There are many opportunities that are available for those who want to volunteer abroad. When you type volunteer abroad on Google you are get around 481,000 results and on yahoo it’s about 21,600,000. There are about 270 organizations or more which provide volunteer abroad programs. These organizations offer a variety of programs in different countries. The reason for this is because the volunteer service industry is new and is rapidly growing fast. In the last ten years there has been increase on the number of organizations that provide volunteer abroad services. Many of are made up of past volunteers and who want to make volunteering easier for the next volunteers. All these organizations are market themselves well, they have really good websites, pamphlets and recruitment drives. When you are looking for the right organization to use takes too much time and energy. You are normally overwhelmed with all the information that is out there, making your decision to be difficult. When choosing which volunteer service organizations that you are going to use consider the following:
Destination
After you make the decision on where you want to go you can narrow the search on which organization that you want to use. When you search on Google and type volunteer Kenya you get 200,000 results with much fewer organizations. There are many organizations that provide volunteer abroad services in different countries. There are problems all over the world and many places where you can volunteer. Deciding on where to go shouldn’t be difficult as you would already have had an ideal place to go and volunteer. After picking the place to go, start sorting through the list and finding out which organizations work in that area. Also when choosing on where to go the language they speak is important as you don’t want to be in a place where it is hard to communicate. Other things to look out for is whether you prefer a rural setting or an urban setting
Duration
How long you want to stay will influence which organization you will pick. There are different organizations that offer you the option of volunteering for one week and there are others that offer 2 to 3 years. Short volunteer programs are for those who are on their holidays which can be up to a month. While those who go for 6 months and more are the guys who are on a gap year. Very few organizations offer you both short term and long term volunteer abroad periods. The short term projects could be teaching, working in a hospital, and child care. Long term projects include construction and community development programs. Time of the year also matters as it means that some programs don’t operate in December like for example schools are closed. Time of the year also depends on the season of your volunteer holiday. You could travel to another part of the world and find its winter.
Cost
Choosing the right organization depends on your budget. There are some organizations that charge thousands of dollars for a month long volunteer program while there are others that charge a few hundred for the same period. They charge differently depending on the motivation of the organizations. In that some are not for profit while others are for profit organizations. The charges differ depending on the services they are going to be offering you. Some organizations include travel insurance with their package as well as flight fees and other expenses. When choosing the organization, ask which services they will be offering e.g. room board, health insurance, emergency evacuation, in country support and transport to and from location. Ask how the fees are being spent and does any of it go to the program projects or the community. There are some organizations that help in fundraising and some offer scholarships for the high costs. There are some organizations that offer paid volunteer work, whereby they help ease the cost of volunteering abroad by giving a stipend and out pocket expenses. Lastly find out if there are any financial penalties if you cancel your trip or whether you want to leave early from your program placement.
Program
This is the volunteer abroad program that you will engage in while you are in the host country. Choosing the right program that matches your skills and interest will determine which organization you will work with. When you decide what you are going to do will help you to find out which organizations are providing the services that you want. If you have professional experience as a teacher and you want to teach look for organizations that offer volunteer teaching programs. Also if you want to improve on your skills by doing something in which you have no experience in, choose an organization that will help you do that.
Support
Look for an organization that has 24/7 support in the host country. Ask if they have representatives both locally and internationally. Just in case something happens you will have somebody who will be there to help you with your problems. Look for organizations which have a representative in the host countries. In that when you have a problem you don’t have to call home because they won’t be able to help you as well as somebody who is there for you locally. Support also comes in the training they give you on the culture and language, pre departure information and orientation.
Thanks Zablon for this great article. I run a small volunteer organisation, Links for Change, linking volunteers with charities around the world. From my own experience, I completely agree with your breakdown of how to choose a volunteer position and what to look out for. It can be a daunting process with so many choices and it is important to make sure you undertake all possible checks and considerations before taking up a voluntary position.
I would like to add a few points that I have learnt through my own volunteering experience and my current work. At Links for Change, we are often approached by people who have been looking for volunteer opportunities but have been overwhelmed by the potential cost involved. Many organisations offer volunteering placements at a high cost and it is important to ask where the money is going. If the money all goes directly into the pockets of the CEO, then this is something best avoided. However, there is a fine balance as, if a large amount of money goes directly to an organisation, this can create a dependency on international aid which is not sustainable. In my opinion, volunteers should be seen as a source of knowledge and skills to help build the capacity of the communities they work with. If the volunteer’s funds are being used to support the organisation, this can lead to a dangerous reliance on volunteers for all the wrong reasons (money). Whenever a volunteer is asked to pay money, they should really ask for a detailed breakdown of what their money will be used for and really consider this when choosing either an organisation directly or a company that helps arrange a placement for you.
It is also important to think about the quality of the work that you undertake. As I explained above, I feel that volunteering should be about building capacity, not just lending an extra pair of hands. Work should be carried out by members of the local community where skills and experience allow. Although this doesn’t always happen, the increasing willingness of volunteers to do such work instead can lead to a real expectation of a continuation of such support. If there are skills in the community for the role, they should be used and encouraged. If there are not, this is where a volunteer should come in. Everyone has skills that they can use to help others but the important thing is identifying and using this to ensure that you are able to make the most of your time volunteering and give back the most to the community without creating a legacy of dependence.
Links for Change charges a fixed-fee for all our placements regardless of duration or location and the fee is used to cover administrative costs and to provide free volunteer linking and advice services to our partner organisations. We are happy to help find volunteers the right placement for their needs, whatever their requirements. For more information visit http://www.links4change.com or email us: info@links4change.com
@ Victoria
I agree with everything you say, there is more in choosing your volunteer abroad organization. i was hoping people would add more points in choosing an organization to use
thanks
What a great resource!
I have hear about links4change days ago and I appreciate how the site undertakes action to extend its hands. Volunteering is not just putting oneself just to add another number but it is about capacitating oneself to get better in the efforts of sharing the goodwill inside. As I understand it, it is not about building wall outside our own body structure to prevent goodness to overflow but about letting what is good to come out in the open.