Has anyone gone away to volunteer?

[AB]

I have been thinking about this for a while. I'm debt free, have an excellent quality of life, but I could have been born in Africa, be riddled with illness and generally have a ste quality of life.

I'm thinking of fecking off somewhere for a bit and doing some volunteer work.

Anyone done it? How did they go about it? Where did they go?

[Mars]

I love the idea of it but can't work out how to keep the mortgage going.

Oh, and the family. What would they eat?

[condor]

I've done short stints of voluntary work here in the UK whilst keeping down a full time job.
This site maybe useful for you.
http://www.gvi.co.uk/volunteer-abroad

[Man-At-Arms]

i'd miss all the comforts of home :
web access
beer
comfy bed
a flushing toilet
etc. . . . .

[MentalSarcasm]

I must confess, I don't understand why people want to go away to volunteer when there are lots of charities in this country that could always do with some extra hands.

You're healthy, think of how many horrible diseases there are out there (Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Muscular Dystrophy) that strike down people like you every day. Or you've had a decent upbringing (I assume), but there are plenty of children that are abused, charities like the NSPCC could use help too. It's not all standing outside a supermarket waving a bucket at people either, lots of charities have Local Branches, they need people to organise things like meetings and fundraising activites, help keeping the website maintained, volunteers if they have a support phoneline for people to call.

Lots of things to do here, once you have a glance ^_^.

[AB]

Mars said:

I love the idea of it but can't work out how to keep the mortgage going.

Oh, and the family. What would they eat?

No mortgage and no family to feed.

I know there are lots of things to do here, and to be honest I can't think why I fancy going away - i think part of me wants to just get away too.

[AndrewW-G]

If you want an adventure I'm looking for volunteers to come to Heswall and paint my house

[ewenm]

A friend of mine did some time with VSO and really enjoyed it.

[Jasandjules]

Never been in a position to do so.

What about (as above) volunteering to work somewhere locally?

[Don]

AB said:

No mortgage and no family to feed.

I know there are lots of things to do here, and to be honest I can't think why I fancy going away - i think part of me wants to just get away too.

Actually what you want is an adventure. No doubt about it - volunteering to do something worthwhile abroad is a good way to get an adventure and also to gain some experience that may (or may not) be helpful in your career later.

My sis dis a VSO stint in Malaysia. She'd got into retail management in one of the big department chains. I think she wasn't so keen. Anyway her experience as a VSO in Malaysia got her a job with Traidcraft as s buyer in Malaysia/Thailand/Singapore and she spent years travelling around the world buying them stuff for their catalogues and married a Malaysian.

So I'd say her VSO experience changed her life - and vastly for the better.

So. It's not necessarily a waste of a year at all.

Me? I wanted to travel abroad and work in different countries but I fancied doing it with a nice quality of life! So I joined a multi-national in the consultancy division and got to travel on expenses. Coool. But somewhat less "worthy". Still got an adventure, though...

[Rach*]

ewenm said:

A friend of mine did some time with VSO and really enjoyed it.

They look like a fantastic organisation, sometimes I really wish I'd trained as a nurse instead.

I've put my name down for 2 dental organisations for 2010, working for 2 weeks in Peru and later Tanzania

[richyb]

You don't need to go far to be helpful to the less fortunate. Have a look at a few local organisations and see what they have going on. Popping round to visit an old person and doing a bit of gardening for them, respite car for young people with disabilities, community based conservation work. Lots of options.


Edit - Sorry , a few people already said this.

Edited by richyb on Sunday 4th October 19:16