Great Chitter Chatter - Stories from Loud Voices

There are many people who claim that being involved in a volunteer work overseas opportunity has the potential to be one of the greatest experiences of a person’s life. In almost every instance, a person returning from their volunteer work abroad stint has wonderful reports about how gratifying and rewarding it was to help people of a different country and culture. They also speak fondly of the opportunity to meet and work alongside of the other volunteers who were likewise moved by the experience.

For the most part, people who engage in overseas volunteer work typically have to pay their own way in order to have the opportunity to serve. At first glance, that can seem like somewhat of a contradiction in terms. Many people think that if they are giving up their time and their talents to a nonprofit voluntary charity organization, then they should pick up the bill to get the volunteers to their work stations overseas and to pay for their housing and incidental expenses once they are there.

Some of the organizations that sponsor volunteer work abroad projects coordinate accommodations for their volunteers. Often these housing arrangements are quite low in cost, and occasionally there is no charge at all. They also attempt to get discounts from the airlines so that those offering to do charity volunteer work can get cheap airfare. In some instances, the airline will simply donate airline tickets to the charity to use for the transport of volunteers.

However, it should be noted that every volunteer who works abroad is unique and the circumstances can vary considerably from location to location, and from one voluntary charity organization to another. For those who are planning to do long-term charity volunteer work, they can contact a specialized placement organization that provides placements for volunteers in various types of host organizations, such as schools, orphanages and even wildlife refuges. The volunteers usually pay a fee to the placement group, which then coordinates details of room and board, and training. Such organizations do have administrative costs and that is what the fees cover.

There are also many volunteer organizations that will coordinate more closely with the host country or the charitable organizations in that country. They undertake coordinating the service projects in total rather than only placing volunteers. The fees incurred are additionally used to directly support the funding of the service projects, or to make a donation to a partner organization that is involved in the charity work abroad.

Some people are still left wondering why those who are willing to donate their time and effort need to make financial contributions to the voluntary charity organization. The fact of the matter is that these organizations work with very limited resources and staff and many are dependent on the international volunteer force to function. This can actually make the volunteer experience even more meaningful, worthwhile and rewarding because if there were no overseas volunteer work force there would be much less important work being done around the globe.

The people who engage in volunteer work abroad typically are not there to take the place of a full-time employee of the voluntary charity organization. This is due to the fact that the volunteers generally are not fully trained upon arrival and they are usually there on a temporary basis. However, this is not to say that volunteers are not appreciated or that their efforts are not beneficial to the work of the charity.