EXPERIENCE BANGLADESH
Every year over the past two decades, ten or more volunteers have traveled to IUBAT
to teach Nursing or English as a Second Language. Others have worked with our NGO partners.
You can read about previous volunteers' experiences on our blog.
At this time, we can only host volunteers who are qualified in ESL training or in a health care-related field.
We are again accepting applications for our in-country volunteer program
Teaching BSN and MPH students in Dhaka
The IUBAT College of Nursing is a 4-year BSN program based in an English-medium not-for-profit university in Dhaka. At the College of Nursing, visiting faculty volunteers support IUBAT faculty to teach the nursing content, including clinical practice supervision and curriculum development. There are also co-teaching opportunities in the Master of Public Health program.
Our visiting faculty are English-speaking professional educators or nurses with various qualifications and practical experience. Several volunteers have been post-graduate students simultaneously working on their own internship or thesis projects. Some volunteers have backgrounds in other health care professions, such as medicine, psychiatric social work, clinical psychology, nutrition and so on. At this time, we can only host volunteers who are qualified in a health care-related field or in ESL training.
For visiting faculty at IUBAT, we cannot pay airfare, but can offer free room and board in the university guest house close to the verdant IUBAT campus. Six weeks is our preferred minimum stay so that volunteers can feel oriented and become most useful. We arrange airport pick-up and drop-off in Dhaka and all local travel so that you are taken care of and can focus on the task during your time there. Previous visiting faculty have enjoyed their time at IUBAT, immersed in a vibrant culture, with warm collegial relationships and secure living arrangements.
Volunteering in Dhaka with BHP partners
At this time, we are recruiting volunteers to support new mental health programs in Dhaka. We are seeking individuals who have a background in mental health nursing, occupational therapy, psychiatric social work, psychiatry, psychology, or recreational therapy. Depending on your length of commitment, our partner may provide travel costs in addition to local accommodation, meals and travel. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a progressive innovation in Bangladesh.
Working from home
We also have opportunities for home-based volunteer activities, developing curriculum and other educational materials for nursing and public health students. We also use Zoom for remote teaching or to support students with their research projects. Home-based volunteers are usually native English-speakers, with experience as professional educators or bedside nurses or from other health care professions, such as medicine, psychiatric social work, clinical psychology, and nutrition.
We are grateful for all interest but at this time, we are only able to support volunteers who are qualified in a health care-related field or in ESL training.
If you are looking for a meaningful volunteer experience, supporting a rapidly developing country, please contact us for further information BangladeshHealthProject@proton.me
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Planning to Go
Our Volunteer Guide contains some basic information about the experience of teaching at IUBAT. However, there are always details unique to each individual volunteer.
When you write to express interest, we will arrange a phone or video conversation as an opportunity to ask your own questions. We also like to discuss your motivation and experience with life in low-income countries like Bangladesh. Afterwards, if you feel that you would like to volunteer, we will need your current CV and a cover letter that provides your reason for taking on this fascinating, challenging assignment.
Typically, we arrange several e-mail and phone exchanges to sort individual details with each volunteer.
Upon Return
When you come back from IUBAT, one of our volunteers will contact you for feedback about your experience. We like to check in to make sure the adjustment is going well. Some people find that re-entry to regular life can be stressful. We can provide some resources to assist with that.
We also provide a recognition certificate and thank you letter, and in February of each year, a Canadian tax-deductible receipt for eligible expenses.
Volunteer FAQ
There is a lot to consider in taking on a volunteer commitment like this. You can download our Volunteer Guide or head over to our Volunteer FAQ page, both of which will cover a lot of the information that you will need.
After you make contact with us, we will also send you links to articles from scholarly and popular journals that help explain the social and cultural context of nursing in Bangladesh.