Can you imagine immersing yourself in the natural beauty of the Maldives? Soft beaches, exquisite coral, and colorful marine life?
This month, we are excited to introduce you to Atoll Volunteers. A Maldives-based organization offering a variety of volunteer opportunities such a conservation, teaching and community organizing. Atoll believes that “volunteering does not need to be all work and no play.” Their programs are designed to ensure you have the most memorable and enjoyable stay possible, while at the same time giving back to the community.
How does it work?
At Atoll Volunteers, we have over twenty distinct volunteer programs to choose from, but the programs are never set in stone – we tailor our programs to fit our volunteers’ skills and desires so every volunteer helps our community in their own way. We love to host volunteers who have experience and can bring their ideas and expertise to our programs, but also anybody who’s just looking for new experiences! Once you’ve chosen your stream, we will set up a unique program for you according to your capability.
What makes Atoll stand out?
Our volunteers bring a touch of internationalism to our locally-run NGO. We are a not-for-profit organization that has been active in our community’s development for the past twelve years, and now we run our volunteer program independently of agencies, so all the funding goes directly back into the community, and not the pockets of large companies! We pride ourselves on our transparency in this regard, and the enthusiasm with which our local staff and volunteers dedicate themselves toward real and positive changes in our community.
How can I get involved?
Volunteers can involve themselves as much in our community projects as they want! Marine or Turtle Conservation are our most popular programs, and a chance to see the exquisite marine environment so unique to the Maldives, but also get a real sense of the conservation efforts our community is facing.
Eco-waste management is an important program and we welcome any greenies, or participants in other programs, to get involved and help our awareness campaigning. We always need Football coaches and Women’s Fitness volunteers to keep our islanders healthy and teach the kids necessary skills! Our programs are versatile and we always encourage our volunteers to be as involved as possible – tell us your interests or skills, however offbeat, and we’ll see if we can incorporate them to the benefit of our community.
For more information, check out their website. Or find them on Facebook and Twitter!
