What is a fun community service program abroad?

3 ANSWERS

1. 
   

   It's not so much where you go but that attitude that you take with you that will determine whether or not you actually have any fun on your service trip.  Try Habitat for Humanity Alternative Spring break for starters.  check with local college campuses or go directly to the national Headquarters.

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2. 
   

   Check out Global Volunteer Networks. They're inexpensive and have a huge variety of options.
   
   But like the other poster said, it's not as much about what you're doing (and the fact that you're near a beach) but the attitude you go in to the project with and what you take out of it. You'll have a great time if you keep an open mind. Also, these are supposed to be learning experiences where you help the community, and aren't treated like a vacation by the organization you're working for. You might have to save the beach and tan for the end of the project.

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3. 
   

   You will need to be prepared to pay all of your expenses. The goal is to give local people jobs and to keep money local, not to give Westerners a feel-good vacation -- hence why short-term placement agencies charge volunteers, or require these volunteers to pay their own way (flights, in-country transportation, health insurance, accommodation, food, security, translators, training, staff to supervise and support them in their service, liaisons with the police and local officials, etc.).
   
   There is a listing of the more-than-30 member organizations of the International Volunteers Program Association (IVPA) that is a good place to find reputable volunteer-for-a-fee programs -- programs where you don't need to have much experience in order to participate, and the placements are just for a few weeks or months:
   
   http://www.volunteerinternational.org/

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