FAQ

1)Who can participate?
2) How many volunteer teachers are at each site? ?
3) Where will this term's training program be based?
4) How much experience is required?
5) Where are the volunteer teachers from?
6) What costs do we cover?
7) Will Impact Charities help with any of the logistics?
8) What are the dates of upcoming trips?
9) Where will I be staying?
10) How do I apply?
11) When is the application deadline?
12) If I can't volunteer this term, are there other opportunities to get involved?
13)How does the charity raise and spend its money?
14)Where does the money go?
15) How do you select the schools you work with?
16) What if I have more specific questions?

1) Who can participate?
Qualified primary and secondary teachers as well as Teaching Assistants with SEN experience who are registered with Impact Teachers and have at least 6 months teaching experience prior to departure.

2) How many volunteer teachers are at each site?
We will typically have 4-6 teachers at each site, along with a charity trip leader.

3) Where will this term's training program be based?
This term teachers will be working in several rural primary schools outside of Kampala, Uganda.

4) How much experience is required?
We require all of our teachers to have at least 6 months of teaching experience prior to volunteering. It is also helpful if you have had some experience living, working or traveling in Africa or other developing regions of the world.

5) Where are the volunteer teachers from?
Our teachers come primarily from the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Africa. Other nationalities are welcome though!

6) What costs do we cover?
The charity covers all of your on-site costs: housing, meals and charity-related transportation costs once you are in the country.

7) Will Impact help with any of the logistics?
The charity department will provide you with everything you need to know about obtaining your visa, vaccinations, flights and travel insurance. We will also conduct a full day orientation and training session in London to prepare you for your trip. We will arrange for you to be picked up from the airport in country where our on-site staff is waiting for you.

8) What are the dates of upcoming trips?
Trips are currently being planned for the following dates:

July 2010 Summer Break (1-week trip): India
October 2010 Term break (1-week trip): Uganda
February 2011 Term break (1-week trip): India

Please note that application deadlines are typically 2 months before the trip start date.

A sample 1-week itinerary is as follows:

9) Where will I be staying?
You will be staying in homes with local families or with teachers from the school in which you will be working.

10) How do I apply?
Start by joining Impact Teachers at http://www.impactteachers.com/teach/apply2
Once you receive your personal account login, you can apply directly online via your personal account, under the charity tab. The following application documents must be submitted:

a) The Impact Charities Release Form
b) Volunteer Release Form
c) The Impact Charities supplemental application form
d) A short essay (no more than 500 words) explaining why you want to volunteer with Impact Teachers.

An application deposit of £150 must also be submitted.

11) When is the application deadline?
The application deadline for most trips is 2 months before the trip.

12) If I can't volunteer this term, are there other opportunities to get involved?
Absolutely! By joining Impact Teachers you will kept informed of our charity activities. We will be sending teachers on a regular basis throughout the year to Uganda and India. You can also make donations to the charity to support education projects.

13) How does the charity raise and spend its money?
Our charity accepts donations from individuals, corporations and schools. However, the vast majority of donations come directly from Impact Teachers in order to support educational projects globally. Our charity uses its funds to directly support its education work in developing countries around the world. We make regular visits to the projects we are supporting to assess their effectiveness and to ensure that funds are being used appropriately. As a UK registered charity, we are accountable to our trustees, the Charity Commission, our supporters and the people we assist. We encourage you to contact us about joining us on one of our trips to see how your money is being used

14) Where does the money go?
The overall purpose of the charity is to further the educational development of children within the schools we select. This is done primarily through the provision of teacher training seminars to local teachers who have not had the opportunity to pursue formal teacher training. This training is automatically provided in each school as the core of our work. Further levels of educational support are then determined in conjunction with our charity trustees and the local school administration in order to select projects that are most relevant to the individual schools’ needs. Therefore, one school may have an urgent need for desks and books while another may require a building in order for the students to receive an education protected from the elements. Still others may require uniforms or food and clean water. Each pound donated to the charity is put directly towards supporting educational attainment through these types of projects which support education from a holistic perspective. When teachers work for Impact Teachers and when schools use our teachers, the money goes directly towards sponsoring a specific child’s education for a specified amount of time or to any of the aforementioned educational projects. As a charity that is accountable not only to its donors and trustees, but also to the recipients of the assistance we are providing, we maintain the right to use it for projects deemed most important in a given scenario in order to improve education as a whole. What you can be assured of is that all of the charity’s funds are managed with the greatest care and consideration, which you can see for yourself if you would like to come along on one of our trips.

15) How do you select the schools you work with?
Schools are brought to our attention in various ways: through other NGOs working in the same area, through local community and church leaders, and through personal contacts. Each recommended school is vetted by the Impact Teachers Charity Department. Our selection criteria include, but are not limited to: visit to the local school by the Impact Teachers Charity Department, series of interviews with school administration and with local teachers, needs assessment of the local community, review of partnerships between the school and any other organisations, number of untrained teachers at the school, teacher turnover in last 2 years and proximity to services for charity volunteers.

16) What if I have more specific questions?
Email us directly at info@impactcharities.org and we will be happy to answer your questions!

 Video documentary

Watch video

 Diary: Uganda

"Today was our first day at one of our primary schools where we started working in October. It is approximately 1 1/2 hours from the local home where we are staying, and it is a bumpy, dusty ride. As a result of the long daily journey, we occasionally need to stop for petrol. This morning we stopped and as we pulled up to the pump, we were advised that they had just run out. So, on to the next station where we managed to put 1 litre of petrol in the car before the electricity went out. I was hoping that 1 litre would be enough to get us to the school as I really was not in the mood to push the van down the hot dusty roads."  Go to blog