How to HelpVolunteering for the Tsunami Relief Effort
The tremendous worldwide response from governments, charities and nongovernmental organisations to the Indian Ocean tsunami has seen large-scale emergency repairs return devastated areas to operational levels.
Initial priorities involved recovering, identifying and burying the dead, and providing emergency food, water and shelter to displaced people. This was followed up with support to local infrastructure; cleaning contaminated water supplies and improving sanitation and personal health levels.
Many of the volunteer-associated relief projects and clean-up measures are now being phased out, replaced with long-term development and reconstruction measures. In most cases the call for volunteers now involves a specific skill base such as people with engineering backgrounds, qualified psychological support staff and English teachers who have experience teaching in developing countries.
Various organisations, however, still require untrained volunteers to help with specific relief efforts in tsunami-affected areas. The following list outlines agencies coordinating ongoing volunteer efforts in the affected countries:
Global
Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières)
Tsunami Relief Effort: The majority of immediate tsunami work by MSF provided medical assistance, food, water and basic necessities to individuals in hard-hit areas of Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and to a lesser extent in India and Thailand. Today, MSF has scaled back its work in tsunami-affected areas to Indonesia and India, offering psychosocial care to people affected by the tsunami and ongoing care for communities in Aceh, where access to basic quality care is minimal.
General Volunteering: MSF has long-term openings for committed volunteer doctors, nurses and paramedics (in both physical and mental health) for emergency aid projects worldwide. Volunteers are also needed. For a look at the MSF charter, plus details about volunteering go here:
Habitat for Humanity
Tsunami Relief Effort: In order to most effectively assist the victims of the disaster, MSF is only sending highly experienced volunteers who have already worked with them in other emergencies.
General Volunteering: This famously dedicated NGO has long-term openings for committed volunteer doctors, nurses and paramedics (in both physical and mental health) for emergency aid projects worldwide. Volunteers are also needed for support roles such as engineering (particularly sanitation and construction), vehicle maintenance, logistics, communications and management.
RedR
Tsunami Relief Effort: RedR's role in the tsunami has been to select competent volunteers with relevant skills, train them up and send them out to established aid agencies world-wide. RedR deployed logisticians, civil and water sanitation engineers and camp managers to Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives through in-house and external humanitarian agencies.
General Volunteering: RedR provide a register of carefully selected relief personnel who can be called on at short notice. Work is often on a short-term basis with front-line relief agencies. Though many tsunami areas have been cleared and are being rebuilt, there remains a long-term need for qualified and experienced humanitarian specialists. RedR offers a special scheme for people who lack field experience. Volunteers apply to be included on the RedR register, and are then matched with projects.
Teaching & Projects Abroad
Tsunami Relief Effort: Post-tsunami recovery work is continuing in India and Sri Lanka and volunteers are helping with projects such as the rebuilding of ruined fishermen shelters in Keelamuttom, on the south coast of India - a project that still needs volunteers with or without building experience. Teaching & Projects Abroad has plenty of work for volunteers in Sri Lanka, where they are looking for willing people to take over the mantle from others who volunteered their help during the immediate recovery period. Applicants can help build and restore schools, houses and orphanages or care for and teach the homeless and orphaned.
General Volunteering: This popular organisation offers a huge range of teaching, healthcare, development and conservation projects in Asia, South America, Africa and Eastern Europe. Volunteers can work in a wide variety of disciplines including sports coaching, nursing, veterinary work, conservation, archaeology, business, law and journalism.
United Nations Volunteer Programme
Tsunami Relief Effort: The UN Volunteer branch is one of the major players helping to coordinate and oversee long-term redevelopment projects throughout the tsunami-affected region. Immediately after the tsunami, UN Volunteers were on the ground supporting relief efforts in affected countries. United Nations Volunteer (UNV) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) joined forces to rehabilitate and restore the coastal environment and the socio-economic activities of the communities, mainly fishing villages, devastated by the tsunami. Long-term projects have involved training local NGOs; beach rehabilitation and biodiversity renewal initiatives; drinking water replenishment; income-generation projects; as well as raising awareness of marine and coastal ecosystem management among fishers, tourism operators, and other resource users.
General Volunteering: The UN has vacancies for highly skilled volunteers on its peacekeeping and developmental projects around the world. Applicants must apply to be included on a volunteer roster (details of how to apply are on their website). Successful applicants are then assigned to projects that require their specific skills.
Regional
Australian Volunteers
Tsunami Relief Effort: AVI has helped place specialist volunteers in areas impacted by the tsunami, with a 10,000 strong Australian database registered to serve as volunteers abroad, many with key international development skills. Projects such as a recent teacher shortage in the Maldives will continue to be sourced by AVI.
General Volunteering: Australia's largest and most experienced international volunteer sending agency is open to applicants wishing to work as volunteers abroad.
Oxfam Australia
Tsunami Relief Effort: Oxfam is committed to helping rebuild damaged areas affected by the tsunami for at least five years, recognizing that traumatized areas respond at different speeds in different areas. Oxfam workers are currently placed in Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia. Oxfam's 'Livelihood' and cash-for-work programs have so far helped more than 63,000 people, including village clean-ups and rebuilding projects and cash grants to help restart small businesses.
General Volunteering: Oxfam has plenty of ways to get involved locally, as well as an international emergency humanitarian relief register for paid, experienced professionals who have had previous field experience. Please register online. Oxfam does not have an overseas volunteer program.
Voluntary Service Overseas
Tsunami Relief Effort: VSO is active in tsunami-affected areas through projects such as the educational sector grant initiated by the Development Cooperation Ireland, providing library books and facilities to 27 tsunami-affected schools as well as training 230 teachers in 20 schools across the Maldives. VSO runs programs in Indonesia, the Maldives, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka.
General Volunteering: VSO is the largest independent volunteer organisation in the world, placing hundreds of mostly mature age (35+) skilled volunteers every year on projects throughout the developing world. There are openings for highly skilled and motivated people with professional experience in all areas, from business and IT to education, healthcare and social work.
US - Peace Corps/Crisis Corps
Tsunami Relief Effort: The Peace Corps has been active in Thailand via their Crisis Corps division, working in database, resource and small business development, construction and carpentry, and community based projects. Crisis Corp personnel in Sri Lanka have worked to provide assistance, support, and training to local staff in disaster relief management, needs assessment, transition and permanent shelter, water and sanitation. The Corps has received funding to finance their tsunami placement through til January 2006.
General Volunteering: The Crisis Corps is a Peace Corps program that mobilizes former Peace Corps Volunteers to help countries address critical needs on a short-term basis. Founded in 1961, this US government agency places volunteers on a huge number of development projects worldwide - from counselling teenagers in Belize to developing agriculture in rural villages in the Philippines. Check their website for email and phone details of Peace Corps representatives across America.
VOLUNTEER DATABASES
Transitions Abroad
This American publisher produces the bimonthly magazine Transitions Abroad, which has loads of information for people intending to work or volunteer overseas. Although they focus on US volunteers, the website has useful listings of volunteer opportunities for people of all nationalities and you can browse by region.
Working Abroad
This small non-profit organisation acts as an agent for small-scale indigenous projects in 150 countries worldwide. You can do a personalised search on their website for the type of volunteering that most interests you - eg development work, conservation or archaeology. The affiliated Working Projects Abroad organises annual environmental programmes in Iceland, Costa Rica and the Dutch Antilles.
Go Volunteer (Australia only)
Affiliated with Volunteering Australia Inc., this organisation provides information on a huge variety of volunteer programmes across Australia.
Volunteering England (UK only)
This organisation maintains a large and well-organised website covering all aspects of volunteering, including detailed listings of long and short-term volunteer opportunities worldwide.
World Service Enquiry (UK only)
This agency offers guidance for people who want to volunteer abroad. It publishes an annual guide to voluntary opportunities or you can subscribe to a monthly Opportunities Abroad list.
Action Without Borders (US only)
This recommended American website has listings of nearly 8000 volunteer opportunities worldwide. Volunteers of all nationalities can conduct highly customised searches for specific types of volunteering, and you can register online to receive email updates. |
