We start each week with learning and development. Every Monday, we will have a workshop from a local Indonesian professional, who has experience or supporting mental health and wellbeing in Indonesia. 

Exchanging skills and ideas with local professionals and learning more about cross cultural mental health management is central to our programme.

You will also use your time on Monday for activity support session planning. Here you will plan the delivery of your sessions for the upcoming week. Our team will support you with this, building on key feedback from project staff and service users to ensure tailored support. We encourage you to  use your experience, online resources and materials to ensure an academic base to your activity planning.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are our Activity Support project days. You will visit 6 projects each week, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

As part of a small group, you will facilitate group psycho-social activities at our partner projects, including community centres, day centres, schools and institutions. You will work in a variety of projects, supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children, adults and the elderly.

A minimum of 50% of your activity support sessions (Tuesday-Thursday) will be working with children and youth (under 18s). With the exception of the school holiday period in Bali (mid June-mid July) where you may work on more projects supporting adults and the elderly.

We work closely with each project and receive regular feedback, to ensure your activities are aligned with the outcomes and needs of each project.  You will design your activity support sessions with your teammates, however, to maintain consistency for the projects, we ask you to follow a similar structure for delivery of the activities

Our community wellbeing activities take place on Fridays. Here you will work alongside the local members of your homestay community to exchange ideas and work on local community projects and initiatives, which aim to promote wellbeing in the community, and inspire you to take action in your own home communities.

We focus on activities and discussions in three key areas of community wellbeing:  environmental, social and cultural. You could be working with the village youth, adults or elderly in the Banjar (community) hall, assisting with village clean-ups, leading a group physical activity, or discussing what challenges are facing our community today and how we can take action on them.

Think Pacific collaborates with numerous universities around the globe to promote student mobility and enhance employability opportunities. There are various scholarships and grants for students through partnerships with individual university departments and governments. Students are encouraged to explore the possibility of scholarships and bursaries for our projects.

To discover if funding is available at your university or in your region, please reach out to us at info@thinkpacific.com for personalised assistance and information.

Can I gain credit for this project as my placement?

We partner with over 50 universities who see the value of our work and some have even count our placement as part of their students’ course requirements.  This often means our programmes are used as credit towards your degree or as part of a formal placement (as required to complete your home degree programme).

Please speak to us and contact info@thinkpacific.com if you would like to use your programme as a formal placement or for university credit and we will be happy to discuss with your institution or confirm existing university partnerships we have in place.

Recruiting students who are experienced in the mental health sector helps us to make the best impact in the communities where we work and adds tremendously to the global learning when you are undertaking formal reflections and course work related to the placement.

What’s Included?

• Airport welcome by Think Pacific team leaders
• All accommodation including 2- day jungle briefing and cultural orientation, 2-day team building camp in a beautiful rural setting, homestay accommodation in traditional Balinese village and 2 days debrief at a hotel. (However, you can choose to travel with your teammates at the weekend to experience other areas of Bali)
• Welcome ceremony and feast on your into the arrival.
• Guest speakers and workshops from Think Pacific’s influential local partner network.
• All in-country travel, except for optional weekends travel. Breakfast and dinner from Monday – Friday across your 4-week project, lunches not provided.
• Guided activities, such as local hikes, excursions to sites of interest or attending local festivals or community events.
• Think Pacific leaders living alongside the group 24/7.
• In-country manager, Balinese-based Project Managers and UK team providing planning, risk assessment and 24-hour backup support.
• Outstanding pastoral support and daily health and wellness check ins.
• Air-conditioned private transfers to your placements each day.
• Comprehensive online portal & personal volunteer project planning resources.

What’s Not Included?

The following costs are not inclusive of the programme fee. However, Think Pacific provides comprehensive and personalised support to assist:

• Flights – Budget approximately £800 – £1,000
• Insurance – Budget approximately £100. Think Pacific can advise and provide details for recommended policy 
• Visa – £210 – Think Pacific manages the process and advises students on their visa.
• Equipment – Budget approximately £100. Comprehensive kit list and pre-departure advice provided, including specific items of clothing, footwear and first aid resources
• Vaccinations – Budget approximately £50 (However, vaccines are free from the NHS for most students). Vaccinations include Typhoid and Hepatitis A.
• Spending Money – Budget approximately £400. For small items of personal nature and lunch and drinks during the final resort phase.

Apply for university funding to cover flights, insurance and visa.

Accommodation

During this internship, you have the unique opportunity to live in an authentic Balinese village. Often three or more generations live in one family complex, which means students will be surrounded by children, grandmas and grandpas in addition to their parents. You’ll share beautiful, but quite basic accommodation with your host family and fellow teammates.

Food

Breakfast and dinner is also provided at any Think Pacific resorts, camps or hotels. Breakfast and dinner is also included each day in the village and you’ll eat with your Balinese family. You may often find many people when you eat – in Bali, the whole family lives as one. Food is very carbohydrate-heavy, so expect lots of rice and vegetables, as this makes up the bulk of a typical diet.

You’ll have the freedom to purchase your own lunches and meals at weekends – to give you the freedom to try the wonderful array of restaurants, street food and markets available. A lunch in Bali will cost no more than £5.

At Think Pacific, we understand that preparation is key to a successful and enriching internship experience. That’s why we provide comprehensive pre-departure support to ensure you feel confident and informed before setting off on your journey. Our pre-departure support includes detailed briefings, access to informative resources, and personalized guidance from our experienced team. We walk you through everything from cultural insights and project expectations to packing lists and travel logistics. This support helps you build excitement, answer your questions, and set you up for a seamless transition as you embark on your Think Pacific adventure.

1. Access to the Pre-departure Portal: This portal provides the step-by-step process to prepare for Bali, including fundraising information, flight information, kit list, visa, cultural preparation. Student can watch videos with our team and download document.
2. Contact our team: You can contact our team anytime between office hours, either give us a  call on 0113 335 9919 or email; info@thinkpacific.com
3. Online community/network: You can communicate with fellow volunteers, alumni and our team through our online community, hosted on the Might Network app. Within 3 months of you departing to Bali, you shall be entered into a private group with your volunteer team.
4. Live Pre Departure webinars: Our team host live sessions in the months leading up to your project. These are a great way for you to ask questions and delve deeper into planning for your project. They also add to the excitement!

What are the Project Aims & Objectives?

• We develop sustainable programs, through collaborating with local organisations and government services. We focus on building capacity and skill sharing to ensure the longevity of mental health support services
• We aim to support students/participants development and learning of mental health and wellbeing within a global context
• We aim to promote mental health awareness and empower local people to actively participate in mental health discussions and support initiatives
• We aim to support local community led and government mental health initiatives in Bali by providing tailored and complementary activities to bolster current resources
• We aim to provide students/participants with hands on experience of delivering psycho-social group activities in various mental health and community services
• We aim to provide culturally competent support, by supporting students to be culturally sensitive and respectful of Balinese traditions and beliefs regarding mental health
• We aim to promote holistic wellbeing, addressing not only mental health but also physical, social, and environmental factors (healthy lifestyle choices and social connections)

Project Design & Sustainability

All projects have been chosen by our team based on the need for international students to complement existing local initiatives. We work with organisations in an effort to bolster the pre-existing resources and provide further support.   This ensures programmes do not create a reliance or interrupt long term staffing structures.

Our process for partnership with local organisations is as follows:

1. Requested
2. Consultation
3. Planning
4. Logistics
5. Resources and Materials
6. Delivery
7. Review and Feedback
8. Sustainability Measures
9. Long Term Review

Think Pacific seeks advice from community members, government contacts and Mental Health specialists within Indonesia to ensure that, as an organisation, we plan with the local community needs and considerations at the heart of any projects.

We work to not negatively affect the employment structure and also availability of placements for local students by ensuring that local volunteers are always prioritised by organisations. 

The utmost respect is given to local customs & traditions. We wish to inspire with our actions but resist imposing our ideals on others. Students are reminded to treat everyone they meet with the utmost humility and respect.

From an ethical standpoint, it is important that we provide sustainable resources, and support, to our projects in Bali. Whilst students support programmes for a short amount of time, it’s important to note

1. The aim of the support is always intended from the outset to be supplementary and not replace local responsibilities.  In this way all parties benefit and the local projects can plan strategically to utilise the additional support.
2. The programme is long term and in partnership with universities around the globe, which enhances this planning and ensures Think Pacific can guarantee student participants at set times and structure placements many months in advance  
3. Project feedback is one of the core ways we are able to provide continuity in the sessions provided at all projects. Students record their progress on shared documents allowing them to communicate to present and future students the efficacy of their sessions and pass on important information. This feedback ensures that the service users receive continuity of support and a variety of activities despite the change in personnel.
4. We ensure all activity support sessions follow the same structure to provide consistency to the service users and projects.

We rely on consistent feedback from our projects and partners to measure the impact of our work and we release reports to explain the progress of our programs. Think Pacific has grown exponentially due to demand for our initiatives since our first project in 2009 and we continue to supplement local services in the Asia Pacific in collaborative with the needs, wishes and requirements of local stakeholders.

Prior Experience Requirements

Due to the project work involved with our Mental Health Placement, we do ask for a level of experience to join this placement. 

We require all participants to have completed at at least 3 months work experience or volunteering experience in a relevant setting. You may have gained this in the form of part time work or volunteering, or a combination of different relevant experiences that make up the hours.

Example settings could be:

• University Support Service
• Mental Health Hospital
• Medical Clinic/outpatient service
• Befriender/Peer Support role for a mental health charity
• Respite Centre for adults with disabilities
• Phone Line metal health support service (Eg. Nightline)
• School or preschool
• Care home for the elderly
• General Physical Health Hospital
• Support service for homeless people
• Refugee support service
• LGBTQ+ support service
• Personal experience – Eg. Carer for family member with a disability

2. An Interest in Mental Health

We want to ensure all participants have a real interest in the area of mental health and wellbeing. Questions to ask yourself ahead of applying:

• Why do I want to join this placement?
• What do I hope to gain from this placement?
• Do I want to learn more about mental health in a global context?
• Do I have a desire to experience a new culture?
• What do I hope to gain by seeing different approaches in mental health?

Why Do We Ask For Experience To Join This Project?

It is important that we emphasis WHY we ask for 3 months experience to join this project, and what you can do, should you not have this yet. 

We advise this requirement for two reasons:

1. We have an ethical responsibility to safeguard the service users at these projects and this is in our agreement with each individual project partner who request collaboration. 
2. We want to ensure you have the right skills and knowledge base to take on this challenge and feel comfortable when you are delivering activities.

If you do not have the required experience as yet, but you are eager to gain this ahead of the placement, then this can also be acceptable.  Please apply and reach out to our team who can discuss this with you and provide some advice.