Serve to Learn: Frequently Asked Questions

Touch a child’s life in a unique way by teaching English in Egypt through Coptic Orphans

1. Who is eligible to be a volunteer?
2. What will the trip cost me?
3. What else do I have to pay?
4. What does Coptic Orphans provide?
5. Where will we be working?
6. What will our accommodations be?
7. What are sanitary conditions like?
8. Will there be mosquitoes and bugs?
9. How should I dress?
10. How will we get there?
11. What is the “orientation” and “debriefing”?
12. How many classes per day will we be teaching?
13. How many children will be in each class?
14. Who sets the curriculum?
15. What kinds of supplies will be available? What should I bring?
16. What levels will there be in the class?
17. Will I be teaching only Copts?
18. Can I evangelize to non-Copts?
19. How can I best prepare for this program?
20. What do I do besides teach in the classroom?
21. What do I do in my free time?
22. Can I see my relatives in Egypt during my service?
23. Can I visit my sponsored child during the service?
24. Why do you want me to submit my journal and copies of my photographs?
25. Will there be any changes related to conflicts in the Middle East?
26. What kinds of precautions should we take?

1. Q: Who is eligible to be a volunteer?
A: Volunteer candidates must be 17 years and older by the date of the volunteer tenure. You must have a heart for children, a desire to lend a helping hand to the underprivileged, and be willing to assist Egyptian children in their English studies. Participants must also be willing to work with a Christian, faith-based organization, and be hosted by the Coptic Orthodox church. Knowledge of spoken Arabic to communicate outside of the English class is required.

2. Q: What will the trip cost me?
A: Applicants must pay a $35 application fee. Accepted applicants must pay a $375 non refundable program fee to confirm participation in the program. This program fee only partially covers the expenses incurred to Coptic Orphans for the following:
- program development and management
- volunteer coordination
- room and board
- some materials
- pre-service training and orientation
- administration
- follow up and evaluation
Additional costs are covered by Coptic Orphans, and some costs are paid for by your hosts. The agreement with each host is different and is discussed between Coptic Orphans and the hosts.

3. Q: What else do I have to pay?
A: Round-trip international airfare, health insurance, in-country transportation, passport, visa and vaccination fees. It is recommended that volunteers bring $300-400 USD to cover incidental expenses including extra bottles of mineral water, long distance phone calls, medicine, taxi cabs and other non-program related to in-country travel, souvenirs, etc.

4. Q: What does Coptic Orphans provide?
A: Training, meals and housing during orientation and teaching service. We also provide resources for the children and some teaching resources.

5. Q: Where will we be working?
A: Serve to Learn volunteers teach English at various places throughout Egypt. Be prepared for an assignment either in a rural village or urban center in the Nile delta, or in a village in Upper Egypt. You will teach at a school, an NGO, or a church-hosted site with the other volunteers with whom you will spend your three weeks.

6. Q: What will our accommodations be?
A: Serve to Learn volunteers will be hosted by the local Coptic Orthodox bishopric near the school or NGO site where they will be teaching. Breakfast, dinner, and supper will be provided, as well as transportation to the school if necessary.

7. Q: What are sanitary conditions like?
A: Your hosts provide you with the cleanest facilities available to them. The sites where you will sleep have clean toilets, showers, beds, and fans. Some may have washing machines, others do not. Your facilities will be clean upon your arrival, but you are expected to keep your own rooms clean during the time you are there. At the schools, bathrooms are available, but their level of sanitary-ness is not known. Your hosts will do their best to accommodate your specific needs. Wet wipes and hand sanitizer are recommended to be kept on hand.

Remember that Egypt is a developing country, and water and electricity may cut off on occasion, so please be flexible and prepared with sanitary wipes and flashlights.

8. Q: Will there be mosquitoes and bugs?
A: Mosquitoes are rampant in Egypt during the summer season. In the homes of some poor families you visit, you may also encounter fleas. You should come prepared with skin lotions that repel insects, and spray repellents for your room and your clothes. Supermarkets in Egypt also sell mosquito repelling products. You are likely to find these in Cairo, and should plan to purchase them before your volunteer tenure.

9. Q: How should I dress?
A: Egyptian society is very conservative, especially about the way women dress. Volunteers must be sensitive to the surrounding culture in your attire. Volunteers are strongly advised to bring ankle-length skirts, loose long pants, and loose blouses or t-shirts. Short-sleeves are acceptable. Capris, shorts, and tank tops are not recommended, for men or women. Remember modesty is the best policy, and 100% cotton clothes will keep you cool during the hot summer days.

For church, please wear tops that have at least ¾ length sleeves, since some churches in Egypt are very conservative. For women, we also recommend bringing your own head covers.

10. Q: How will we get there?
A: You are responsible for making your own travel arrangements to Egypt, and your own transportation to the location that has been chosen in Cairo for the orientation. Please contact your relatives and/or friends in Egypt to arrange for this. We will provide you with the address and phone number.

After the orientation, Coptic Orphans will transport you to your school in Egypt by train or in a private car or van, or by plane. Coptic Orphans staff will accompany you to and from your destination. After your volunteer service, Coptic Orphans will pick you up from your locations and transport you back to Cairo. You are responsible for arranging with your relatives transit from the Coptic Orphans office in Cairo to the airport or to continue your stay in Egypt.

11. Q: What is the “orientation” and “debriefing”?
A: The orientation will be an opportunity to meet the Coptic Orphans Egypt staff, meet your fellow volunteers, answer specific questions about your sites, discuss what to expect on the trip, to go over some ideas and questions for teaching English, and to answer any final questions about the Serve to Learn program. At the end of your trip, you will have the opportunity to brief Coptic Orphans about your experiences. The debriefing will take place in Cairo, on the last day of the program.

12. Q: How many classes per day will we be teaching?
A: Volunteers will be teaching classes in groups of two as often as possible. Each pair of volunteers will teach three classes per day. Your hosts may also ask you to participate in informal activities with young adults in the community, so that they may practice their conversational English skills.

13. Q: How many children will there be in each class?
A: We will do our best to limit the number of children in each class to 25; however, you should expect to teach around 35 students in each class.

14. Q: Who sets the curriculum?
A: We give you a packet that helps you plan your own lesson plans for the children. The English education of the children in Egypt focuses on reading and writing, so we recommend that you gear your lessons to speech and conversation. You might be the first native English speaker to whom these children have spoken.

15. Q: What kinds of supplies will be available? What should I bring?
A: Coptic Orphans will provide the volunteers with enough notebooks, pens, and pencils for the children participating in Serve to Learn. The schools will have blackboards, but chalk and erasers may not be available. You should bring all the materials you plan to use for teaching, including chalk, educational games, construction paper, glue, and scissors. You should also bring small educational gifts such as colorful pencils, erasers, stickers, and so forth as encouragement for the children. Some basic materials are available in Egypt for purchase; however, if you wait to arrive to Egypt to make your purchases, please do so before the Serve to Learn orientation. A list of other necessities will be provided for you upon your acceptance into the program.

16. Q: What levels will there be in the class?
A: You should expect students in your classes at every level—from early beginner to some levels of English proficiency. Most of your students, however, will be at the beginner level. In some situations, you may have students who are illiterate in Arabic. Teaching them English will be a special challenge.

17. Q: Will I be teaching only Copts?
A: No. Many classes that you will teach include children from different religious backgrounds. Please be sure that all your activities and lessons are appropriate for a religiously diverse audience. We do not recommend lessons that use any religious examples or content, as this might be construed as evangelizing. Evangelizing is illegal in Egypt.

18. Q: Can I evangelize to non-Copts?
A: NO. Evangelizing is illegal in Egypt and has harsh repercussions. You can discuss Christianity with Christians only, but not with anyone else. Discussing Christianity with non-Christians can put you, and even more so, your hosts, at great risk. Your Christian witness in this program is to treat each child with love and respect.

19. Q: How can I best prepare for this program?
A: First and foremost, you should pray daily about this opportunity for serving God’s children.

Preparation materials and assignments that include information about the education system in Egypt and teaching English as a foreign language will be sent to you upon acceptance into the program. You will be expected to complete these assignments, and will receive constructive feedback on them.

You should also start shopping for colorful, tactile teaching materials to make learning an enjoyable experience for the children. You should also look for small gifts, such as stickers, as encouragement for the children.

20. Q: What do I do besides teach in the classroom?
A: During the afternoons and evenings, you will have the opportunity to visit the homes of the orphaned children. In addition, there will be other opportunities for service and visits to sites of interest in Egypt arranged for you by Coptic Orphans and its partners.

21. Q: What do I do in my free time?
A: You should use your free time to prepare for the next day’s lessons, write in your journal, and photograph your experiences. If you still have time after all this activity, you might want to bring a couple of books to read.

22. Q: Can I see my relatives in Egypt during my service?
A: Some volunteers have used their free time to visit their own families. However, this is not advised. In the past, Serve to Learn volunteers have had a more positive experience when they spend their entire three weeks at their sites, visiting children, and visiting other locations of interest in Egypt. In addition, the hosts spend much time preparing trips for the volunteers and would like to see the volunteers enjoying them. We therefore strongly advise that family time be spent before and after your three weeks of Serve to Learn, but not during them.

23. Q: Can I visit with my sponsored child during the service?
A: Volunteers who are sponsoring children through Coptic Orphans are more than welcome to visit with their children while they are in Egypt, but must do so BEFORE or AFTER the duration of their service. Please contact us to arrange for the visit PRIOR to your departure for Egypt. Sponsors who wait until they arrive in Egypt will most likely NOT be able to visit with their children.

24. Q: Why do you want me to submit my journal and copies of my photographs?
A: Keeping a journal of your experiences will help you to be reflective about this service. We ask that you submit a copy of your journal so we can learn how Serve to Learn has benefited you, and how to improve the program for future volunteers. You can cross out or delete personal sections you don’t want us to read. We also ask for the photographs so we can show future Serve to Learn volunteers what they can look forward to. We use some photographs and video in Coptic Orphans presentations and publications.

25. Q: Will there be any changes related to conflicts in the Middle East?
A: At present, we are going ahead with the program and do not foresee any major safety issues. However, volunteers will be notified if the situation changes.

26. Q: What kinds of precautions should we take?
A: Volunteers should take all safety precautions necessary. U.S. citizens may want to register their trip at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo – more information about this can be found at: http://cairo.usembassy.gov/consular/register.htm.

Canadian citizens should go to http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/cairo/consul2-en.asp#registration for this information at the Canadian Embassy in Egypt.

Australian citizens should go to https://www.orao.dfat.gov.au/orao/weborao.nsf/homepage?Openpage for this information at the Australian Embassy in Egypt.

We recommend that volunteers notify any relatives and friends in Egypt of their presence and location in the country, and keep their phone numbers on hand. All volunteers will be provided with the phone number of the school they will be teaching at, as well as the phone numbers of Coptic Orphans staff in Egypt.

Volunteers should bring all necessary medications with them, such as allergy medications and a prescription of antibiotics. They should check with their doctors and the Center for Disease Control’s web site for any necessary immunizations http://www.cdc.gov/travel/nafrica.htm. Volunteers should also bring mosquito and bug spray.

Finally and most importantly, volunteers should dress and behave in a culturally appropriate manner and thus not draw undue attention to themselves. They should follow the cues and instructions of their hosts in Egypt.