Help. Trouble finding a good place to volunteer

I am available to volunteer this December and January. If it goes well, I am open to doing more in the future. I have volunteered here and there for Habitat for Humanity, but I have never done anything overseas. I am very handy with tools, but I am self taught. I was initially hoping to do something related to homebuilding or construction in Haiti, but it looks like All Hands (HODR) doesn't need anyone at that time, J/P HRO doesn't need anyone like me. I am now open to going to anywhere. I guess I don't HAVE to work with my hands, though that is where I feel I have the most skill. If there is a serious need for something else, I guess I am open to it. I am not afraid to rough it. I love all animals. I don't have kids so I am not a natural with them.

All I have been finding are 1. places that need very specific training and all I have is a degree in psychology, 2. places that charge $1500+ plus for a week of voluntourism. No thanks.

If anyone can give me any suggestions, I would really appreciate it. Maybe there is a better website to ask this question?

have a look at australian aid international and look at positions in Thailand, not sure on visa's etc. good luck

Thanks redwhitewine. Have you worked with them?

Although it isn't usually working for a 'cause', there is WWOOF and HelpX - often places are looking for volunteers to work with farm animals and build pens or gardens. You get room and board in those cases, and there are openings pretty much anywhere.

I was on the list to commence induction and then had to pull out due to building a house and going back into debt, now debt free (almost) so I will try a session with them next year. I know a director pretty well and he is a good guy. It is not a cowboy outfit.

Hi Larry
Will you be interested in volunteering in Bangladesh and i have a great place for you to spend quality time. The place I am talking about is very far from the capital Dhaka, food and accommodations will be given in exchange that you teach skills like carpentry to the villagers. The minimum time is six months.

Please let me know if you are interested?
ehsan khan

I only have two months available at this time. Maybe I will have 6 months in the future, so feel free to give me more information.

Hi Larry
The village I am referring to is in the southern state of Jhalakathi, Bangladesh.Once you arrive in Dhaka airport, you will be met and taken to the steam ship station. This is also known as the rocket. The distance is only 150 miles but the river journey takes 12 hours from Dhaka to Jhalakathi. Once you arrive in Jhalakathi, you will be taking a wooden boat to cross the river and taken to my grandfather's home.
This is a century old home, made out of concrete, and has western style toilet and shower. There is electricity ( only six hours during the day) and during the night. There is a fridge and all the rooms have fan. All around the home has greenery.

The school I am referring to has grades three to ten. The school is in need of a teacher whom can teach English, and a skill- for example carpentry. You will be given, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Please send me your email address and I can send you some pictures of the village and the home you will stay.

Regards,

Ehsan

Looks like they are using other often used strategies of aid organisations. This email arrived yesterday.

+Let me be the first to tell you about our new and exciting development program in Mae Sot, Thailand. The program will officially be launched next week, but I wanted to give you the early-word on what will prove to be a fantastic opportunity for people wanting to get involved in the humanitarian sector, or for those people who already have some experience, but want to participate in this great program along the Thai / Burma border.

The GET INVOLVED program invites volunteers to spend four weeks in the border town of Mae Sot volunteering at the inspiring Hway Ka Lok learning centre. As part of this program you will be involved in delivering English language classes, as well as developing your own syllabus around your own individual skills. Can you teach a musical instrument, acting, art or a new sport? As well, volunteers will be eating and living in the community and experiencing the delights of Mae Sot and its people. Australian Aid International will look after your flights and transfers within Thailand, your food and your accommodation. We will also ensure all volunteers are briefed and prepared for their adventure before stepping off. As part of the program, volunteers are expected to raise $2,600 at least four weeks before they depart and ensure they have a valid working with children certificate. You can raise the money yourself or organise fundraising activities which AAI can help you with.

The first placement commences 15 November so the time to GET INVOLVED is now! More information will be available at www.aai.org.au/getinvolved next week, but if you have any questions in the interim, please don't hesitate to ask me. I have included the position description and an application form for you to review.

I look forward to seeing your application soon+.

Hi,

Would you be interested in doing some volunteering work in a small school in Moshi, Tanzania? I've just returned from a 5 week stay out there, and it really is very rewarding. Its mainly teaching English, Business and Computer skills, so I'm not sure if that's something up your street, but its still very hands on. I don't think they need anyone for January as it may be full, but they definitely need people for December. For more information: http://www.giveahearttoafrica.org. The fee I paid was a lot cheaper compared to other projects I came across, and I saw where the money went.

With regards to fees generally, a word of the wise, be VERY careful who you volunteer with. From what I learned when I was away, and from word of mouth from other volunteers who had gone through the larger organisations that list at the top of search results, the money that you generally pay DOESN'T go to the community, but to the offices, admin fees, and back pockets of the people that run the business. If there is anything I have learned, be selective on who you volunteer with, and ask as many questions as possible about it.

Hope that helps, and good luck!.

Although you said that working with children wasnt your thing I worked at a school and orphanage in Tanzania for 3 months last year and was surprised with how I coped. The best way to find cheaper volunteer opportunities is to apply directly to the charity. I worked at Peace Matunda School and Orphanage - www.peacematunda.org. They were very helpful throughout my time and always willing to help with enhancing my time. Good Luck with whatever you choose to do. Volunteering is such an amazing experience - one I would love to repeat!

I spent a couple months volunteering with pisco sin fronteras (www.piscosinfronteras.org) which is an organization in Peru doing construction work in response to a 2007 earthquake. HODR was there initially, but eventually left, so this organization is doing more long term rebuilding. Mostly what they are doing is building very basic homes for families, usually out of brick and concrete although they're starting to get more into wood now. There isn't a fee to volunteer with them, but if you stay there and eat your meals there it's around $5/day. They really like longer term volunteers with construction skills, so it seems like you'd be a good fit. I had a great experience with them. I'd give a lot more details but I'm not sure where to start and they've got a pretty good informative website so you should start there if it sounds interesting, but please email me if you have questions, I'd love to try to answer them :)

Also, I found the website volunteersouthamerica.org really helpful when I was trying to find a place to volunteer, it's a huge list of no cost and low cost volunteer opportunities (all in central or south america, though.) There are a few other construction type opportunities, but they're mostly focused on kids.

Thanks for the info everyone. I see that there is a lot of need for teaching and work with children, but I am not sure how great I would be at that. geegollygosh, I do have some questions for you. What were common ages of the volunteers at Pisco SF? Can you describe the atmosphere, typical work day?

The average age was relatively young-- most people 18-28ish, but with quite a few people in their 30s, 40s, 50s. It was sort of a backpackery atmosphere- the social atmosphere really depended on the group that was there-- when I first got there, people were going out to bars all the time and were more wild, but by the time I left it was a very laid back atmosphere with people mostly sitting around the fire talking. Overall, though, it was always a great group of enthusiastic and interesting people and (almost) everyone was there to work. There were anywhere between 50-90 people there while I was there. The administration is pretty laid back, it's definitely not a top heavy organization, for better or worse (usually better).

typical work day-- You could choose what project you wanted to work on each morning from a variety of projects, some people stuck with the same project each day, other people jumped around. The work was basically digging trenches for the foundation, then filling them with cement, laying brick for the walls, pouring a cement floor, and putting on a bamboo roof. Nothing fancy, but much better than what a lot of people have now. Everyday there was a morning meeting at 8:30, then you went to site from 9- 4 or 5. workdays were mon-fri and a half day on saturday, but if you really wanted to work on a sunday, there was usually a project you could help with. Sometimes it was frustrating because we didn't have the materials we needed, or the guy who was overseeing the project (that the family had hired/appointed) didn't show up, or the cement mixer broke and we'd have to mix the cement by hand, etc... But sometimes it was really great, too, and we'd get a lot done and have a nice conversation with the family and go home happy. It really varied. There were other projects besides construction also-- they had a biodeisel project, and people would help out at a local school, and sometimes there were other things going on too.

I just came across this site which rates and reviews volunteer places, although its a bit sparse at the moment
[http://sites.google.com/site/volunteerreview/]

It may be of use to some of you