help me help others
May 21, 2009 9:15 PM   Subscribe

I would like to do overseas volunteer work for about a year, and am looking for program suggestions.

I don't know what I want to do, nor where I want to go. I need some direction to my research. I've seen a lot of programs interest me, but most of those programs are short term. And while they interest me, I'm not passionate about any of them. So am looking to you guys for ideas and maybe give some direction to my research.

I'm going to list below background information about me, that may or may not guide your suggestions. All preferences listed below can be ignored. I am also looking for ideas that I never would have thought of myself. So even if your suggestion is completely out of line with what's below, please suggest it anyway, especially if you've heard good things about it.

- I'm a 26 year old female
- currently based in Canada

- studied Spanish for 5 years in high school and university, so would prefer a spanish-speaking location, but it's been 5+ years since I've used any Spanish. I'm nowhere near fluent.
- leaning towards going to South America or Africa, definitely want to be out of North America

- love kids, but don't love teaching. so if working with kids, should be more as a caregiver than a teacher. a little bit of teaching is ok, as long as it's not the primary job.
- am ok to blow my savings on this, but of course would prefer something that could cover some of my expenses while there
- variety in the type of work I would be doing is not a requirement, but would be a nice bonus

- The Habitat for Humanity Global Village projects sound great, but they're for such short periods
- It will be another year before I can leave, so if there's any current events issues (eg, swine flu), the issue will probably be changed by then.

- like to bake and sew, but my skills are quite basic only.
- have a B.Sc in Computer Science, but it's been a couple years since I've done anything related to it, so not sure how useful I am at that anymore

Ideally, I would join a program that does a couple of different things in one community, and I could participate in the different aspects of the program.
Or I would join a medium term program that can help me adjust to the new country, and I would spend the rest of the time as a local, looking for my own volunteer work

Personal anecdotes very welcome.
posted by cheemee to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
CIDA International Youth Internships. You get a stipend and don't need to pay. I did the Australian version of this, and met some of the Canadians on the CIDA program.
posted by AnnaRat at 9:28 PM on May 21, 2009


There's also the VSO, although I think that's generally for longer than a year, and often does involve a role as a teacher.

The thing is, no matter what skills you might have, unless you are highly, highly skilled in specific areas (for example, agriculture) they're not going to be overwhelmingly unique and useful over there. I mean, most areas that are poor are not generally lacking in people willing and able to work.

What you bring to the table is Western credibility, which does often help, but most importantly you are a native, fluent speaker of English, which in non-English speaking countries is in high demand. So it is very, very likely that no matter what your job description says, a big part of your overseas volunteer work will involve some English teaching.

The one thing I would point out is that, depending on what you focused in in your CS degree, the Geek Corps may be an option.

A good option for short term programs to adjust to a new country is to get a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). I know, I know you loathe teaching, but it really is your best option for income anywhere in the world and the TEFL programs themselves are generally entertaining. I took a class with TEFL International in Alexandria, Egypt and it was great. You live with the other students, most of whom are fun and easygoing, you go to classes during the day, and explore the city in the afternoons, evenings, and weekends. It's a gentle intro to the area and at the end of it you have a piece of paper that will get you a job.
posted by Deathalicious at 9:58 PM on May 21, 2009


You could also try WWOOF (working on an organic farm) if you don't mind getting your hands dirty.
posted by Deathalicious at 9:59 PM on May 21, 2009


Response by poster: Thanks AnnaRat and Deathalicious. This is giving me stuff to think about.
posted by cheemee at 10:22 PM on May 21, 2009


Working as an au pair involves working as a caregiver for kids. The programs (I don't know specific ones) usually offer a stipend, though maybe not a plane ticket. I've only heard about it for Europe, not South America or Africa.
posted by philomathoholic at 12:56 AM on May 22, 2009


Along the lines of WWOOF is Helpxchange, which has other ways to volunteer globally aside from farming. It's also easier to coordinate than WWOOF because it's set up online vs WWOOF being primarily in booklet form. You can message hosts through the site and create a social media-esque profile for yourself. There are more spanish speaking opportunities on helpx than you could ever want.

Also worth reading would be a question I asked regarding something similar a while back.
posted by bradly at 11:42 AM on May 22, 2009


Do understand that if you are provided with even some living costs, you are not volunteering, you're working as a paid employee. There's absolutely nothing wrong with getting paid for your labor, but it's a different beast from volunteering.

If you are in Sub-Saharan Africa or many South American countries, even a few dollars a day will be considered "minimum wage." Unless you bring something special (a skill, or necessary connections) that cannot be found in the community, any NGO worth anything will prefer to hire a local to do the job. One of the side benefits of foreign volunteer programs is that the fees provide needed funds.

Even if you do have some special skill, it's a lot more likely you would get sent by a domestic (to you) aid organization than hired by a local NGO, due to all sorts of reasons, both political and practical. Given that, I'd look into the aforementioned GeekCorps, as well as Peace Corps (if you're American) or whatever service program your country sponsors. If you are American, Peace Corps is probably your best bet. The commitment is a bit longer (2 years) but you get a stipend and excellent training.

Otherwise, your best bet is to zero in on a country and go there, with the aim of finding a project on the ground. This is way better than finding one before you go, because you're more likely to find a project that's a good fit, and it'll be a lot cheaper. You might even find something where they'll give you housing - I know, that contradicts what I said above, but you'll be a lot more successful if you're actually there. When I was trekking in the Nepal Himalayas, I made friends with the owner of a lodge I stayed in - it turns out his brother ran the local school, which needed an English teacher. They offered me a job teaching there, in exchange for housing with the brother's family. It was a great opportunity and I still sometimes regret turning it down. I met another guy when I was in Thailand who was designing websites for all the NGOs in town. He had started out teaching English, and ended up getting all this great web design experience, and all the NGOs were getting great websites.

And finally, I wouldn't worry too much about the money part. Your biggest expense will be getting there. Stay away from tourist-heavy places, or places with a big UN presence (both things will drive up rents) and your costs will be very low, depending on the country.

Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh - I learned all of this the hard way - please feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.
posted by lunasol at 12:05 PM on May 22, 2009


Since you have good experience with Spanish - if you are interested in a poor country, Nicaragua is interesting. I lived there for a few years starting a project Abundance Farm that was eventually passed onto my then-girlfriend. Another description of Abundance Farm now.

If you're not interested in poverty, you might find something ecological in Costa Rica, which is not so darn poverty-stricken. Might contact this woman about volunteer work in Costa Rica.
posted by peter_meta_kbd at 2:12 AM on May 28, 2009


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