Hi everyone,

So I have finally snapped and decided to vent my frustration at the growing number of Gap and volunteer abroad agencies charging thousands of dollars for volunteer work.

I myself am a director of a small NGO and really need to find volunteer but it is literally impossible for me to advertise for volunteers and get the help we need because the market is flooded with these volunteer agencies.

So I’m here to bust the scam wide open and give you all an opportunity to find very low cost or free volunteer opportunities abroad, and hopefully find a few volunteers for my own projects in the process.

I know there has been some posts on here before related issues but hopefully I can offer you some alternatives.

THE PROBLEM:

Volunteer middle-man companies (They are sure as hell not NGO’s) profiting from Gap year travelers who are trying to do some good and have a meaningful experience. They are literally charging thousands of dollars for this, and where are the profits going? Into their own pockets with very little of the funds actually going to the grassroots projects themselves.

Essentially you are paying for the ‘Security factor’ . You have never been to say India before and you are nervous about going there, you want your safety to be guaranteed and someone to look after you so nothing goes wrong right? But seriously, should your have to pay $500 to be picked up at the airport? It does not have to be like this.

The other problem is that these company’s are all over Google so when you try and look for or advertise volunteer opportunities abroad, you are confronted by them all and struggle to find any affordable placement.

THE SOLUTION:

Stay away from these company’s and never pay big dollars to volunteer. Obviously this will be difficult for the the naive volunteer who knows not of affordable volunteer placements abroad, this will always keep them in business.

You can find that cheap placement if you look hard enough online. These kind of forums are a good way to find such opportunities. Dig deep and find the local NGO’s themselves and you can find great opportunities.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND CHEAP AND FREE OPPORTUNITIES

Workaway.info, HelpX.net, Idealist.org and volunteersouthamerica.net are the BEST places to find affordable volunteer opportunities online. Very low cost, some are even free. These sights should become known to all so these middle men gap year company’s can no longer exist, making it fair to both travelers and NGO’s.

So now a little plug for our own NGO on here. Our organisation is called ‘Wahoe Education’, we are and education and development organisation operating in the north of India. We have several projects across 4 Indian states which you can volunteer at. We run 2 schools in Delhi, women’s empowerment programs in Jaipur and Delhi, village empowerment programs in Himachal Pradesh and an education project in Nautanwa, on the border of Nepal and India. They are really great projects.

The price of volunteering with us is $7US per day in Delhi, including food and lodging. The price for volunteering in one of our projects outside of Delhi is $10US per day, including food and lodging in a home-stay style environment. There are no hidden fees or registration fees. For more information please visit our website http://www.wahoeeducation.org/ and download our comprehensive volunteer pack. You can also send us a direct email if you are interested at wahoe.education@gmail.com

To save more money (if you are a student travelling with a credit card) check out these great tips from Kanetix.ca.