Independent Volunteering, Part I: What is Independent Volunteering?

Having now gone through the process of planning my own independent volunteering experience, I wanted to write about how others can go about doing it for themselves. Therefore, the next three posts will be dedicated to the independent volunteering process. The first post will define what independent volunteering is, and talk about the pros and cons of taking the independent volunteer route. The second will explain how to choose a location for your independent volunteering experience, and the final installment will describe how to go about finding an organization with which to volunteer once you arrive. If anyone else feels inspired to volunteer independently, then hopefully, by the end of these posts, they will feel confident in how to go about doing so.

First, it’s important to define exactly what independent volunteering is. The best definition I found using an online Google search was ‘making all volunteer travel and living arrangements without the help of a third party organization’. (In contrast to the more common option of volunteering through all-inclusive programs which arrange all travel and accommodation, in addition to providing the volunteer experience). However, while this definition is technically accurate, I feel it fails to address one key aspect of the independent volunteering process. I would therefore add the criterion that true independent volunteering involves explicitly waiting until after arriving at your destination to find and commit to an organization. While this may seem like a technical detail, it’s actually an important aspect to helping you achieve all the benefits of independent volunteering.

So, now that you know what independent volunteering is, why do it? When making my own decision, two specific factors stuck out: flexibility and cost. First, volunteering independently gives you much more flexibility in almost all aspects of your experience. To begin, you are not confined to the time frame of a program. You can plan your start and end dates around important aspects of your life back home, such as your job, an apartment lease, the holidays, important family events, friend’s weddings, or even the ski season – whatever’s important to you. You’re also free to volunteer in whatever capacity you like, and can even split time between multiple organizations if you desire. Finally, you have the freedom to mix your volunteering with as much or as little travel as you’d like.

In addition to being more flexible, independent volunteering will usually be cheaper as well, provided you aren’t trying to live a life of luxury. One explanation for this is because volunteer program expenses will always include administrative fees to cover the costs of arranging the logistics of your trip for you. A second reason is that, oftentimes, a large portion of program fees go directly to support the projects themselves (e.g., buying raw materials, covering on-going operational costs, etc.). While this provides projects with necessary and, oftentimes, much needed funds, I can think of two reasons why it is also unfavorable. First, from a program perspective, it prevents would-be volunteers who are unable to afford the prohibitive costs of these programs from donating their time and efforts. Second, from a volunteer standpoint, it gives you very little control over how the program coordinators use those funds. Independent volunteering, on the other hand, not only allows you to choose the amount you want to give to your organization, but also puts you in a much better position to direct where and how those funds will be spent.

One other possible explanation for high program fees is corruption. Many organizations masquerade as NGOs - which are not legally allowed to make profit - but keep a large portion of the money they charge volunteers as personal income. Sadly, I have heard a number of stories of volunteers who paid large program fees, only to find they were housed in sub-par accommodations on projects that suffered greatly from lack of proper funding. While these corrupt organizations are certainly the exceptions rather than the rule, it can often be difficult to separate the honest organizations from the dishonest ones before actually arriving on site. Independent volunteering can help minimize the risk of inadvertently aiding these corrupt impersonators by giving you the opportunity to visit an organization before committing to it. Getting the chance to inspect the conditions of the organization, chat with other volunteers, and interact with beneficiaries (e.g., students, the local community, etc.) should enable you to accurately access the honesty of an organization, and therefore provide reasonable assurance that both your time and money are going toward an honest cause.

While independent volunteering offers many advantages, it’s also not without its challenges and disadvantages. First, it involves significantly more research upfront than traditional volunteering. It also lacks the structure and security of a volunteer program, and therefore independent volunteers must have a willingness to spend at least the first part of their trip in a state of limbo (I adamantly insist finding an independent opportunity is not as difficult as most people think, but nonetheless concede that anyone wanting to take the independent volunteer route must be willing to deal with a little bit of uncertainty). Third, the time it takes to set up a volunteer experience makes the independent volunteering option ill suited for short durations of time. Therefore, those who are unable to take extended absences from work or other commitments (at least two months, although three to six months is preferable) may find it a difficult option to pursue. Finally, it’s worth noting that volunteering independently can sometimes limit the places in which you can offer your services. Specifically, it is unlikely you will be able to volunteer in remote areas or villages, which can usually only be accessed by Western travelers with the support of an organization that has access to translators and specialized knowledge concerning how to survive in more exposed conditions.

A final difficulty of independent volunteering that deserves special mention is the issue of obtaining a volunteer visa. Most, if not all, countries will require you to apply for a volunteer, rather than a tourist, visa if you want to partake in relief work. However, volunteer visas can be difficult to obtain on your own. For example, Tanzania requires you to submit evidence that you are affiliated with a specific organization before they’ll issue you a volunteer visa. If you wait until after your arrival to choose an organization, you’ll obviously be unable to submit this required paperwork. Finding an organization like Ujamaa Hostel, who will submit your volunteer visa on your behalf by using themselves as an umbrella volunteer organization, is one solution to this problem. However, these types of organizations are few and far between, and therefore might not exist in the community in which you wish to volunteer. Nonetheless, their convenience means you should at least do a quick Internet search for them before pursuing other options. A less cost effective, but more practical, approach is to enter the country on a tourist visa, and then apply for a volunteer visa once you have found and committed to an organization. However, this will involve arranging and paying for two visas, which can be expensive (in the case of Tanzania, about $100 per visa). Additionally, you may have to volunteer without a proper visa for a certain period of time while the visa is being processed. This is technically illegal, although rarely enforced in most places. Nonetheless, it is a risk both you and the organization need to be aware of and mutually agree to take on. While the process of obtaining a volunteer visa can be nebulous and somewhat difficult, you simply need to be patient and persistent and it will eventually work itself out. (Note: I am working on finding better strategies for dealing with this obstacle, and will post them if and when I find them)

In summary, independent volunteering offers a wealth of benefits to anyone willing to fore go the certainty of a pre-arranged, structured program and do a little extra upfront research. Although the task of arranging an independent volunteer experience can be daunting for first timers, the process is infinitely less complex when you know what to look for in a destination and which resources to utilize to go about finding relevant information. Check back in tomorrow for part II, which will explain this process in greater detail.