The teaching program will not run during school holidays or examination periods (dates below). Instead, you can help out in the kindergarten. Please note, however, that the dates for the school holidays may change depending on the school’s plans.
2023
02-13 January
20 January
21-23 March**
19, 24 and 30 May
01 June
31 July-12 August*
17 August
26 October
15, 20, and 24-25 December
School Holidays 2023
13-17 March (Midterm Test for Primary Schools)
15-26 May (School Examinations)
11-15 September (Midterm Test for Primary Schools)
04-08 December (School Examination)
* One of the most important ceremonies for Balinese people, Galungan and Kuningan Hindu ceremony will take place between 31 July-12 August 2023. During this time we have arranged cleaning and renovation activities at a local school for approximately 4-5 hours a day including repairing broken tables, chairs, doors, windows and other classroom items. The aim is to help create a better atmosphere for the students to learn.
** Day of Silence (Nyepi) is a Hindu ceremony reserved for self-reflection. This takes place from 06:00 on 21 March until 06:00 on 23 March 2023. On Nyepi Day, the project as well as the airport, shops and businesses are closed, and everyone must stay at home. The day before Nyepi you will take part in the preparations and the day after there is a ceremony in the morning.
Ceremonies
Besides public holidays, there are several Balinese religious culture events, known as 'ceremonies'. Please respect both the Balinese people and your coordinators during these village events that can take place at any time and are always beyond the volunteer organisation's control. There have been instances where volunteers have traveled to their program in the morning only to find out that the project is closed for the day due to a ceremony being held in that village. This is because everyone in the village is expected to attend, including the children at the teaching centers. We would greatly appreciate your understanding and cooperation during these Balinese cultural events, and ask you to follow your coordinator's instructions in the event of one occurring on your program.
a) Please note that the volunteer organisation is not notified every time a ceremony is about to be held. Unfortunately there is no calendar for ceremonies we can refer to beforehand, also each village is slightly different.
b) The volunteer organisation always confirms that there are normal activities prior to sending you to your project, but there have been cases where volunteers were still turned away at the last minute.
c) Your coordinators will redirect you to another program if there is a ceremony at your program venue.
d) Please avoid arguing or raising your voice. Confrontation will not change the situation as the project staff are not in control of these events. Your coordinator will do their best to place you in another program that is available.