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INTRODUCTION                                                                                             

The newly democratically elected Government of the Maldives has launched the Maldives Volunteers Corps (MVC) within the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth & Sports, to increase the participation of youth volunteers in various national and regional level social and economic programs. Its international branch, the International Volunteers Programme (IVP), places international volunteers in positions within the health and education sectors in the country.

The Maldives has a serious shortage of trained/skilled personnel.  The lack of human resources is most evident in the health and education sectors. With the country’s economy affected by the global recession, the Maldives needs to be cautious in its spending on public services and the IVP supports this by recruiting volunteers to fill the shortages without consuming large amounts of the country’s saved revenues.

The IVP was established in partnership with Friends of Maldives (FOM) and is run with the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth & Sports, the Ministry of Health and Family, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Maldives.

Currently the IVP is coordinated from the United Kingdom at the Maldivian High Commission in London.  The programme recruits teachers and health professionals within the UK who are then dispatched throughout the Maldives islands. The education volunteers teach in local schools and are often placed in small island communities. As well as teaching volunteers also have the opportunity to take part in a range of extra curricular activities and may also be expected to provide teacher training services for local teachers in accordance with their teaching experience. Similarly, doctors, nurses and other health professionals who are recruited provide a health care service but are also often required to train local health professionals.

The programme is in the early stages and depending on its success it is hoped that it will be able to expand to include other sectors beyond that of health and education and that volunteers will be recruited from other European countries.

All interviews and preparation prior to your stay in the Maldives will take place at this address:

High Commission of Maldives
22 Nottingham Place
London W1U 5NJ
United Kingdom
Tel. no: 020 7224 2135
Fax no.:  020 7224 2157
Email: ivp@maldiveshighcommission.org

Friends of Maldives (FOM)

In December 2003, Friends of Maldives (FOM) was established in the UK, focusing on bringing human rights abuses and poor governance in the Maldives to the attention of the international community. In addition FOM provided assistance to the pro-democracy movement and helped strengthen the Maldives civil society and independent media.

Since the first free and fair presidential elections in the Maldives in October 2008, FOM continues its work focusing on social issues and other development programs like the International Volunteer Programme (IVP). FOM remains a safeguard for the people of Maldives and continues to be vigilant on human rights issues.   http://www.friendsofmaldives.org/

For information and pictures from previous volunteers, please log onto Facebook International Volunteer Programme Group.