Independent Volunteering, Part II: How to Choose Your Destination

Note: For simplicity, I will limit this discussion to only relief work in developing countries, although in reality NGOs and relief organizations exist nearly everywhere in the world

So, you’re sold on taking the independent volunteer route, but haven’t a clue as to how to go about doing it? Where do you begin?

First you need to choose a destination for your trip. Important factors to consider when deciding include:

Personal Interest: Where have you always wanted to travel? Which cultures seem especially interesting or appealing to you? Which cultures have you always wanted to learn more about?

Cost: In general, what is the cost of living of your potential destination? What is the range in the cost of living, depending on various levels of comfort (i.e., low budget vs. high budget living)? How do these costs compare to your allotted budget for volunteering?

Challenges: Is there a significant language barrier? Will the trip require special vaccinations? Are there any difficult climate conditions? Are there safety concerns? If any of these challenges do exist in one of your destinations, it doesn’t mean you should refrain from going there. However, it is important to be aware of their existence and honest with yourself in your ability to handle them.

Need: What do you know about the social and economic problems of your potential destination? Intuitively, does it seem that your skill set (e.g., language skills, teaching, business, carpentry, etc.) could be used to address some of these problems?

With the exception of need, these are the same factors which need to be considered when you do any long term traveling. This is a subject that has been written about extensively (including my favorite book on the subject, found here), and therefore I won’t go into any further detail on them in this post.

Once you've narrowed down a list of potential countries, the next step is to research NGOs, not-for-profits, and relief agencies that exist in each area. The goal here is to ensure volunteer organizations exist in your potential destination. It's advisable to search at both the country and city level, which may help you refine your decision on a final destination. If you are having trouble locating NGOs in a specific country or city, you should be wary of pursuing volunteer opportunities there (Read: There's a reason they aren’t there). While a general Google search can suffice, you may also find it helpful to visit websites specifically dedicated to connecting volunteers with opportunities, such as www.idealist.org. Search specifically for volunteer opportunities posted in English. Again, the goal is not to find the specific organization with whom you will volunteer; rather, it is only to ensure that an active volunteer network exists within your destination. Remaining non-committed can be easier said than done, as you may find numerous volunteer opportunities or project descriptions which sound interesting and exciting. Just remember, description and reality can often be vastly different, and the only true way to get a sense for a project is to actually experience it for yourself. That being said, you may find useful leads worth pursuing once you do physically arrive at your destination.

A second resource, which is often times the most valuable, is other individuals who have travel or volunteer experience in your potential destination. Once you have narrowed your list of potential destinations to two or three options, don’t hesitate to let anyone and everyone know about it. Be sure to let them know your areas of interest, and tell them you’re interested in talking with anyone they might know with experience in the area. You’ll be amazed at the number of names you receive in response. You should follow up with as many of these contacts as possible, no matter how distant (your sister’s boss’s wife’s niece who spent two months in Cambodia is a perfectly legitimate contact, assuming your interest is in Southeast Asia). Also, don’t be afraid to talk with people who have travel / volunteer experience in destinations other than those on your short list. You may find new areas of interest which you hadn’t previously considered.

There are two reasons why I find individuals with first-hand experience to be of more value than any other form of research. First, these connections may have local contacts who still reside in your destination, be it native residents, ex-patriots, or long term volunteers. Further, they will most likely be willing to connect you with these people, thereby making your life infinitely easier from the moment you arrive. Second, they are the most reliable source of information, period. Oftentimes, there are many different sources of conflicting information about travel destinations. How much of the local population actually speaks English in your potential destination? Is the area safe, as the country’s tourism website claims, or are incidents like the one you read about in a national newspaper - where a traveler had to escape from a gang of machete wielding thieves - commonplace? Sometimes it’s difficult to tell. But anyone who has spent a couple months living there will be able to answer these types of questions in a level of detail with which you won’t find in any book or on any website. As long as you trust the individual and are planning on a similar experience (i.e., you aren't talking to someone who toured the country by staying in five start hotels while you are planning a budget volunteer trip), you should take their word over any other source of information.

Once you’ve thoroughly conducted all your research, it’s time to make your decision. While most people find choosing a country fairly easy, they are often not nearly as picky about cities, and therefore can have a harder time deciding on their specific destination. If this is the case, use the following three criteria to help you make your decision:

Local Contacts: Which cities do you have friends, or friends-of-friends, who are willing to help you settle and find organizations? Once again, having local contacts will make your life infinitely easier upon arrival, and therefore is a factor that should be given signification weight in your final decision, especially if it is your first time volunteering in a developing country.

Expatriate / Foreign National Population: If you don’t have any local contacts, it may be necessary to base yourself out of a city with a large expatriate community, specifically when traveling to a country with a significant language barrier. This will make the process of developing local contacts, and therefore finding volunteer opportunities, easier. While exact numbers may not be readily available, you should be able to form a general idea based on information found on the Internet.

Presence of NGOs: Again, this is where you should rely on your Internet research. Were you able to find a significant number of NGOs in the area? How many opportunities were posted in English on volunteer websites such as idealist.org?

After making a decision, you simply need to book your flight, apply for a visa, get your immunizations, and arrange accommodations for the first couple of nights and transportation from the airport or bus station upon arrival. Again, detailed information on how to go about doing this can be found in long-term travel publications such as Vagabonding. Check in soon for part III, which details what to do upon arrival.