Volunteering in China - charitable projects

Hi all

I have two trips planned to Asia in March & May (and another to Japan in July, but we'll skip that since this is a Mandarin blog :-) ... and I am looking for your input. Please.

One of the things I'd like to do while in China is volunteer on some kind of charitable project for a week or so.  I've done some research, and found some ideas - but perhaps you know of others?

Although I'd like to pretend that my interests are purely altruistic, there is of course a (slightly) selfish side. This would expose me to a different type of China experience, and perhaps give me an opportunity to practice my Mandarin in a non foreigner-in-big-city kind of way!

These are some of the ideas I've come across so far, but would really appreciate it if you could leave comments with other ideas, websites or suggestions.

• Volunteer teaching in Beijing

This is organised by Gap Year in Asia, and is my most likely option at the moment. You can start at any date, and assignments last from 1 week to 12 weeks. This includes a choice (or mix) of working at the following places: Orphanage, Charity for the Disabled, School for Poor Children, Project for the Children of Convicts, School for Disabled Children, Charity for Autistic Children. Activities would include teaching English, caring for children, working with disabled children.

•  Friends of Dulwich College, Beijing

The charity work done by this organisation covers a foster home, a life centre for disadvantaged children, care for children, and Harmony outreach. Their site talks about projects you can work on, but it also seems that you can volunteer on work which simply involves email address. Good for non-residents of China?

• Bean in Shanghai

According to the BEAN website, "BEAN is a networking, volunteering, and social group for young professionals in Shanghai. It affords many awesome opportunities for busy, young professionals to network, socialize, and make a difference." Although I think what they do is a great idea, it seems to be more short-project based - ideal for people already living in Shanhai.

• Compassion for Migrant Children

This group  also takes on volunteers, but I get the sense they're looking for people who might be happy to volunteer on an ongoing basis (I guess if you live in China) - rather than me who is looking for something to last about a week.

•  The Library Project
  

 Their website talks about ways you could volunteer - but again, this appears to be more of an ongoing commitment rather than just spending a week with them.

• SOS Children's Villages

This is the China branch of their international network. Interestingly, they state on their website that they prefer not to use short-term volunteers - because they believe the children benefit more from long-term relationship with their teachers and helpers. For those who don't have time, you could always sponsor a child.

• Chinese Children Orphan Sponsorship

If sponsoring a child is your preference, this is organised by Chinese Children Adoption International, where you could sponsor a children for as little as $40 a month.

• Western Academy of Beijing

In the charity section of their website, they list the details of about a dozen charities.  As far as I can tell, there don't appear to be any volunteer projects available - but plenty of opportunities to donate money to a cause that means something to you.


I was convinced than when I trawled through the Net there would be so many options to volunteer on projects - and yet, as you can see, I'm struggling to find many choices.

So if you know of projects that might be of interest, or you know of someone who might know of projects of interest, please leave a comment.  I'd love to help.

Greg