Where can I volunteer for a short-term work placement in Europe or the Middle-East that isn't expensive?

Question

I am looking for a short term volunteer position for June\July 2008. I am open to any sort of work but have been dismayed to find that most volunteer programs are very expensive. Is there anywhere that would welcome my services and time without a huge upfront fee? I am a woman in my twenties who has been working in the London finance industry. Thanks!

Answer 1

Organizations that don't charge fees for placing volunteers in the developing world, such as VSO Canada, VSO in the UK, UN Volunteers and the PeaceCorps, are looking for people who can work (read, write and speak) in a language other than English, who have skills and experience that can lead to local people generating income, better feeding their families, improving children's health, etc., or that can lead to the transformation of key institutions, such as government, universities/schools or NGOs. They are looking for people who can commit to a two-year assignment, who have experience working with under-served communities, or who have a lot of experience in very diverse or religiously-conservative communities. The average age of volunteers in these organizations is over 30 (for UNVs, it's 38) and most volunteers not only have degrees, they also have grad degrees.

Here is a web site that can help you learn more about the skills and experience desired by long-term placement organizations, and how you can gain that experience locally, wherever you are right *now*, no matter your age. You are never too young nor too old to start engaging in activities and training that will make you a viable candidate for long-term volunteer placement agencies:

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

The goal of organizations working in poor countries is to give the local people jobs and to keep money local, not to give Westerners a feel-good vacation/experience -- hence why short-term placement agencies (in contrast to the aforementioned) charge volunteers a fee, 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/

Answer 2

Check out Global Volunteer Network. They do volunteer placements in many different countries and with many different causes. They're a New Zealand-based org, but as long as you're fluent in English you can volunteer with them. They have the best prices I've seen (and I've done a LOT of research on this).

Answer 3

You could try volunteering in Malta in the Refugee issue. Lots of  help needed there.