This article may contain compensated links. Learn more in our disclaimer.
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]re you currently thinking of trying out volunteering abroad? Living in some far away country. Seeing places you haven’t seen. Experiencing different cultures. Doing things you haven’t done. Continue reading and you will learn, how to make all of it reality! Why you should volunteer, that’s something I have already been talking about before.
For the best result start thinking about it some 3 – 6 months before planned start.
1. Dream
Think of all the places in the world, where you would love to live for a while (or forever). Think of all the things you would love to learn or do. There should be such places and such things. And it doesn’t matters if currently all you know about that place you would love to see is, for example, only that nice beach you have seen in so many photos before.
Don’t be afraid to aim high. Don’t let your fears about not having the right experience to let you down from thinking about this or that field. Because what’s the point to look only for something you are just partly interested in?
Write it all down.
Dreaming – First Time Volunteering
Do a Research
At first search on Google for more information about the country or countries, where you would love to go. Check if there is VISA needed for you and how easy or hard is to get it. Remember, that VISAS are very different. Some are for shorter periods, some are for longer. Some you can get on arrival, but some you need to get in advance. Some costs 20$, but some 200$. And rules differ for people from different countries.
Do a research about getting to that country. If it most probably will by plane, go on skyscanner.net or momondo.com and check, how much approximately it will cost for you. Look for whole months, to get a better idea, how prices differs from day to day, from week to week.
Think about hitchhiking if you can’t afford to fly or if it’s easy to get there by ground. Or think about flying from another country, from where there are much cheaper flights available. Usually it’s possible to find cheaper flights from big cities like Paris, Frankfurt, London, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok,…
Plane – First Time Volunteering
Now, when you know how to get to country X and country Y, it’s time to look for volunteering jobs available there. I have experience with Workaway.info volunteer jobs, so I will talk about it.
If you know what exactly you want to do – select the country and use search. For example, if you want to work on a yacht, write in “yacht” and look if there is something you like. Otherwise, I recommend you to look for hosts with good feedback from other volunteers. The more good feedback, the better for you. But also the bigger is chance, that they might be full for some longer time in advance. Find at least some 5 to 10 places you like.
You can search jobs on Workaway.info for free, but to contact hosts you will need to register and pay registration fee.
When it’s done. When you know, that there are places in need of volunteers where you would love to go, final step is contacting hosts and asking them questions you are not sure about. If someone hasn’t mentioned anything about food, ask about it. You can’t live without stable internet? Ask about it. Ask about everything.
Trust me, it is much better to do this when you are still at home than feeling stupid later, when everything is completely different from what you have imagined.
Go!
That’s it! You have agreed about your first volunteer job. You know where and when you are going.
Buy a ticket needed in advance. Save some money for your personal expenses. Prepare documents needed (VISAS, insurance,…). When planning your trip don’t forget to visit some interesting places on the way.
And… GO!
Do you still have some questions about volunteering abroad? Feel free to contact me on Twitter or Facebook.