Atoll Volunteers

We actively support our community and run a range of programmes and individual projects at any time, so we are always looking for new volunteers to help us in our work. It is our vision to build a stronger community, not just on our island of Naifaru, but on all the islands across Lhaviyani Atoll and in the future all of the 1192 islands that make up the Maldives. We strive to make a difference in a number of areas through community inclusion built on awareness programmes, hiring locally, close cooperation with local schools and community organisations as well as an interest in bringing international volunteers in to teach different views and methods that can help create a more sustainable community. History Atoll Volunteers started recruiting volunteers in 2012 after more than 4 years of experience running volunteer programmes on Lhaviyani Atoll on behalf of other international volunteer organisations in the Maldives through our NGO. We chose to launch our own volunteer programme since the various international partnerships that we were previously involved in all had extremely high administration costs, which meant that only a small fraction of the volunteers' placement fees would actually reach our organisation and the island community - in some cases the community found themselves needing to subsidise the volunteers' stay as the funding that was received was simply not enough to cover basic accommodation and food costs. Therefore, we decided to make a change for the better. One of the most frequently asked questions by potential volunteers is "Where does my money go? and we wanted to ensure that it really was reaching the community it was intended for. At Atoll Volunteers we keep our running costs to a minimum, with no international offices or paid international staff, we keep our advertising and administration costs as low as possible and have a transparency policy which means that as our volunteer you will be able to monitor what your funds cover - any funds remaining from your programme fee go directly into local community projects. Not only are our fees lower and more transparent than most other Maldivian NGOs, but we were also the first NGO in the Maldives registered to bring in foreign volunteers. This means that you can be sure that we know what we are doing and that our visa application process is smooth and quick. However, as all our full time employees are local Maldivians, please do excuse us if our English, which is our second language, is not always perfect! So come and join us for the chance to experience the ultimate in island volunteering but do it knowing that you will help make a real difference in our community! Naifaru balan aadhey! See you at Naifaru! Our Location The Maldives lies in two rows of atolls in the Indian Ocean, just across the equator. The country is made up of 1,190 coral islands formed around 26 natural ring-like atolls, spread over 90,000 square kilometers.