joys of giving than by setting an example with your volunteering?
Learn from each other positive life lessons – While the simplicity of your children and their innocent outlook helps to take away some of your jaded perspective of life as you notice all the little things that give joy to your kids, your children, in turn, learn from you how to handle responsibilities and provide their best efforts to the volunteering.
Spend quality time together to give an added dimension to your family vacation without the 24/7 intrusions of social media and devices, of which, bothus parents and children are guilty.
Being away from the comforts of your home or luxury hotel can help your children learn that living a quality life is more than materialism. It can also be about great cultural and travel experiences, and the joys of giv- ing to the community or environment.
Inculcate values in your children, that make them better citizens of tomorrow

a sense of gratitude for what they have, when they see those less fortunate than themselves,
the humility that comes with every volunteering activity,
tolerance towards ways of thinking and living that are foreign to them that goes a long way to help them in future,
caring for another person, especially the underprivileged and handicapped,
the generosity of spirit, by getting into “the habit of giving” during the tenure of volunteering,
kindness to people, children and animals,
respect for the environment.

Boost your child’s self-esteem and confidence, as they go about their daily volunteering activities with you as parents to guide them along the way. Volunteering helps children see that they have the power to make a change in the lives of others, beginning with a project, and later on in more significant ways.
Instil soft skills in your children that help build the foundations of a secure future in their careers

How we do Family Volunteer Travel

Our focus is on giving you a wonderful family holiday while providing you with many opportunities to bond through volunteer activities and sight-seeing excursions. We understand your needs to be together as a family while wanting to give to the local communities and the environment your time and efforts. So we endeavour to pack in fun-filled moments as well as cultural encounters and volunteer activities that make a difference to lives and the environment.

Such as -

Learning to cook the local cuisine
Participating in activities that are a part of the daily lives of the locals
Meeting local families and interacting with the members
Taking native language lessons
Attending dance, craft, and art workshops that reflect the foreign culture

Two models of Family Volunteer Travel.

Mostly Travel Some Volunteering

You can volunteer for 3 or 4 days, working on a simple project such as building a library or painting a school. Spend the rest of the time in exploring the local attractions and landmarks, as well as experiencing the destination as in safaris or monastery visits.

This model of volunteer travel is recommended for
Families that want to see more of a destination as well as relaxing and spending time together.
First-time visitors to a foreign land.
Families that want to introduce their children to the concept of helping others and honing their social and personal skills.

More Volunteering, Essential Travel

You can stay mostly in one place, for a more in-depth volunteering project with a focus on bonding and working as a family.

More Volunteering, Essential Travel model is recommended for:

Families where parents want to instil deep values and skills in their children.
Families that want to spend more time together for bonding.
Families that are seeking relaxation and personal time.
Those who want to see some key highlights of the destination, during their volunteering abroad.
Families who are more keen on profound cultural encounters during their volunteering.

Tailored Accommodation

Different accommodations and surroundings are provided for different preferences and budgets considerations.

Tourism level facilities and services

Well-established regular tourism quality and standards are maintained throughout the travel period.

Only thoroughly vetted facilities and local infrastructure are used.
All guides and workshop experts are hand-picked for their expertise and knowledge.
Transportation used is of the highest possible standards with acceptable quality tourism norms.
Activities are of high quality, aimed at a wholesome experience with a cultural as well as fun element.

Meaningful Volunteering

Volunteering Activities

Depending on the duration of volunteering during the program, families can enjoy, bond with and contribute to others through activities designed for the highest impact in the shortest amount of time. The volunteering activities will be set up before they start and what the family members would have to do is to listen carefully at the orientations( both online and on site), follow the instructions and then do what they can through a well laid out structure. Volunteering activities can include:

Mostly Travel, Some Volunteering – Outline itinerary ( 2 weeks)

Experience Sri Lanka and dip your toes into the magic of volunteering.

Arrival in Colombo followed by transfer to Negombo to relax. Overnight at Negombo.

Meals: No meals

Travel to Anuradhapura, one of the ancient royal cities. Optional visit to Munneswaram temple en route. Overnight in Anuradhapura.

Meals: Breakfast

Optional excursion to Mihintale. Overnight at Anuradhapura.

Meals:Breakfast

Transfer to Polonnaruwa, visiting Sigiriya en route to visit the impression Lion Rock. Post-Sigiriya arrival in Polonnaruwa and overnight.

Meals:Breakfast

Sightseeing of Polonnaruwa including Gal Vihara and other UNESCO World Heritage sites. Overnight at Polonnaruwa.

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to Kandy visiting Dambulla, en route to visit the impressive rock temple. Arrival in Kandy and overnight stay.

Meals:Breakfast

Day-long sightseeing of Kandy including the Botanical gardens and Dalada Maligawa Temple, where a tooth of Buddha is kept. Overnight at Kandy.

Meals- Breakfast

Journey to Nuwara Eliya, home to tea plantations and known as "Little England" because of its spacious British style country houses. A brisk walk to Horton's Plains leading to World's End, a plateau that suddenly ends in a 700-meter perpendicular rockface. Overnight at Nuwara Eliya.

Meals- Breakfast

Morning transfer from Nuwara Eliya to Udawalawe national park. Over- night at lodging near Udawalawe National Park.

Meals: Breakfast

Jeep safaris at Udawalawe National Park to spot, elephants, wild boar, crocodiles, monkeys, birds and with a bit of luck, leopards. Overnight at Udawalawe National Park

Meals- Breakfast

Morning transfer to Colombo. Upon arrival, check in into hotel followed by an orientation on the volunteering project and activities over the next few days.

Meals- Breakfast

Volunteering during the day. In the afternoon, Sightseeing of Colombo for half day. Overnight at Colombo.

Meals- Breakfast, Packed Lunch

Start the day with your Volunteering project. Post volunteering visit to local markets. In the evening, enjoy dinner with a local family to get expe- rience of day to day life in Sri Lanka.

Meals- Breakfast, Packed Lunch

Volunteering and saying goodbye to your project. In the evening enjoy the local art of Henna painting and get dressed like locals, a great photo op.

Meals- Breakfast, Packed Lunch

Transfer to Colombo airport for the journey back home.

Meals- Breakfast

Mostly Volunteering, Essential Travel - Outline Itinerary (2-week trip)

Enjoy Sri Lanka at a relaxed pace and give back more to her people.
These programs can be done for up to 12 weeks.

Pick up at Colombo airport and transfer to accommodation. Acclimatisation and rest.

Meals: No meals

A morning yoga session in the accommodation. Post breakfast ori- entation about the volunteering and activities over the next days. Afternoon Sightseeing of Colombo. Overnight at Colombo.