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Voluntary work abroad is becoming an increasingly popular option for travellers on gap year travel or a career break. Voluntary work offers the opportunity to give something back to the places and communities you stay rather than visiting merely as a passing tourist. It's a bit of a cliché, but voluntary work abroad really does help to put in perspective just how lucky most of us in the developed western world are.
By doing voluntary work abroad, you really do help to change other peoples' lives - and those who volunteer return home saying it's been a positive, life-changing experience for them as well.
There is a wide range of voluntary work projects looking for volunteers throughout the world. Some of these are looking for volunteers with a particular skill, such as doctors or builders for example, but there are also plenty of volunteer opportunities for people with no specific skill who just want to help out. The main quality looked for in a volunteer is simply enthusiasm. |
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Whether you are looking for voluntary work abroad to help care for people, animals or for the environment, there is almost certain to be a voluntary work project to suit your abilities and interests. The ‘people based' voluntary work ranges from caring for orphaned and abandoned children in South Africa to working with street children in South America.
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There are also numerous environmental voluntary work abroad placements available. This type of volunteer project ranges from helping with environmental work to all types of animal conservation and rehabilitation. |
If you don't want to spend your entire time away doing voluntary work you can combine it with some travelling and just spend part of your gap year on a volunteer project. Even if it's for a relatively short period of time your contributions as a volunteer will be greatly appreciated. What's more, working as a volunteer will undoubtedly help give you a different perspective on the country you are visiting.
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