Volunteering
Volunteers are absolutely vital to enable us to continue to provide support to the work that is done at the Sreepur Village, Bangladesh. Volunteers bring a range of skills and experience that complement the work we do.
All our volunteers receive training and are supported to deliver their roles, which can include:
- Admin and Fundraising Support Volunteer
- Media & Communications Volunteer
- Fundraising Intern
- Fundraisers
- Researchers
See our current volunteering opportunities
Support we offer you
As you’re giving your time for free, it’s really important to us that you have access to training and resources that support your career development and personal wellbeing.
We offer paid expenses for lunch (up to £5.00 per day if working a full day) and travel, including public transport and petrol.
Volunteer Stories
Lucy Black
“In 1985 when I was just 18 years old I went out to a children’s home in Dhaka, Bangladesh – now Sreepur Village - to do voluntary work. I was only supposed to stay for six months but ended up staying for two years as it was such an incredible place to work. The home supported abandoned and orphaned children by providing housing, education, special medical care and vocational training. The experience changed my life and has helped shape the person I am today. I learnt to speak colloquial Bengali while I was out there and after I returned from Bangladesh I read Bengali at the School of Oriental and African Studies and then trained to become an English teacher. I worked at Tower Hamlets College in East London for nine years teaching English to adults, most of whom were of Bangladeshi origin. Last year I decided I wanted to do something for this incredible charity that has given me so much. I organised a cake sale and my husband Nigel and I each completed a sponsored 10k race/half marathon. Between us we managed to raise just under £1000. In May this year we helped out at the Southall Mela by selling some of the wonderful products hand made by the women in Sreepur Village and promoting the charity. It’s my dream to be able to visit Sreepur Village again one day and perhaps spend some time there. In the meantime I will continue to support this charity through further fundraising and voluntary work.”
Sara and John McCorkell
Supporters Sara and John McCorkell hold a plant sale at their house every other year. They have done 11 over the past 22 years or more. 2016 has been their best year ever – and raised over £2,800 for The Sreepur Village.
It takes a team of approximately 24 people on the plant sale night including 4 car parking people, 4 people on the gates, Plant Sellers, Raffle Sellers, tea ladies, people to count the money + assistants wheeling wheelbarrows full of plants back to people’s cars. After the Sale, they continue to sell plants from their yard for a week or two more (as there are always some left over). Any remaining plants go on to another Plant Sale happening nearby so nothing is wasted.
Vivienne Thorpe
Vivienne first visited Dhaka in 1986 and during her stay there she used to visit the very run down Families for Children orphanage in Dhaka. Vivienne was surprised when she returned to Dhaka in 2000 to discover the amazing change that had taken place with the establishment of Sreepur Village. She visited Sreepur regularly during her second stay in Dhaka and helped with their English Language programme and training teachers to deliver it.
It was a while after her return to the UK that she realised that she should be using her knowledge of Sreepur Village, and the wonderful people who worked there, to spread the word and tell other people about it. The far reaching changes of the new purpose built community that was able not just to take in children in need but also to offer their mothers the opportunity to gain skills to enable them to support their children in future is a happy and positive story that Vivienne felt other people would like to know about.
Vivienne has given talks at local community groups such as U3A and WI and Rotary and has sold Sreepur products at local events. The talks have been well received, people are interested to hear about the village, how it developed, how it runs and how it is continuing to adapt to serve current needs in Bangladesh.
