If you want to do something rewarding, inspiring, and totally character building with your gap year or career break, why not try volunteering abroad. From teaching English to Buddhist monks in Nepal, to caring for the animals in a monkey sanctuary in Indonesia, volunteering abroad need not be a completely altruistic act. In addition to the obvious good you can do the people, animals or institutions to which you volunteer your time, you too can reap the benefits. You’ll have the opportunity to learn new skills, make an invaluable addition to your CV, and have a base from which to do some serious travelling of some of the world’s most intriguing regions.
To find volunteering placements abroad there are a number of ways to go about it:
1) Through an Agency
Increasingly common in the volunteering process is the involvement of agencies like I to I, Teaching Projects Abroad, or Global Crossroads. These agencies will find your placement for you, attempt to match it to your own preferences and needs, and provide you with overseas support and in some cases training. These agencies are not charities, and do indeed charge for their assistance, usually several thousands pounds. To some it comes as a surprise that a) they need to pay to volunteer at all, and b) this money doesn’t go to the people or communities in question but instead to the profits of the agency itself. Bare in mind you are not paying for your placement but for the support you receive in the process. Travelling overseas can be a bold step for many, and the peace of mind that you have people to contact if things go wrong can be worth every penny.
2) Directly contacting an organisation
In a world in which just about anyone can get themselves a web page, website, or Myspace account, it’s not difficult to get in touch with institutions in developing countries directly to arrange your placement by yourself. This means you can cherry pick where you want to work, how long you work for, and won’t necessarily find yourself sharing a house, or hotel with half a dozen gap year students. Moreover perhaps, you’ll save yourself a chunk of money that you’d otherwise have to pay an agency for doing the work for you. This method can be problematic in that the staff of remote Asian schools may not necessarily have a decent command of English and important details about your impending visit can be lost in translation. If you arrive at your place of work in China, Botswana or Peru and find that it's not what you expected, or that the accommodation isn’t up to scratch, or that you don’t feel safe in the village, you’ll be somewhat stuck.
3) Just Turn Up
If time isn’t a constraint, and you’re not nervous about travelling independently then why not just head out to your region of choice and knock on a few doors? It’s not hard to find voluntary work, after all who’s going to turn down an employee that wants to work for free? In this way you can suss out a few organisations, choose your own accommodation, and find a placement that best suits you having seen it first. You may also find this an altogether more rewarding experience, working with people that haven’t already become accustomed to a steady stream of gap year volunteers as with the agency placements.
It’s probably not wise to just turn up anywhere too remote, but in places such as Kathmandu, where there’s already an abundance of volunteers, you’ll see the notice boards of café’s and hostels are full of adds from various institutions seeking those willing to help.
For more work abroad ideas click here ,or find out how you can be paid to travel as a PADI diving instructor, Tefl teacher, or adventure tour leader.
