Volunteers for Peace?

Question

Why do you have to pay to join organizations like VFP and others? I'm sorry, but why does anyone to to give away free services? Does anybody know?

Answer 1

Someone has to pay for your transportation (including in-country transportation), staff to supervise and train you while you are volunteering, training materials, security, paperwork and administrative tasks with the government to allow you to be there, your food and your housing. An organization abroad could take all of that money and instead of using it to fly an unskilled worker in, they could hire several local people who desperately need the work and the money. So, these organizations require unskilled, short term volunteers such as yourself to pay all the associated costs for your experience, so that no money is taken away from local people.

If you want to volunteer abroad and not pay, you need to acquire the skills and experience that are most needed abroad -- being able to work in at least one language other than English, having at least an undergrad degree in something useful, etc. Here is advice on how to acquire that experience, no matter how old you are or where you are right now, as well as more information on why organizations charge to place and support unskilled volunteers abroad:

http://www.coyotecommunications.com/volu...