The greatest wealth is health

Introduction

Public health volunteering abroad

It’s easy to take for granted what we have here in the UK. Access to a comprehensive, free healthcare system and a generally high awareness of good health practices.

Many countries across the globe don’t share our privileged position. A lack of even the most basic resources and access to public health programs has resulted in children and adults alike suffering from poor personal hygiene, a limited understanding of sexual health, and diseases being far more prevalent.

But you can help change the tide.

On a GapGuru Health & Wellbeing Program, you can bring awareness around key health topics through targeted workshops with the community. These workshops could focus on a range of topics, such as clean water and sanitation, nutrition, first aid, personal hygiene, sexual & reproductive health, prevalent diseases and mental health.

If changing the overall health prospects of a community sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, this is the program for you.

Where you can inspire change

Cambodia

India

Thailand

Nepal

Peru

Why volunteer abroad

Why GapGuru?

Extensive Gap Year Experience

Over the past 18 years, we’ve guided more than 6,000 students through unforgettable gap year experiences.

Ethical Gap Year Programs

All our programs work towards the UN’s Global Sustainable Development Goals and are backed up by our charity, the FutureSense Foundation.

A community of support

You’ll be guided by our GapGuru Advisors and Mentors before, during and after your gap year experience.

Testimonials

Don’t just take it from us…

This was an amazing experience

This was an amazing experience, loved every second even through the challenges. Working on improving the environment and volunteering at the park where so rewarding but also the workshops carried out as a team where great to experience.

I loved experiencing new cultures

This was such an amazing experience that changed how I look at the world and taught me more about what it means to be a global citizen. It also made me realise how much I want to travel in the future.

A wholesome, fulfilling experience

I’d highly recommend this experience to any students. Not only does it look great on a CV but it was tremendous fun to do as well. Overall, a really fantastic experience.

learnt so much and had an amazing time.

Absolutely amazing. Any issues I had in organising the trip, eg flights or vaccines, they told me exactly where to go for the best info. I was completely prepared for my trip, what I would be doing, and the expectations. I learnt so much and had an amazing time.

What to expect on our public health programs

The people you’ll be helping

All of the communities we work with are made up of incredible people with individual stories. But they all face a variety of challenges.

Many come from low-income families living hand to mouth, with not much at all. Others face discrimination as a result of religious beliefs or political powers. Almost all have limited access to education, health services, and valuable life lessons that could increase their family’s income and livelihood.

Our health & well-being programs are long-term and designed to create lasting change in the communities we work with. You’ll be a part of that, helping improve community health in the area in the long run.

Where you’ll be staying

During your programme, you will be staying at one of our volunteer houses. All the rooms are dorm style, so you will be sharing with 4-5 other volunteers in bunk beds.

Though comfortable, the amenities will be a far cry from your home comforts in the UK. Be prepared for things like putting toilet paper in a bin rather than flushing it and having cold showers. This is all just part of the challenge of embracing local cultures and understanding the way that many people in the world live their daily lives!

Our houses are equipped for the climate they’re based in, with fans in hotter climates and heaters and extra blankets in colder ones.

Bathrooms are shared and will have a shower, toilet and sink. Where possible you’ll have access to a western toilet, but some have drop toilets.

There’ll be a kitchen and plenty of chill-out spaces where you can relax in your spare time.

Meals

All of our meals are served family-style and are vegetarian to ensure that we can provide you with safe food and also reduce our carbon footprint. You’ll eat a lot of the local cuisine which is delicious across the board!

Breakfast

We keep breakfast simple to give you time in the morning. Expect toast, jam and eggs with coffee and tea. In some of our destinations, you’ll have the chance to try local breakfasts like a traditional breakfast curry in Nepal!

Lunch

Lunch will either be back at your accommodation or will be a packed lunch that you will take with you to your project.

Dinner

Dinner is a bigger affair, where our in-house cooks prepare delicious local meals. Be prepared for lots of noodles, rice and potatoes depending on where you are. To give you a taste of home the team might even sneak in the odd western dish like pasta.

Your Typical Day

No two GapGuru programs are the same, but your days will follow a similar routine.

After breakfast at your accommodation, you’ll usually head to where your workshops are being delivered around 8 am. This could be in the local school, town hall or community centre. You’ll be working with the local kids and their families, bringing awareness to public health issues they face.

Our houses are equipped for the climate they’re based in, with fans in hotter climates and heaters and extra blankets in colder ones.

On some days, after school’s out you’ll be able to get the children doing something that you love and feel would make an impact on them. That could be anything at all, from singing to rounders to arts and crafts. As long as you can get what you need together to do it, you can more or less just do what you love!

We find that these types of extracurricular activities genuinely improve attendance and become a highlight of the children’s day.

Morning and afternoon workshops and activities typically last about 2-3 hours each, with time built into the day for resting, planning and group debriefing.

In the evenings, your in-country team puts on group bonding activities and imparts their wisdom about the local culture. The evenings are also time for exploration where you can get out and explore the local area!

Weekends

Your weekends are your time, but we help you make the most of them. You might stay in the area and visit some of the local tourist hot spots, or you may go further afield on a weekend excursion to some of the country’s ‘must-sees’. These include wonders like the iconic Angor Wat temples in Cambodia and Machu Picchu in Peru.

Budgeting

Although all meals are included in your programme, while you’re in-country you’ll want to buy snacks and try the local foods.

Prices vary from country to country. Check out our destination pages to get an idea of the cost of a few standard items like sweet treats, savoury snacks and drinks.

Your support

Our Gap Year programs have the best of all worlds: independent, impactful travel with a support network that’s there whenever you need it.

During your trip, you’ll be in the care of our dedicated local GapGuru mentors. Our GapGurus are your family from home. They not only ensure you never feel too far from home but they’re also there to help you make the most of your time at each destination.

Our Gap Gurus all live and work in the communities we serve year-round. They’re committed to enriching the lives of the people and positively impacting the environment.

We also have a 24/7 helpline that you can call any time before, during or after your time away. Our whole team is there to help you get the most out of your gap year and feel safe and secure while on it.

Health & Well-being Program Pricing

We know that planning a gap year can be daunting, so we like to keep our pricing simple. Our tailored experiences have been cherry-picked, meaning you don’t need to scroll through hundreds of program choices.

Our programs run for a minimum of four weeks. You can add additional weeks in a certain destination or combine different programs in our other destinations.

And if you want to include some independent travel let us know and we can help you organise it around your programs.

Prices Include

A GapGuru Mentor during your stay
Clean and safe Accommodation
3 x nutritious meals from Monday –Friday
Training & orientation
Support before, during and after your trip
Airport pick-up & drop-off
In-country transport
All pre-travel materials

What we can help you with

We know that sorting this stuff out can be hard so we’re more than happy to help!

The FutureSense Foundation

Be a part of something bigger

As a GapGuru traveller, you’ll be supporting our partner charity, the FutureSense Foundation, to work toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Through our programs and initiatives, the FutureSense Foundation works towards achieving a ‘Fairer World’, a world in which each person has the opportunity to meet their aspirations for a better future.

During your gap year, you’ll see first-hand the work that the FutureSense Foundation does and be a part of our long-term, sustainable programs.

Our health and well-being programs

Where do you want to make your impact?

At GapGuru we’ve crafted our Health & Well-being programs to be in line with the UN’s third goal of their Sustainable Development manifesto – to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.

As a volunteer in any of our teaching programs across the globe, you’ll help achieve that goal.

Health & Well-being

Start your journey