Just Volunteers!

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Building Bridges Beyond Borders (BBBB)

A programme to provide educational support and help improve literacy and spoken English among disadvantaged local children (mainly living in children’s homes) and Myanmar refugee children in an informal refugee school. Our volunteers also act as mentors and role models to these children and young people.

The aim of the programme is to increase the self-confidence and help raise the educational aspirations of all those we serve.

In recent years volunteers have spent most of their time teaching the Myanmar refugee children. (These children have no access to formal schooling). Here we teach English, basic maths and other subjects, following a basic curriculum.

Volunteers also spend part of their week leading activities for other disadvantaged children. (Working week is 5 days and approximately 35 hours).

BBBB needs enthusiastic volunteers who want to make a difference in these children’s lives!

International volunteers are provided with a private room in a flat shared with other volunteers or at the YWCA/YMCA. (They also receive a food allowance and local transport.)

For volunteers who would like to volunteer and live in a traditional Muslim home for orphans, this can also be arranged. This is a very worthwhile and fulfilling assignment for the right person.

We are now looking for volunteers to start in 2024

BBBB

6th August 2023

Ella recalls her time volunteering at Building Bridges Beyond Borders in the first half of 2023

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur just before the beginning of Chinese New Year. This meant two things: The first, I was introduced to the beautiful and whole-hearted celebrations of Malaysia. Malls were full of dramatic displays, glowing red lanterns adorned the streets, and fireworks lit the sky each evening. One of the schools I taught […]

BBBB

14th December 2022

Rachel leaves Kuala Lumpur after completing her 6 months volunteering

Rachel sets off for a brief last trip in Southeast Asia before returning to the UK after 6 months as a Bath University Placement Student at the BBBB project. My name is Rachel and I study International Development with Economics at the University of Bath. I chose to do my placement in Malaysia as it […]

BBBB

12th October 2022

Miza, our BBBB Project Coordinator writes a very personal account of her 5 years with the project

Five years with Building Bridges Beyond Borders Miza contacted the programme when she was finishing her Masters at Edinburgh University and about to return to her native Malaysia. After being a volunteer herself, she completed her PhD and has now become an invaluable member of the BBBB management team! Here she remembers some key moments […]

BBBB

26th July 2022

Rachel is Our First International Volunteer to Arrive in Malaysia for over 2 years!

For the past two years our projects in KL have been sustained by a number of hard working and dedicated Malaysian undergraduate volunteers working in person, as well as international volunteers working online. After two years we are delighted to be able to welcome international volunteers in person again! Rachel arrived at the beginning of […]

BBBB

25th July 2022

During the pandemic we have had a wonderful group of international volunteers working with the children in Malaysia online

While the largest number of online volunteers have been placement students from the University of Bath, we have also been very lucky to have a dedicated group from the University of Durham volunteering a few hours a week online throughout the second half of this academic year. The experience of both sides has been very […]

BBBB

25th May 2022

Harriet finishes one year of online volunteering as a Bath University placement student and expects to travel to Malaysia this summer to finally meet all the kids she already knows so well!

With Just Volunteers, I have been privileged to teach for three inspiring organisations in Malaysia: the Rumah Aman Orphanage and Welfare Home, the [Myanmar Refugee school supported by SID] and the YTL Foundation. Just Volunteers has been supportive and encouraging from the outset. As this is my first time ever teaching, having a strong network […]

BBBB

4th May 2022

Ciara has learned more than she expected volunteering online!

Ciara will soon finish her more than 6 months volunteering at BBBB online. (And this summer we will be welcoming in-person volunteers to Malaysia for the first time in over two years!) My name is Ciara and I am currently studying Social Sciences (BSc) at the University of Bath. Working for Just Volunteers has been […]

BBBB

16th January 2021

Madalena is finding online teaching much more interesting than she expected

Maddie talks about how she has been dealing with an internship done entirely online and working from home – when she would otherwise have expected to be in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia working with disadvantaged local children. The experience is challenging for everyone but the attitude of the kids has made it a […]

BBBB

13th January 2021

Volunteering in Malaysia – not in Malaysia!

Charlotte is one of three interns working with our Building Bridges project in Malaysia for this academic year, providing mentoring sessions and fun English classes online – BBBB Online – for children at Rumah Aman, a Muslim children’s home in Kuala Lumpur. They work with small groups of children two or three times a week. […]

BBBB

3rd July 2020

Latest update from the Refugee School in Kuala Lumpur

On Wednesday 1st July the kindergarten and nursery classes began again at the school with a total of 15 children turning up. Some of the children did not come due to fear among the families, however we are pleased that no one in the community has caught the virus. Most families still do not have […]

BBBB

25th June 2020

Update on Developments at the Refugee School in KL

Again, we would like to thank all those who have helped this community in their hour of particular need ! The community seem to be keeping in good spirits although the school management estimate that fewer than 15% of them have got their jobs back. Very understandably, the first jobs to open up are going […]

Building Bridges Beyond Borders (Malaysia)

7th May 2020

Crisis for BBBB supported Myanmar Refugee Families

Over recent weeks former volunteers from the BBBB programme have responded with enormous generosity to the plight of the refugee community. We want to express our deepest thanks to all! In Malaysia, as in countries around the globe, there has been a government enforced lockdown over recent weeks in response to Covid-19. This has meant […]