A summer project trip explained
Every year the TEECH trustees visit possible projects to decide which would best benefit the local community and how they could be made self-sufficient. A team of approximately 25-35 volunteers then travel overland by coach to endeavour to complete the project. Whilst on a trip we also deliver aid to various contacts in the local area (e.g. medical supplies to hospitals, clothes and toys) and distribute clothing in the village in which the project is located.
Volunteers travel by coach for 3 to 4 days to reach our projects in Moldova. Check out the 'Volunteer in Europe' page to see the route on a map and for more details on the actual project the team will be undertaking.
The two week trip takes shape in the following format:
Day 1 - Saturday - depart England (Suffolk or Essex) in the coach and travel through France, Belgium and Germany. The coach journey provides the opportunity to meet your fellow volunteers with the Saturday night spent sleeping on the coach.
Day 2 - Sunday - The drive continues in daylight through Austria and Hungary, arriving in Romania early evening for a meal and stay in Hotel Iris
Day 3 - Monday - Depart the hotel early morning to travel across Romania, including the mountains and some fantastic scenery, to stay at Hotel Coroana for the Monday night.
Day 4 - Tuesday - Leave the hotel early morning to travel into Moldova, aiming to arrive on location early afternoon.
Day 5 to Day 12 - On site at the project. Each day volunteers will get stuck into the work required to install toilets, sinks, urinals, hot and cold running water, hand driers, painting and tiling and much more, working with tradesmen (picking up new skills!) to achieve the project. Volunteers will also get involved in setting up a free shop in the village, so that the clothing aid taken from England can be chosen by the locals.
Day 13 - Thursday - Leave site to start the journey home, leaving early morning to travel back into Romania for the first hotel stop.
Day 13 - Friday - The journey will take us the remainder of the way through Romania and through most of Hungary, staying at a hotel near the Austrian/Hungarian border overnight.
Day 15 - The journey then continues, traveling through the day and night to reach the ferry during Sunday morning. Returning back to Essex/Suffolk late afternoon on the Sunday for some much earned rest and sleep.
The August trip is usually set the two weeks before the bank holiday so that you have the Monday to recover before returning to work. As well as the coach, we also take an articulated lorry, van and 18 tonne lorry on the trip to take the aid, supplies and tools we require.
Whilst on location volunteers camp out in the school (classrooms) in which we are working and are provided with three meals a day, produced by certain volunteers. As facilities are limited at projects there will not be a shower, therefore volunteers are asked to bring a camping shower. A full list of kit required is provided on sign up to the trip.
What it Costs
TEECH welcomes new and existing volunteers to join them on the trip; all we ask is that you raise £800 in fundraising of this amount £600 covers expenses (can not be gift aided) like insurance of the volunteers for working abroad, travel by coach, accommodation on route and food whilst on location and at the hotels, plus a t-shirt (each year a t-shirt is designed for the trip for volunteers to keep). The other £200 is put towards the project itself enabling the charity to buy the supplies required to carry out the tasks. The £200 can be gift aided and we encourage all monies to be paid online through Golden Giving.
Fundraising and Donations
TEECH encourages its volunteers to raise money to go towards paying for their trip and to assist with collecting your money we suggest you collect donations by creating a page on Golden Giving. This way the money is donated direct to TEECH together with collecting gift aid on the donations and its an easy way for donors to pay on line and your account can be advertised on Facebook or Twitter.
We ask that at least 60% of your fundraising is paid over to TEECH by the 31th May with the balance no later than mid of July.
TEECH volunteers spend the year before each project collecting donated items (new and used) and acquiring items which have been requested for the project on our wish list - please see the Donations page.
TEECH Requirements
TEECH invites everyone over the age of 16 (under 18's must be supervised by a parent or guardian) to join us on our yearly projects. All we ask is that you are not afraid of some hard work, our volunteers are a social bunch and a lot of our members can be found on Facebook.
Over the course of the year we receive large quantities of donations which need to be sorted ready for loading onto the Lorries in August. All volunteers are requested to attend at least one pack up day (these are held monthly) and every effort should be made to be at the lorry loading day the weekend before we depart. The TEECH pack up days are a great way to get to know you fellow volunteers.
If you would like to volunteer, request an application form or have questions about volunteers and coming on a trip then please contact holly@teech.org
Volunteers travel by coach for 3 to 4 days to reach our projects in Moldova. Check out the 'Volunteer in Europe' page to see the route on a map and for more details on the actual project the team will be undertaking.
The two week trip takes shape in the following format:
Day 1 - Saturday - depart England (Suffolk or Essex) in the coach and travel through France, Belgium and Germany. The coach journey provides the opportunity to meet your fellow volunteers with the Saturday night spent sleeping on the coach.
Day 2 - Sunday - The drive continues in daylight through Austria and Hungary, arriving in Romania early evening for a meal and stay in Hotel Iris
Day 3 - Monday - Depart the hotel early morning to travel across Romania, including the mountains and some fantastic scenery, to stay at Hotel Coroana for the Monday night.
Day 4 - Tuesday - Leave the hotel early morning to travel into Moldova, aiming to arrive on location early afternoon.
Day 5 to Day 12 - On site at the project. Each day volunteers will get stuck into the work required to install toilets, sinks, urinals, hot and cold running water, hand driers, painting and tiling and much more, working with tradesmen (picking up new skills!) to achieve the project. Volunteers will also get involved in setting up a free shop in the village, so that the clothing aid taken from England can be chosen by the locals.
Day 13 - Thursday - Leave site to start the journey home, leaving early morning to travel back into Romania for the first hotel stop.
Day 13 - Friday - The journey will take us the remainder of the way through Romania and through most of Hungary, staying at a hotel near the Austrian/Hungarian border overnight.
Day 15 - The journey then continues, traveling through the day and night to reach the ferry during Sunday morning. Returning back to Essex/Suffolk late afternoon on the Sunday for some much earned rest and sleep.
The August trip is usually set the two weeks before the bank holiday so that you have the Monday to recover before returning to work. As well as the coach, we also take an articulated lorry, van and 18 tonne lorry on the trip to take the aid, supplies and tools we require.
Whilst on location volunteers camp out in the school (classrooms) in which we are working and are provided with three meals a day, produced by certain volunteers. As facilities are limited at projects there will not be a shower, therefore volunteers are asked to bring a camping shower. A full list of kit required is provided on sign up to the trip.
What it Costs
TEECH welcomes new and existing volunteers to join them on the trip; all we ask is that you raise £800 in fundraising of this amount £600 covers expenses (can not be gift aided) like insurance of the volunteers for working abroad, travel by coach, accommodation on route and food whilst on location and at the hotels, plus a t-shirt (each year a t-shirt is designed for the trip for volunteers to keep). The other £200 is put towards the project itself enabling the charity to buy the supplies required to carry out the tasks. The £200 can be gift aided and we encourage all monies to be paid online through Golden Giving.
Fundraising and Donations
TEECH encourages its volunteers to raise money to go towards paying for their trip and to assist with collecting your money we suggest you collect donations by creating a page on Golden Giving. This way the money is donated direct to TEECH together with collecting gift aid on the donations and its an easy way for donors to pay on line and your account can be advertised on Facebook or Twitter.
We ask that at least 60% of your fundraising is paid over to TEECH by the 31th May with the balance no later than mid of July.
TEECH volunteers spend the year before each project collecting donated items (new and used) and acquiring items which have been requested for the project on our wish list - please see the Donations page.
TEECH Requirements
TEECH invites everyone over the age of 16 (under 18's must be supervised by a parent or guardian) to join us on our yearly projects. All we ask is that you are not afraid of some hard work, our volunteers are a social bunch and a lot of our members can be found on Facebook.
Over the course of the year we receive large quantities of donations which need to be sorted ready for loading onto the Lorries in August. All volunteers are requested to attend at least one pack up day (these are held monthly) and every effort should be made to be at the lorry loading day the weekend before we depart. The TEECH pack up days are a great way to get to know you fellow volunteers.
If you would like to volunteer, request an application form or have questions about volunteers and coming on a trip then please contact holly@teech.org
The photo at the top of this page is from 2018 when TEECH also funded a project to install bathrooms into the hospital in Balti, Moldova. The team visited the projected to see the completed bathrooms. These were funded alongside the Hasnasenii Noi school project in 2018.
