“I was constantly reassured by the effectiveness of The Wood Foundation in ensuring every participant had a network of support including another global teacher to work alongside in community, past participants from Scotland as Team Leads and School Based Teacher Trainers from Rwanda. For me Rwanda was a transformative experience and I would encourage any teacher with an interest in Learning for Sustainability and Global Citizenship to apply now.”
Amy Wilson, GLP 2018
Thinking about applying?
No time is taken out of school. Selection, pre-departure training sessions and debrief take place at agreed weekends. The overseas placement will take place during the school summer holiday.
We’ve heard this so many times from teachers who have a last minute panic of thinking they have nothing to offer, some of whom have been teaching for many, many years. Let us assure you, this is pre-placement nerves. Each teacher who has expressed this concern has gained confidence in their knowledge and skills. Once put in the position of guiding their overseas colleagues through a lesson plan, or collaboratively developing professional learning with limited resource, they have been amazed at how much they know and how creative they can be. You will be challenged, but you will have the support of your cohort, team leads and your colleagues in-country. Through collaboration you will realise that you are more resilient, resourceful and knowledgeable than you have previously given yourself credit for.
The safety of our participants is of the highest importance. GLP representatives work alongside in-country partners to risk assess the country, host communities and all accommodation before the arrival of participants.
In Uganda, practitioners live and work in Masindi in Western Uganda which is considered to be very safe. Our experience is our host communities has been warm and welcoming. More than 15,000 UK tourists travel through Uganda each year and most do so trouble free. There are areas of Uganda, where GLP will not place practitioners, that are advised against travelling to.
In Rwanda, practitioners will spend the week in the capital city of Kigali which is very cosmopolitan. Rwanda has a large security and police presence and low levels of crime.
Participants are advised not to wear expensive jewellery, carry lots of cash on their person or walk alone in the dark in both countries. GLP representatives will provide you with pre-placement training and an in-country induction to prepare you for arrival in your host country.
The chances are, you won’t. And that is part of personal and professional development. You’ll travel, live and share moments with people you’ve only recently met and they will be the only people in the whole world who will be having a similar experience as you at that moment in time, which is quite remarkable. They’ll be the only people who will understand any worries you have, or be able to reminisce with you when you return. Through GLP you have the opportunity to expand your network and learn from a whole new group of colleagues and friends.
You don’t. And no-one does. Those who have travelled far and wide don’t even really know what to expect when they embark upon a four week placement in Uganda or Rwanda. You’ll have to be mindful of different cultures and ways of life, but you’ll never know if it’s for you if you don’t try it. Our GLP team will make every effort to help you prepare as best you can, this includes managing your expectations and providing you with opportunities to raise your cultural awareness.
The answer to this depends entirely on where you’re situated while in-country. Some practitioners will be based in the city, some other in the more rural areas where the housing will vary. We ensure everyone is in safe accommodation but the finer details will not be known until one month prior to your placement. GLP representatives review and assess your community and accommodation to ensure it is fit for purpose and safe.
GLP Alumni: “The house I stayed in was clean and secure, but had no utilities as we know them. Water was brought to us in recycled cooking oil Gerry can. There was a squat toilet out the back of the building – we did not have to share this facility. There was no electricity in or near our house. Our neighbours were other teacher mentors and other teachers – all females. We had a bamboo fence around the buildings to give us some privacy. Cooking was using a Calor gas canister with one ring to cook on fitted on top.”
GLP Alumni: “It’s a basic and simple life and definitely doesn’t have the luxuries that we are all accustomed too but we can live in it. Our house had two houses very close by and we had animals, goats and chickens, outside our door every day. I didn’t ever have to worry about sleeping in as they generally woke me up every morning.”
On average, it costs £6,500 per person to participate on GLP. GLP is an 18 month programme with off-site training and a placement overseas.
In order to sustain the programme we ask each participant to commit £1,500 towards the cost of the trip. Your financial commitment contributes towards the cost of flights, accommodation, your living allowance, in-country support, your visa, a proportion of your inoculation costs and all of your pre-departure and post placement training. It is not being donated to an international charity, the investment is in you alone.
There is flexibility on how you raise your minority contribution. This can be done through school’s professional learning budgets, personal contribution or community and school-based fundraising.
The Wood Foundation is responsible for the remaining £5,000 per person.
You will be responsible for the booking of and payment of any ‘tourist’ related activities undertaken while you’re in-country, as well as your food costs.
GLP Alumni: “Living is very cheap. Travelling on the local bus was about £2 for a 3 hour journey from the capital. Moto was £2 for a 12 mile journey. Food is very cheap. Eating in the village restaurant they eat as much as you want was £1 (mainly carbohydrate) and a Fanta was 30p. In the bigger towns with more choice it was rarely more than £7.”
This depends what the health issue is, how it affects you day to day and whether you feel comfortable committing to the programme and the four week placement. We will do all we can to ensure that if you’re happy to go, we are too. It may be best to contact the GLP representative with your specific queries if you want to find out before applying.
Your application form will be considered and you will be informed what the next steps are in terms of selection. You will hear back from The Wood Foundation no later than March 2023.
GLP regularly monitors Uganda and Rwanda, assessing the health and safety of the countries.
You must seek the advice of a travel health professional before your trip to learn about the vaccinations required for each country. You must also check the country’s requirements in regards to Covid-19.
There have been reported cases of Ebola in Uganda.