The gift of volunteering When we travel, we become a sort of ‘ambassador’ for our home country. What better way to represent our country than to volunteer as well? Not only are we experiencing the excitement of being a new country, but we are also getting a close up look at the cultural situation as well. Today’s guest post comes from Adam Saks. He gives the perspective on how beneficial a volunteer trip can be and how to vet the best option for you. Adam has volunteered abroad throughout Latin America and currently works for ProWorld organizing volunteer trips in Latin America, Asia, and Africa for individuals and university groups. Gift giving is the cornerstone of the American holidays – and with it comes both joys and stresses. In addition to buying gifts for friends and families, we are often approached with donation appeals from local, national, and international charities. This year, consider giving a different kind of charitable donation – by volunteering your time internationally. More people are using their vacation time to explore the world through volunteer work, allowing them to experience a different country in a way that most tourists never do. And, the holidays are a perfect time to give yourself the gift of travel – especially when you know your gift will benefit a local community in another country. But, how do you choose the right destination and organization for a volunteer vacation? Follow these five tips and you’ll be on your way: Ask yourself, “Is a volunteer vacation right for me?” And, don’t feel bad if the answer is no. You have to be willing to enjoy the conditions where your volunteer work will take place. Most international volunteering is in developing countries where a bucket may be your shower and a dirt floor may be your bed. If that isn’t your idea of a vacation, then enjoy a different form of travel and spend some time volunteering closer to home. Decide where you want to go. Choosing a country for travel and volunteer work requires more than just figuring out dates, flight times, accommodations, and meals. Consider the type of experience you want to have. Do you want to brush up on a foreign language you first learned in high school? Connect with your family’s cultural heritage? Or, contribute a specific skill set that you have to a project? While travel agents can help arrange your travel logistics, working with a volunteer organization is a great way to find the right mixture of place, time, project and skill set. While these organizations charge placement fees, a portion of the money goes directly to the community you will be helping. So, if you decide to go with an organized group, just make sure you are getting what you are paying for. Understand you won’t change the world in one week. Make sure you are committed to the volunteer work, but acknowledge what is and isn’t possible in the time you have allotted. You won’t be saving the world with a week of volunteer work – but that doesn’t mean you won’t be contributing. Don’t choose a project just because it sounds like fun; choose a project because you have skills that will contribute to that project or because you are passionate about the project area or work they are doing. Research the organization. Make sure that the organization you are working with is part of the local community and contributing in a sustainable way before and after you are there. Just because your impact will be small, doesn’t mean that the overall work that you are part of can’t be great. If you are one of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of volunteers working with an organization then you are a piece of something huge. Don’t be afraid to ask questions: Is the organization well-respected? Do they offer past volunteers as references? Are they committed to real and long term collaborations in the places they work? Who are the local partners? Who is being helped? Where, exactly? Why? What is the relationship between those being helped and those who are helping? Whose idea was this project and how important is it really? It is important that the community select the project they most need – and work together with the volunteers to achieve it. Some great resources for research include www.idealist.org , the Volunteer Work Abroad section of www.transitionsabroad.com , and the International Volunteer Programs Association: www.volunteerinternational.org . Prepare yourself. A vacation doesn’t often require homework, but when you are going to be working with a local community on a volunteer project, it helps to know as much as you can about the country, the people and the language. Start with a guide book, but go beyond that. Read novels, travel articles, National Geographic stories, and, if you have the time, histories about the city or country you are going to visit. Take a language class or at least learn a few phrases in the local language. Talk to past volunteers and see what they wish they knew before volunteering. The more information you know ahead of time, the more you will get out of the experience. And, above all – be flexible. No matter how much you prepare, you should always be ready for things to change. That’s half the fun! To learn more about the ProWorld volunteering options, check out www.proworld.com .
[via Going Global Blog]
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