BootsnAll Travel Community

who did you volunteer with? where? how long? what did you do? how much did it cost (if it cost anything)? what are your personal pro's and con's of working with that organization, in that place?

i'll be finishing my very last class in march, but i have to be back in town bby june to attend my graduation ceremony. what better way to kill time than to volunteer abroad?

i wanted to stress that i'm looking for first-hand personal experiences. i don't feel comfortable googling random organizations and joining them just off of looking at their websites. thanks!

xoom-
I volunteered last year through Volunteers For Peace (vfp.org), which is basically an umbrella organization that coordinates international volunteer organizations into one database. But they do a great job, and the workcamps that they arrange are a good value. They have a searchable database for opportunites in a wide variety of fields in countries all over the world.

They coordinated my one month workcamp in Sweden through the local Service Civil International there, another good organization.

These are pretty specific for India or SEA: I volunteered for just over a week with Vet Charity (vetcharity.org?). It's an Australian organization that does different projects with animals. The project I helped with was one of the first I think. It was in Dharamsala, India, and the vets just put signs up all over town to recruit traveler volunteers. Some people caught stray dogs (the dogs were actually friendsly) that the vets would later sterilize, some registered animals/wrote weight, etc., some stayed with the dogs when they woke up. I did this last one (plus sterilized instruments, which is not a job everyone would enjoy, but I was okay with it and happy to be useful), and had no major problems with dogs biting. The vets were really great too.

I didn't pay, but they didn't do any arranging for me of course, I just happened to find them there at the same time I was there. The website was really nice the last time I looked, and you might be able to arrange something in advance. I think there is an ongoing clinic in Sikkim, but I didn't go there.

Compared to other organizations I've volunteered with, Vet Charity was awesome. Well organized and they had practical things for volunteers to do to be useful. And their work is so important.

thanks, scoots and katelr! i'll look into those later today.

anyone else care to post their story?

Hi Xoom,

I'm in my second week with Child's Dream and am very please with the team and their efforts. Check out the web site for details on what they do, who benefits, and to sign up for the sporadic newsletter. (I'll be in Tuesday's edition! )

It was really important to me that the charity I worked with focused on the goal and was efficient. Some NGOs spend 50%+ of their cash on 'administrative' costs--like salaries, office space, etc. CD is at about 10%. Other charities I've come across seem more like financial or ego support mechanisms for the founders/managers. Note: Child's Dream a) does not pay a salary or airfare, and b) does not ask you to pay to 'join'.

The team in very international, highly motivated, educated and experienced, and a just generally a good group of people. My initial commitment was for only 6-8 weeks but it is working out so well that I expect to extend significantly.

The work I'm here at the head office doing is all very technical: web site maintenance, computer maintenance, etc...anything computer related. But I am the exception...most volunteers are in the field working with the target populations.

If you want to know more (from me) then drop me a PM. If you want to know more about Child's Dream's mission, how to volunteer, etc. then check out the web site's How You Can Help >> Volunteer page.

Stu

thanks stu! PM sent.

Check out my last post (in this forum) about volunteering in New Zealand as a hut warden for the Department of Conservation.

I did Habitat for Humanity here in Canada but I know they have international projects. It was a rather pleasant experience and they teach you how to do everything from putting up walls, painting, nailing baseboards. It was a lot of fun and it was good to know that these homes were going to families in need. Not only that but we got to work hand in hand with some of the people who were actually going to join the community where the homes were being built. Great experience. I didn't have to pay to volunteer for Habitat because I did it through my work but I know they do charge a volunteer fee for housing/meals if you are doing it abroad.

I volunteered with Willing Workers on Organic Farms in Italy. It was a good chance to meet locals and see a little bit of small town Italian life was like. I recommend it if you have an interest in organic farming.

I know you said you wanted personal first-hand experience and although I haven't left for my placement yet (not till Jan 07!) I've found the organisation I'm volunteering through, SPW to be great! I've been in contact with them since November and I finally got my application in a few weeks ago. They run longer placements (6-9 months) but the work they do is fantastic and they can put you in contact with returned volunteers so you can get some personal experiences.

Anyway hope you find something

I volunteered with this company called Projects Abroad in Nepal and Mexico both for 2 months i did teaching in Nepal and Conservation in Mexico. After my Nepalese experience i was very happy with the company and apply again but this time for Mexico, everything worked out really well, from the pre-departure stage to the end of my placements. Paying for having backup while you're abroad is definitely worth it.

Good luck

Peace Corps - wonderful experience. Ispent two years in Honduras as a PCV.

We are about to take off (in June) and will be volunteering with Reach the World - we'll be connected with classrooms in New York City as we ride our bikes from Alaska to Argentina.

Second that Peace Corps notion - I did two years in Botswana - 1989-1991.

A good list of reputable organizations that do short-term volunteer projects is at TEFLtemp.com.