Help teach at our community-based English school on the undiscovered island of Muna, Indonesia

  • Favourited 922 times
  • Last activity: 28 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: No minimum

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Hello workawayers! My name is Tono. I am a highly motivated and open-minded 30-year-old English teacher from Indonesia. I live in a small village called Tombula on the island of Muna, Southeast Sulawesi. In 2017, after being inspired by my own experience of learning English in the beautiful Toraja, I decided to fulfil my dream of setting up my own English school. The idea behind it is to provide affordable English lessons to the local community; in particular to the children. I truly believe education to be the key to a brighter future for all. The school you would be working at is non-profit and based on the principles of learning, sharing, and empowering.

    I live together with my wife, my 2-year-old son and my mother in a traditional wooden house, built on stilts. We offer a caring and welcoming environment for you to live and work in and are excited to share our culture with you. We have hosted many workawayers in the last few years and have had wonderful experiences with every one of them. They have each helped in their own way to develop the school with their ideas and hard work. We are looking for more people who want to lend a hand and continue the development of our school.

    A few years ago, we built and stocked the first English library on the island. The library now has over 1,000 books and counting! Our English reading centre helps both students and the community around the villages to learn English and encourages reading for all levels. Many volunteers enjoy selecting a few books to read in the cosy, warm evenings. It is very hard (almost impossible) for us to get English books here on Muna, so we would greatly appreciate any help in bringing books that range from easy to intermediate level (graded readers are particularly useful). At the end of 2022 we managed to, entirely through funding, expand the school by building a brand-new classroom with the capacity to hold around 40 students. Amazingly, we were even able to buy a projector along with a screen. With this, it is now possible to teach more dynamic and interactive lessons (using videos, online games, etc.) to further engage the students. It is also, by the way, perfect for cosy movie nights. 😉


    When you are here you will primarily be teaching English in the ways that suit you and that match your ability - basically anything that involves your imagination, personal interests, and creativity. From 2023 onwards, an exciting new opportunity has become available. As I teach twice a week at a public Junior High School (ages 12-15) you are welcome to come along and gain an insight into the local school system and even to experience teaching there if you wish. You will also have lots of free time to explore the island of Muna. We can take you to many beautiful lagoons, an old fortress, caves with 40,000-year-old paintings, a cooling river and tropical beaches where you can swim and discover the pristine coral reefs. You will also have the chance to be taken around the island via motorbike or to hire a car for the day at a good price. You will see and experience things tourists rarely see in a truly undiscovered Indonesian island.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Art Projects
    Language practice
    Help with Eco Projects
    Teaching
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Babysitting and creative play
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
    Help with Computers/ Internet
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN goals
    No poverty
    Zero hunger
    Good health and well-being
    Quality education
    Gender equality
    Clean water and sanitation
    Affordable and clean energy
    Decent work and economic growth
    Industries, innovation and infrastructure
    Reduce inequality
    Sustainable cities and communities
    Responsible consumption and production
    Climate action
    Life below water
    Life on land
    Peace, justice and strong institutions
    Partnerships for the goals
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Muna is an island rich in both history and culture, with many places to explore. You will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with our island, culture, and longstanding traditions. Living with our family you will get to learn about daily life here, how to cook traditional food and interact with the friendly locals. You may also have the opportunity to see a flying kite competition (this being the place the first kites were invented), learning the traditional dance (the famous ´knife dance` has been performed at weddings over many generations), make music from traditional rice containers, see how cashew nuts are made (supposedly the best cashews in the world come from Muna), make coconut oil and help us make and sell our own banana cakes that we make fresh every morning. It is also possible that you can attend a wedding here, as it is local tradition to invite the entire village to the reception! Family is hugely important here so many gatherings happen throughout the year. You are welcome to attend. 😊

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

    This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

  • Help

    Help

    We are looking for passionate people who can inspire young learners to learn English in the classroom. Don`t worry if you have no experience of teaching, we have created a curriculum that can be used as a guideline, or as inspiration. Anyway, we have found that teaching seems to work best when the teacher has ownership of the creative input. When teaching the local children and teenagers, you are encouraged to incorporate your own ideas as much as you see fit. Please bear in mind that the students will often come to class after a day at school (from 7am-1pm), so being fun and interactive is the way to go! With our newly acquired projector this is now much easier and practical to do. Typically, you will teach from 4 pm to 5.30 pm from Monday to Saturday with an opportunity to also work on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning at the Junior High School. Learners are mainly lower levels, curious and motivated to learn. Outside of teaching, you are more than welcome to decorate the newly finished classroom, to help out in the garden or to paint murals around the place.

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    English: Fluent
    Indonesian: Fluent

    This host offers a language exchange
    This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
    You can contact them directly for more information.

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    We will provide you three delicious healthy meals per day, prepared by my family (vegans and vegetarians are easily accommodated, indeed most of the food comes directly from our garden). We have two bedrooms and a toilet, along with the two classrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a garden. We provide a mattress, mosquito net, blankets and pillows to make your stay here as comfortable as we can. The bathroom we have is local style (cold water bucket shower and a squat toilet). You will be living alongside many animals, mainly chickens and cats.

    You can reach us by taking a flight from Makassar to Raha (from Hassanudin airport to Sugimanuru airport). We will pick you up at the airport and take you to our house - the journey takes around 90 minutes. You can also take a boat (PELNI COMPANY) from Makassar to Baubau. Again, we can pick you up at the port and take you to our home. This usually takes around 90 – 120 minutes. At the end of 2022, the local government invested a great deal in improving the infrastructure on Muna, so many main roads are now much less bumpy and travel times have, therefore, significantly improved!

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Muna is a truly hidden paradise in Southeast Sulawesi. Less than 10 km from our house you have the chance to do many cultural visits, a variety of activities (such as swimming, motorbiking, trekking, playing football, SCUBA diving and snorkelling etc.) and visit some interesting places, such as crystal-clear lagoons, a refreshing river (where a king`s daughters once learned to swim), submerged caves, and palm tree-lined beaches with warm waters. From Muna you can easily reach other destinations by one of our two motorcycles, car, ship, ferry or plane. In 2022 we were donated a bicycle which is a great way to reach the interesting, well-stocked market in the village. The locals here are always excited to welcome people from outside the island and practice their English!
    Please note there is no Wi-Fi here, so you will need to buy a sim card (TELKOMSEL works best) for your mobile phone. This can easily be bought in the local market. I can be contacted via WhatsApp and will give you my details once your booking has been confirmed.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    This host can provide space for campervans.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    Two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    Maximum 4hours a day. (max 25 hours/week)

Host ref number: 422154523766

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Accuracy of profile: (4.5)

Cultural exchange: (4.5)

Communication: (4.7)




























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