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10 Reasons Why You Should Volunteer Abroad

One of the questions I’d get asked a lot when volunteering was “Why are you doing this?” which is a polite and less direct way of saying “Why are you working here, exchanging your time for no monetary compensation?”

By: Elley Metcalf + Save to a List

Some people still think of volunteering as helping out in your local second hand shop in town, surrounded by lovely ladies drinking lots of tea. Wrong! Volunteering can take you anywhere in the world, and with the rise of voluntary work exchange websites, volunteering has never been so attainable.

One of the questions I’d get asked a lot when volunteering was “Why are you doing this?” which is a polite and less direct way of saying “Why are you working here, exchanging your time for no monetary compensation?” The point of volunteering is that you’re exchanging your time for experience, rather than money. The list of responses is long, but here are 10 of the best reasons why volunteering is awesome.

*Please note, I'm writing about voluntary exchange placements whereby there is no cost involved in them except your travel there. 

1. Travel and Exploration

I don’t need to elaborate too much on this point. Volunteering opens doors to worlds, places and sights you couldn’t even dream of seeing. It also facilitates easy and inexpensive travel. Often when you’re volunteering your board and food are covered, which usually are your two biggest expenses - unless you're a fiend for the souvenirs. 


2. Community

Volunteering offers community, both on a micro scale and a larger one. I was part of a society called InterVol (The International Volunteering Society) when in University, allowing me not only to participate in volunteering programs, but to also connect with other like minded people. Furthermore, if you’re volunteering at a family home or business, you’re immediately more integrated into their community from the get go, allowing true insight how it is to live in a different place in the world.

3. Culture

Similar to community, volunteering offers involvement with a new culture straight off the bat. Chances are you’re volunteering at a place  that operates and lives within a completely different culture than you’re used to. This is one of the things that appeals to me about volunteering- you don’t just feel like an outsider, looking in at the culture from your hostel hopping, you’re integrated, accepted and welcomed to share the new experiences the place has to offer.


4. Connect

We are constantly connected. Right now, I could be contacted through several different mediums - through phone, text, social media platforms, pigeon mail, the list is endless. Whilst I don’t think that these connections are false, there’s something raw lost in the interaction when you’re furiously tapping on your screen as compared to face to face interaction. Tying in with the like minded sentiment, volunteering creates meaningful bonds and friends through connection whilst working towards a similar goal.


5. Experiences

They come at you thick and fast. In my time spent in a jungle when volunteering at a animal refuge, I was confronted with a jungle downpour, mothering a baby monkey and a deadly snake on the trail within the first few days of arriving there. The myriad of experiences you have when volunteering is infinite, depending on where you’ll go and what you’ll do.

Nekane, a baby wooley monkey, taking a nap in my hoodie

6. Language

If you’ve arrived in a new country or a family that speaks a different language, you’ll be silly to think you won’t pick up the lingo even if just a little bit. In some places, you’ll find you either have to learn to communicate in a new language or just not communicate at all, and let me just tell you your brain won’t choose the second one. You have fluent speakers all around you that are usually more than willing to teach you their language, so being open to learn and engage no matter how bad your accent is is a special perk!

7. Fulfilment

Giving feels good. Generosity feels good. Sharing feels good. All of these things as humans we have a capacity to lean towards, and there’s no better way to hone that by volunteering. Seeing that your work is having an impact either in the day to day or on a larger scale really makes you feel full inside, even more so than demolishing a chocolate cake to yourself on a Tuesday night (believe me, both methods tried and tested).


8. Skills

All the while when volunteering you’re learning skills. Whether it be learning how to cook for a group of 14 hungry people with a small gas lit oven attempting to make rice and tinned tomatoes tasty, or washing clothes by hand, skills and being practical in the every day are being learnt. Even if you don’t think volunteering will directly lead you to learning anything, think about the journey or travel that got you there. You might have had to book a train ticket in a different language with a queue of restless locals behind you, or bought a bag of oranges from a seller who hopped on the bus. All of these things whether we realise it or not are lending themselves to creating a well-rounded, awesome, better-looking you (don't quote me on the last two). 

9. Learn - Expand

If you want a crash course in the psychology of You, volunteer abroad. Being pushed out of your comfort zone and into doing something you’ve probably not done before is wondrous for finding out about who you are and what makes you tick. Even if you don’t come home having had a eureka moment about how you wish to spend the rest of your life, I can promise you you’ll know more about what you do and don’t enjoy, therefore leading you to make better decisions about how to lead your life. For example, I for certain wont be settling in a place with a high concentration of mosquitos after waking up one morning with a face like Rocky Balboa, I discovered I’m allergic to their bites. Yay for learning!

10. Giving back/ pay it forward

Self explanatory. The fact that I’m in a position to even consider spending my time volunteering abroad puts me in a top percentile of privileged young adults. In some ways I feel that gives me a responsibility to make a part of the world a little better due to my actions. Good breeds good. “A society grows great when people plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.” 

 

Next time you're planning a trip, think about spending some of your time volunteering. It could see you working alongside conservationists in Costa Rica with baby turtles, with children in a musical therapy programme or as an assistant at a lighthouse far far away... who knows! What I do know is that you won't regret it.. 

We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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