Without treatment, simple eye or ear problems can needlessly reduce a family to poverty. If the main income-earner loses sight or hearing, the family can become destitute or reliant on the children to provide financial support. Similarly, eye and ear problems affect a rural woman's ability to care for her children, and restrict a child's access to education.

Since 1995, BRIF has been organizing Eye Treatment Camps to provide free medical and surgical treatment to poor rural people suffering from eye disease. We have now expanded to offer Hearing Camps to help identify and treat ear problems. All services, including surgery, medicine, food and board are provided to the patients free of charge. Local doctors volunteer their time and services to perform the surgery.

You don't need to have any previous experience - we just need volunteers who can help set up a clinic at the local community centre and support patients before their operation. You will assist doctors during surgery and provide all post-operative care for the patients, including the preparation of food. You do not need a medical background (though we welcome those who do!): your time and support are the most important factors.

Accommodation will be at the eye and ear camp

Until recently, there were no educational facilities for children in the Khansama area, and this lack of education has been a key factor contributing to the poverty of rural Bangladesh. BRIF has helped by building schools, but limited resources mean that they need renovation and redecoration. Not only will this make them a more stimulating environment in which the kids can learn, it will also create a more cheerful and welcoming space for young children whose lives are largely otherwise spent helping the work of their parents.

We have selected two schools to blitz this year with volunteer teams. Activities will include cleaning up the school, painting it, helping to make teaching aids and improving the playground, but we welcome any imaginative ideas to improve the facilities. We are looking for dynamic and innovative volunteers who can make the best of the materials available and help turn the school into a bright, welcoming environment. And whenever you need a hand, you will find that the kids will love to help!

Accommodation will be at the BRIF campus.

We are looking for an energetic team of volunteers - who don't mind getting their hands dirty! - to help with this essential work. No experience is required, as much of the work will involve organising the animals and helping to maintain their welfare. However, any vet students would be more than welcome to get involved in the actual immunisations as an opportunity to gain some unique work experience. The vaccination sites are at various rural locations, so this programme is a great way to see the local area.

Accommodation will be at the BRIF campus.

Central to BRIF's work is the provision of training to help local people find employment and earn an income. Women can particularly benefit from this training, as a great deal of gender discrimination still exists in rural areas. With training and credentials, women are equipped with the skills and confidence to secure a job and gain economic stability, which is crucial to eradicating poverty in Bangladesh. Particularly vulnerable to discrimination are young mothers, who are rarely able to attend the training courses in order to gain the skills for work. BRIF wants ensure that mothers are able to access essential training by building an on-site crèche for their children. In addition, it will act as a children's centre for local children, to get them off the streets and to give them a place to relax and play when they are not working.

We are looking for an enthusiastic team of volunteers who can build the crèche and make it a cheerful and welcoming environment for the children. Activities will include minor construction work, painting, decorating and equipping it with facilities.

Accommodation will be at the BRIF campus.

This work will make a huge impact on the local area, and is ideal if you enjoy the outdoors and want an authentic taste of rural life in Bangladesh. However, please note that the work can be physically demanding, especially in the hot, humid and sometimes rainy climate. The activities will involve digging, cutting bamboo, and planting - though the locals will join in to help, and there will be plenty of opportunities to relax and enjoy your surroundings.

Accommodation will be at the BRIF campus.

In under-privileged rural Bangladesh, it is normal for families to have 4 or 5 children, who start helping with their parents' work as soon as they are able. Although BRIF has enabled local kids to attend school for a few hours a day, the children spend most of their time outside school working in household or agricultural chores, with almost no toys, sports or recreational areas to help them relax and develop. So once a year, we invite some of the region's poorest kids to a free playscheme, teaching them new games and skills, but most importantly helping to make them aware of their potential.

We are looking for an enthusiastic team of volunteers who will spend one week designing the playscheme programme and the second week running it with the kids. With the co-ordinator's help, the team will decide what to include and how to implement it, so will need plenty of initiative and creative ideas. Any paints, toys, and ideas that you could bring would be very welcome, but the main requirement is a love of kids and a desire to help some of the world's poorest children.

Accommodation will be at the BRIF campus.

In response to the high number of orphaned, abandoned and neglected kids in the local area, BRIF has purchased a property in a nearby town to offer them a home and safety. Many of the children who will live there come from exceptionally underprivileged backgrounds, and our mission is to provide them with the security, care and education to develop the skills they need for a better future. Key to this is providing a welcoming and cheerful environment, so we are looking for two teams of volunteers who can turn the building we have bought into an orphanage where kids will thrive.

The volunteers need to be dynamic, creative, and great team players to help us make the most of limited resources. Activities will include making the rooms bright and cosy, creating play equipment, and setting up facilities to aid the children's educational, emotional and social development. Anyone who loves kids will be more than welcome to spend time with the children too, and they will be happy to help if you need it!

Accommodation will be in the orphanage in the town of Saidpur.