How To Choose A Volunteer Abroad Destination

Safety

Safety should be one of your main considerations when choosing a destination for volunteer travel.

• Make sure the country is politically stable, with an established government that maintains law & order.

• Make sure street crime is minimal

Language

• Will you need to learn the basics of a local language in order to volunteer?

• Can you get by with English-only? Whether with your host family, volunteer job, or on the streets?

• Some countries, like Ghana, have English as an official language. However for countries in Latin America, you need at least beginner’s Spanish in most situations.

• Do you want to travel to a country where you can learn and practice the local language. Say Spanish or Hindi or even Vietnamese? There are always local tutors and schools who have reasonable rates. There are also endless numbers of people who will love to help you practice, like school children, your host family, hotel staff, etc. Also: Ask your school back home if and how you can get academic credit for any language study you do abroad.

Culture Shock

How much culture shock can you handle? You’ll never quite know the answer to this question until you experience traveling and living in a developing country for yourself. However, before you choose a country, try very hard to do some self-assessment and determine what type of environment you want to be in.

For example, can you handle:

• India, where you will often contend with cows on the street, being approached by packs of beggar children, walking through some of the largest slums in the world, and traffic jams that often defy description.

• Ghana, where you will be the sole foreigner in most situations, whether on your volunteer job, walking on the streets, and

• Ecuador, traveling on a rural bus that is stopped for a routine security check by army soldiers, and having to hand over your passport to and answer – in Spanish – the soldier’s questions about you such as where are you from, why are you in Ecuador, etc.?

• Nepal, where your host family will require you be in the house by 7pm each night, along with the rest of the family?

Program Type

• What field you want to work in? Teaching? Conservation? With children in shelters? With Women's groups? HIV/AIDS advocacy?

• Do you prefer a structured or informal environment?

• How long can you stay? Weeks or months?

• Do you need special skills or credentials?

• Do you need to provide documentation like a resume or school letter?

• Prefer working with fellow volunteers OR working alone?

• Can you receive academic credit?

• Do you need to bring materials like flash cards or books?

• What’s the schedule? Hours per day / week?

• Minimum age to volunteer?

• Has the project had other volunteers?

• Can you talk to current or former volunteers?

Expenses

For most travelers, cost is one of the major factors in choosing a destination. The big-ticket costs for a volunteer program abroad are the international airfare AND the program fee paid to the volunteer organization you signup with. Depending on the destination, a round-trip airfare can vary from $400 to $1,800 USD.

Some of the other costs that vary by destination include:

• Visa fee

• Vaccinations

• Medical Insurance

• Meals outside of your host family

• Daily transportation like taxis, buses

• Shopping for gifts

• Sightseeing around the country

Climate

Do you prefer hot weather or more moderate temperatures?

For hot and humid, there’s no beating tropical locations like Ghana, Vietnam, and India (summer temperatures in India can exceed 100 F). For moderate temperatures, cities with higher elevations are ideal such as Lima (Peru) and Quito (Ecuador).

• Monsoon Season:

As you research countries and their weather and seasons, you will probably come across the term “monsoon season”. Although to westerners the term monsoon might conjure thoughts of rain 24/7 and continuous floods, the reality is that for places like Nepal and India which have a “monsoon” period each year, the monsoon season produces regular rain but those locations can go weeks without even a drop of rain.

Time Zone

The time zone of the host country can be a factor when you first arrive in your program country, as you might find yourself traveling one or more time zones on your flights from home.

Flying from New York to Beijing will flip your schedule 180 degrees because of the 12-hour time difference between the two cities. With India, the time difference is usually nine or more hours with North America.

These time zone differences will create lots of jetlag for you, which can last up to a week for some travelers as they adjust to the new time zone.

Another factor is staying in touch with family and friends back home. When calling back home to family and friends, make sure everyone is aware of the time difference, to make things smoother for all of you. Those 2 am phone calls from China to mom and dad might not be the best way to stay in touch!