1. What is Dragonfly?
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    Dragonfly has its roots in a small English Camp organization begun in 2004 by a small team of Thais and English-speakers.  Their goal was to help Thai students improve their English skills, and more importantly to get kids interested in learning through fun and positive activities.

The same year, the Dragonfly Volunteer Project was started to help fill a need expressed by teachers at the numerous schools we visited across Thailand.  They made an appeal for English speakers to come and volunteer at their schools, so that students could gain valuable skills and experience for their futures. 

This program was a success, but some volunteers wanted to help out in other ways.  This led us to expand into other types of projects – orphanages, coaching, wildlife, building – so that we could bring more generous people to help improve the lives of people and animals in Thailand.

2. Where does Dragonfly work?
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    We started our organization in Isaan, the Northeast region of Thailand.  This region is both culturally vibrant and economically embattled due to poor weather and soil for agriculture.  Our offices are located in Nakhorn Ratchasima (nicknamed Khorat), which is a bustling city and the gateway to the Northeast. 

These days, we work on projects across Thailand including the stunning, coastal South and the scenic, mountainous North.  We concentrate our efforts in rural areas, both to reach those people who are more in need of our support and to provide volunteers with authentic cultural experiences that are lost in big cities.

6. I’m not a native speaker of English. Can I still get a placement?
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7. How can I organize a visa for Thailand? Can it be extended?
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     Visas are a necessary fact of international work, and are unnecessarily complicated. Once you sign up to volunteer, we’ll help you to work through the application process while in your home country. You will have to send your passport and an application to the Thai consulate/embassy in your country, where it will be processed and a visa will be added to your passport. If you don’t have a passport, you’ll have to apply for one before a visa can be attained.

If you decide to stay longer in Thailand, we can advise you on how best to extend your visa. In some cases, it may be more convenient for you to exit to a neighbouring country and re-enter Thailand on a new visa. Either way, we’ll help you to figure out what’s easiest.

     Some projects are available seasonally. Sea turtles lay their eggs in the winter. School takes a long term break for Thai summer (March-May). Building isn’t extraordinarily pleasant in the rainy season. We’ve made some calls, but can’t seem to change these factors.

     We do run our training programs on set schedules. Language and culture training runs at the beginning and halfway through each month, and 3-day teacher training only once at the beginning of each month. We are rigid about these times because we have to pay trainers to provide these programs. Starting and ending dates at the projects themselves are flexible to allow you some leeway. Building and wildlife projects do training on-site and can therefore start at any time. After training, orphanage, teaching, and coaching placements can begin when you’re prepared although, naturally, we’ll require some notice.

9. What happens once I get to Thailand?
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     You’ll be met at the airport in Bangkok (excepting special circumstances) by one of our staff. He or she will arrange a bus ticket for you to help you get to Korat for training or directly to your project site. 

10. Can I do more than one volunteer placement?
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     You can. Please do! If you can’t decide between projects, you can do 2 (or all 5!). As long as you have all the necessary training, you can arrange to finish on placement and move directly, or after a short break, to another.

11. If I really love my placement, can I extend it?
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     Unfortunately, we can’t extend a placement longer than was initially arranged.  Why?  Again with the great questions!  Most of the schools and projects we work with have limited capacity for volunteers, due largely to the need to train and house them.  We may have already scheduled another volunteer to follow your placement, so if you stayed longer, that person would have no place to stay.

12. What kind of accommodation is provided?  What’s a homestay like?
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     Speaking of places to stay… well, it depends on your placement.  Volunteers on wildlife and orphanage placements will stay on-site in volunteer houses; wildlife volunteers get single, and orphanage volunteers shared accommodations.  Volunteers with the other projects will enjoy the homestay experience…

     which is, perhaps not surprisingly, staying with a Thai family in their home.  You’ll be given a room in the family house, and a new family as well!  This is a great way to learn about Thai people and culture, and by far the most efficient way to learn the language.  Although homestays are designed to give a volunteer a look at authentic Thai life, the families our volunteers stay with are usually better-off and of higher social status than average.  This means that their houses are also above the Thai standard and ought to be comfortable for foreign visitors.
On your homestay, you’ll find yourself immediately embraced by your family and given the appropriate address of son, daughter, sister, brother, aunt or uncle.  Family is very important to Thais, so expect a warm welcome.

13. Can you help me find a job after my placement?
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     We can do 2 things to help you along.  If you are interested in an English teaching job in Thailand, we have years of experience and hundreds of school contacts with which to help you find a connection.  For all projects, we can write you a reference letter that you can use to find a job either here or back at home

14. Are there any health concerns for the placements?
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     This is a safe country and Thai people are immaculately clean (bathing 2-5 times per day), but we’re not qualified to inform you about all health concerns.  Therefore, we highly recommend that you speak with your physician or local travel clinic well before leaving for Thailand.

     Volunteers coming to work on wildlife projects will require certain inoculations beforehand, largely to protect the animals from contracting diseases from you.  Sorry to have to say it.  We’ll let you know the specific requirements after sign-up.

15. You haven’t answered my specific question.  Can I send it to you? ............................................................................................................

Certainly.  Whether you’ve signed up already or are looking for more information before you do, we’re happy to address your questions and concerns. Click here to send us an inquiry