Education Program

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English Education
The Bukit Lawang Trust is a Non Government Organisation based in Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra. The trust building is a community centre which provides free education to people of all ages from both the local community and farther afield in Sumatra. Through the Education Programme we deliver English Language education to students between the ages of 4 and 20 however all ages are welcome as we believe you are never too young or too old to learn! If you take part in this programme you will not only teach English, but also will be involved in sports classes, conservation, building maintenance and in delivering 'Days for Girls', which educate local women about sanitary hygiene.

Downstairs there are three kindergarten rooms, a television room and the Richard Cann Reading Room which is a dedicated Conservation Learning Resource Room. Upstairs there is are two classrooms for afternoon lessons, an office, dorm rooms and there will soon be a library. WIFI internet access and electricity are provided at the centre, although our power cuts are frequent! We also have an excellent roof space, which can be used for lessons, exercise or relaxing and we will soon have hammocks up there. It's a great place to spend time in the evenings.

Volunteers typically teach 1.5-3 hours per day, are expected to help in the maintenance in the school, and are strongly encouraged to bring their passion and creativity to the school to develop new ways of teaching and make their time in Bukit Lawang more enjoyable and rewarding.

A typical day in the English Programme

Weekdays: After the initial orientation, you will volunteer for roughly 4-6 hours per day. The start times and daily workload varies but a typical schedule is as follows:

8:00 AM Volunteers wake up and get breakfast. Breakfast and all meals are vegetarian. Breakfast is made upon request. Kindergarden lessons begin in the morning and are run by our local teachers, however they would welcome some classroom assistants if volunteers are willing. Volunteers are responsible for afternoon English lessons. You will always have support during your afternoon classes.

12:00-2:00 PM Lunch is served and typically volunteers eat together. After lunch volunteers have free time to relax, prepare lessons, or just sit and chat.

2:00 - 4:00 Afternoon lessons are an hour and a half. Each class comes twice per week. Volunteers have quite a free reign over classroom style and approach, and lessons can involve going outside or to the roof, playing games, or classic school style.

5:00pm - English teaching currently runs no later than 5pm, however, we have a range of sports classes which we offer and we would welcome volunteers setting up their own classes. We are also currently looking into establishing adult classes.


For our 60 day programme, the cost is $850. This includes two meals a day, accommodation and pick up and drop off at Medan airport, working out as just $106 a week. This cycle will also include up to 3 weeks spend on our Eco-Farm, due to school holidays.