Backpacker’s Guide To Volunteering Abroad – Volunteering has become very popular in recent years with many people actively looking for opportunities while abroad. Some dream of taking care of elephants in the mountains of Thailand, while others love the idea of having a positive influence in a child’s life, teaching English or helping in an orphanage. It may seem like you’re doing something good, but more often than not, your presence can be more harmful to the cause you want to support than beneficial. So before you jump in with both feet, here are 5 important questions to ask:
It may seem like you’re doing something good, but more often than not, your presence could be detrimental to the cause you want to support.
Backpacker’s Guide To Volunteering Abroad
Many volunteer organizations attract volunteers with package programs that take you to exotic locations. A girl I was working with spent her gap year on a 6 month volunteer trip to Asia and Africa. But during the whole trip, she only donated a few days in an orphanage and an animal sanctuary. Although this is a great example, it shows how many programs revolve around the volunteers rather than the other way around. The journey gives a sense of achievement instead of helping those in need.
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Although not all volunteer programs of non-profit organizations are like that, non-governmental and non-profit organizations are structured to prioritize and help the cause they support. Find out all you can about the company behind a volunteer program you are considering. What are their organizational ethos or values? Check if they have published any quantitative statistics on how they have helped the community or the environment. Do some digging around to see if a
Many volunteer programs cost thousands of dollars on top of your flights, so it’s important to know where the money you spend goes. This question is often more clearly and easily answered with non-governmental and non-profit organizations. The cost usually includes a donation to the program, money to cover your training (if any), accommodation and administrative costs. I once volunteered at a Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Greece for a month with my stay in a covered shared dorm. It cost me a total of 500 euros, which included a donation to this local non-profit. In comparison, a large company was charging double for a tent including training. I decided that I want my money to go to a local organization, even if it means I do less research. Transparency is key and if the company can’t tell you how your money is being spent, it’s better to choose another one. ARE YOU QUALIFIED TO VOLUNTEER?
Most volunteering opportunities only require you to have enthusiasm, dedication and patience – and this is not enough to qualify you. It may be hard to hear, but just because you’re willing to donate your time and effort doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the right person for the job. Yes, it seems exciting to teach English to small children and shape young minds. But being a native English speaker does not mean you are qualified to teach. A TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) certificate is usually a minimum requirement. In addition, your work could be distracting from a local job, someone who is trained to teach but is sidelined because a native speaker wants to volunteer.
Moreover, some countries do not allow volunteers without a proper work permit because it is considered a job. Contact your embassy or check when you apply for your visa (if you need one) to see if you can volunteer in the country. Your volunteer organization should get you a visa, but it might not. It is a red flag because if you are caught, however rare they may claim, you may be banned from visiting the country.
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Most people often don’t realize that the time it takes to train volunteers is greater than the potential benefit. On average, people volunteer for 3 days a week but it still takes maybe 2-3 days to train them. This is especially true for teaching, where having a new teacher every few days or weeks is detrimental. It interferes with learning and the children will make attachments only to be painfully ripped away. It is incomprehensible and unfair to the child. That’s why most projects have a minimum stay requirement of around 2 weeks and the best time to volunteer for is 1-2 months.
So volunteering isn’t a good fit for your trip or you don’t have the time to properly commit, so what? There are many immersion programs as well as tours that you can take that would give you the same experience. Most people try to teach or visit an orphanage because they want to get to know and see the local community. So why not stay at home and create a local connection with your host family?
If you are really sold on teaching, search for language cafes or exchanges and talk to adults or teenagers who want to practice and improve. Instead of volunteering with animals, visit an ethical sanctuary and learn more about the animal’s daily life. Or go on a wild safari to see them in their habitat. More often than not, putting your money towards the local economy or donating it is worth more than volunteering. Are you a volunteer abroad? I’ve been volunteering around the world for the past 12 years (7 of those, non-stop), and here are my top volunteer travel tips for those new to this style of travel.
Dear Trisha, I hope you are in good health in this message in these crazy times. I’m writing out of curiosity, I’m new to the site, and considering all the global lockdowns, I noticed that there aren’t many active volunteers here yet with active accounts. I was delighted to find yours.
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You seem to be a veteran in this world, do you have any volunteer travel tips for a seedling like me? I would really appreciate any advice you can give me. If not, love your content and look forward to reading more stories.
I’m so glad you contacted me! I know not many people are volunteering at the moment due to the pandemic but there are still many volunteer lists open. I’m glad you decided to travel like this and so, in this post, I’ll give you some important tips I’ve picked up from years of volunteering abroad.
I hope this helps you and if you are in Mexico, don’t forget to get in touch! I would love to meet you. If you have more questions, please contact me via Instagram so I can answer them and add them to this post.
The volunteering I’m talking about here is not about charities or NGOs. It is often called ‘work exchange’. That means you will do certain hours of work in a hostel, farm, bars, restaurants, etc. in exchange for something. It’s usually free accommodation, which stretches your travel budget further.
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All of these volunteer positions are unpaid and you can access these listings by paying an annual membership fee to your favorite volunteer website. Later, I’ll discuss which one I use and it comes with a $10 USD discount if this is your first time signing up!
Once upon a time, I was a young backpacker and poor AF. I landed in Brazil with only $25 USD in my bank account (no kidding!) and started learning about volunteer travel. 12 years ago, there were no volunteer websites or bloggers to guide you on how to volunteer abroad so I did all this personal research myself!
When I got hold of it, I traveled for 7 years without paying for accommodation. I also learned Spanish fluently after 3 years in South America. These are just some of the benefits of volunteering but in this post, I will give you wisdom on how to volunteer travel especially if you are just starting out.
I have many articles about volunteering so feel free to browse the blog if you are looking for a specific destination guide!
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Worldpackers is my go-to website for volunteer travel abroad. They have thousands of volunteer opportunities in many countries around the world. I have tried many websites over the past 12 years volunteering abroad but this is the one that has worked well for me.
The website is easy to use and you can connect with over 100+ hosts per country. If you sign up with this link, you’ll get $10 USD off your membership, or use the code 10 at checkout. After you register, you’ll have free access to thousands of volunteering opportunities. They are usually large in Latin American countries.
Many volunteers take their profiles for granted but little did they know that the hosts are looking at them