The History of Our Program

Before 2019 program details are released and applications go live, we’d like to take a moment to share the history of our program. Next year’s Connexpedition participants will be our eighth and largest class of volunteers.

2011 - 2012: NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Connexpedition began in the fall of 2011. The goal was to provide Bay Area high school students more international service opportunities hosted by a local community organization. While there are many other volunteer programs like Connexpedition, very few of them allow high school students to participate at the roles we present: teachers in a classroom. Our trips are successful because of the amount of training our volunteers undergo and their personal willingness to serve our world.

The 2012 program consisted of one trip in August with two service teams. Team A spent time with the children of Taoyuan SOS Children's Orphanage while Team B embarked on a trip to central Taiwan to teach English at Vox Nativa Music School.

2012 - 2013: WORKING TOGETHER

The summer of 2013 was a very special year for our Vox Nativa volunteers. In early July, a group of thirty children from Vox Nativa Music School traveled to the Bay Area as a part of their inaugural US concert series. As some of our volunteers served as host families for the children, the Vox Nativa community welcomed us to Taiwan with a delicious aboriginal feast paired with a night of celebration, dance, and song. A total of fifteen volunteers taught for two weeks at the school using the unique lesson plans and projects they developed during their training.

2013 - 2014: CONSISTENCY

Once again, Vox Nativa invited WCEO's volunteers to return for another summer. Building upon the curricula created for the past two years, our volunteers ensured the students at Vox Nativa had another fun and English-filled summer. Similar to previous years, the school's administration planned a weekend trip around Luona Village, allowing our volunteers to experience first-hand the Bunun tribe’s lifestyle. From farms in the valley to vistas in the mountains, the scenery was incredible and unlike anything familiar to the participants.

2015 - 2018: BIGGER AND BETTER

Following three successful years of international service trips, Wisdom Culture and Education Organization received a special request from the New Taipei City Department of Education. During the summer of 2015, in addition to hosting the Vox Nativa program, WCEO would send six other volunteer teams to various middle schools in New Taipei City (NTPC).

The volunteers in the NTPC program, also known as the Easy Leap English Program, host a summer English enrichment camp for underperforming students and continue mentorship and tutoring throughout the following school year using an online platform.

Each summer our volunteers teach over four-hundred elementary and middle school students from thirty different schools in New Taipei City. With 65 US members aided by 35 high school volunteers from Taiwan, the NTPC program is our largest yet.