Are you looking for an experience of a lifetime in a place you are unlikely to have ever heard of? The Himalayan Education Lifeline Programme is looking for English language teachers to teach as volunteers in exotic and remote Ladakh. If you are adventurous and idealistic, and prepared to give up two months of your time (one month if you are a practising teacher fitting your volunteering into your summer holiday), then please visit our volunteer page for more details and a way of submitting your application: www.help-education.org

Ladakh is the largest region of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated on the highest plateau in India (much of it being over 3,000 m) which straddles the Himalayan and Karakorum mountain ranges and the upper Indus River valley. The capital is Leh.

It was once an independent Buddhist kingdom, and is sometimes called “Little Tibet” on account of its cultural and geographical similarities with Tibet proper. Unlike the rest of Jammu and Kashmir, which is mainly Islamic, Ladakh remains predominantly Buddhist. This is evidenced by the large number of active Buddhist monasteries in the region, often spectacularly located on the top of hills.

Because it is bitterly cold in the winter, the best times for volunteers are between April and early October.

I think HELP is the volunteer organization that I looked for for a long time. It is the most easily accessible and responsive organization I found on the web. I really like the self donation to the school and how independent it requires its volunteers to be, unlike many other organizations.
Michael WintersteinSt. Paul Primary School