How Ethical volunteers Anywhere in the World

How Ethical volunteers Anywhere in the World -

I am abroad about volunteering often asked and unfortunately I do not know much about it. So today, I'm from the blog about a friend and volunteer tourism expert Shannon O'Donnell from the blog A Little Adrift. It is published for years around the world voluntarily and recently a book on the subject. She is the expert, so without further ado, here is Shannon advice on finding good volunteer opportunities.

A basic motivation the last four years at the center I have to travel around the world has been the idea that others would serve to help me find a clearer direction for my life. There are many ways to better understand and respect other cultures, how we travel, but for me, the most effective is voluntary.

I travel home left for many reasons, and I had plenty of ideas preconceived about what I would outside the borders of the United States. Travel scattered many of these terms almost immediately, but it was only when I slowed down and time spent volunteering, I was able to sink into the travel experience in a way that the great temples, churches going, and iconic sites beyond photograph.

If I would be leaving at first in 08, what I was thinking just a year around the world trip, I was overwhelmed, as confused and ethically ambiguous seemed the international voluntary industry. Simple Search to find projects i support was on my trip a group of companies recruits volunteers experience in the poorest countries of the world provided and still cost many thousands of dollars - it does not make sense, and it discouraged me from almost all work at all.

but once I traveled researched and learned, I realized there are many quality, ethical options available for travelers interested in volunteering, but find it harder than it should be. It is this dilemma that motivated me to write my book, Volunteers Traveler's Guide .

I know what it's like to want to volunteer and travel, but are confused by the sometimes huge fees that ambiguous ethics and the sheer number of options. With that in mind, I jumped at the opportunity, Matt gave me to share five clear steps on how to find and vet good fit volunteer projects

First step :. Understanding development and help

In my first year volunteers internationally, I overlooked that first step and instead fueled my volunteer efforts with enthusiasm and little knowledge, and as a result I supported unfortunately a few projects, I now fundamental ethical questions had to see. One of the hardest things for new, eager volunteers is to understand that not all organizations - including charities - do good, necessary work, the ethical develop the communities and ecosystems where we volunteered our time. For this reason, take a step back from the planning and instead projects with a view to developing learning more about the core issues when they bring in the western volunteers and ideas.

Two core themes I analyze in my book center, as too many volunteers projects can actually promote dependence on international aid and human dignity they endanger try to help. Before you volunteer, your job is to understand the macro industry around volunteering. I have collected a list of great books that make TED Talks and sites the framework for international assistance puzzles and interaction between volunteering and development work available. Each of these three books and articles provides a good start in the direction of the broad level understanding:

• The Elusive Quest for Growth by William R. Easterly: beautiful the main frame, core issues international development models
• the bottom Billion: Why fail the poorest countries and what can be done about it Paul Collier: easy to read and great overall view of development; he presents interesting solutions for large Help Questions
• "It has no village: The perverse effects of the aid on the spot". This Economist article analyzes the idea that empowerment at the local level is best to deal with arguments of corruption, elitism and bureaucratic problems. The article shows that there is not a panacea for the most important development issues is

Second step :. Choose a Good Fit Art of Volunteering

There are an overwhelming number of ways to volunteer, and since I started more than four years ago to travel, I have most of them tries. I placement companies used in my round the world trip a monastery in Nepal to find where I could teach, I met recommendations of travelers on the road, and now I have voluntarily mostly independent with small organizations that I find organic as I Travel. The next step is your time, dedication and voluntary personal motivations to evaluate

• Independent Volunteering . Independent Volunteering is ideal for long-term travelers and those who. On a flexible around the -world journey, not knowing when or where they might be on the way There is usually little or no relief, so you need to arrange all travel, accommodation and food. In return, the fees are low or free. They traditionally work directly with the project, or an organization in a very hands-on level
• Placement Company :. Middlemen take a fee that you adapt to a particular type of volunteer project and usually provide a medium level of relief. Ideal for very specific niches or volunteer experiences and either short or long term commitments
• Voluntours . offer this high relief and are ideal for those on a short holiday that want to pack integrated into a lot of sites with a nod to a service in the journey. Voluntours are expensive, and the ratio of tours service can vary greatly. Normally, the majority of your fee goes to the tour company itself
• Social enterprises . All travelers can assist small businesses in their own communities to work for change. If you volunteer can only for a very short time, you should volunteer nixing and instead infused money into local communities, as you travel. Volunteering is not always the right choice on every trip, but you can still do well by restaurants, shops and businesses with an underlying social mission of choice

Step Three :. Research organizations in your field of interest

Now we are down to the tiniest details. Travellers often skip the first two steps and the risk of an unsatisfactory trip best has hurt and with their volunteer efforts in the worst case. My preparation work for a new volunteer journey begins with a search of great volunteer databases to see what projects are available in my area of ​​interest. I then use a table or a folder with the Evernote Details track.

These websites allow you through the full range of types of Volunteering (conservation, teaching, medicine, etc.) and requirements (to sort and sift family, time, place). For now, simply fill your table or a folder with projects that you, and excite the next step will be when examining the potential volunteer projects Search

• Grassroots volunteering . A small, growing resource of free and low-cost organizations and social enterprises throughout the world. This site is my personal passion project that I launched in 2011 to life
• Go Overseas . This site gathers volunteering placements by many companies and are much variety in search results
• Idealist.org . A large database which some fantastic, small niche organizations sometimes are
• Pro World : A wonderful middleman placement companies with community-driven projects and offers internships, volunteer work, and studies ~~ POS = TRUNC abroad
• Volunteer HQ . Very fair placement fees also considered with the refundable registration fee, and they seem to select projects with a long-term community approach
• WWOOF :. to work on organic farms, is a wonderful way to give time to farm, farming, and sometimes protection projects. (Matt has provided previously a complete guide on how to travel to WWOOF.) Fourth

Step: Ask the right questions

to the volunteer projects Vetting It is researched the next step and allows you to narrow your list. Carefully follow with this stage of the process through because it support heartbreaking consequences on projects that are not sensitive to the needs of the people and places they serve. An example and a cautionary tale - is the current orphanage scandals in Africa and Cambodia reported; something as innocuous as an orphanage volunteer has often sad and distressing side effects on the children.

Frustratingly, there are different problems in each volunteer niche, so I wrote a full list of questions to ask your volunteer organization on my voluntary place. The core questions most volunteer projects come face to down:

• Where is the money going Look at the placement fees and how much goes out of this fee back to the Community or projects ?.
• How is the organization to work with the community? Have asked the local community, if this project is something wanted or needed? Find out if the organization remain to be prepared and to support the project or the development work for potentially many years, if this is required, or if it does not leave you completely.
• What awaits volunteers? What is the exact nature of volunteering, and what is the level of voluntary support on the ground?

If you effectively the organizations and projects Interested who questioned you are only left with the personal decision of weighing time, cost and project details, which one suits your volunteering to decide goals. My 11 year old niece and I during our seven month trip to Southeast Asia, and my voluntary targets were voluntarily then very different than when I travel solo. My various projects over the years have reflects my different circumstances ... how is your

Step Five: Take a deep breath

The only decision international service in my round travel around the world to weave changed the direction of my life. I left in 08 confused about the direction, the back should I take the US. I left behind my earlier dreams as an actor in Los Angeles, hoping that traveling and volunteering would help me refocus. It has done that and more. Regular integration of the service in my life has given me a new lens through which to experience the world and the ability to communities and cultures to experience in a way that travels easily through a country not

Once you have selected your volunteer experience, you take a deep breath before you tackle the planning phase and these practical aspects. I travel resources and voluntary resources when you are ready, but break first. It's easy to get bogged down in the details, but the bigger picture is very rewarding if you are able to sit on the plane - packed their bags, vaccinations carried out, planned the details - and easily anticipate the new experiences and perspectives you are traveling the world about to face

Shannon O'Donnell in 08. traveling slowly and volunteers in small communities along the way. They recently released Volunteers Traveler's Guide received and their travel stories and photographs from their trip blog, A Little Adrift .

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