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HOW MUCH DO you know about the opportunities for volunteering abroad?
Perhaps not as much as you think. There are incredible openings in a wide breadth of countries around the world for a whole range of skills and roles.
The world of volunteering is a lot more diverse and vibrant than people realise.
VSO is an international development organisation that works through volunteers living and working as equals alongside local partners. VSO’s purpose is to bring people together to share knowledge, experience and skill to fight poverty.
VSO has programmes in a range of over 30 countries, including places like Ethiopia, Tanzania, India, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique and Sierra Leone. VSO’s work spans right across Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
If you’ve ever wanted to really see the world, then volunteering your experience, knowledge and skills can take you there – and with a real purpose.
You need a mixture of professional and people skills to volunteer with VSO. A basic requirement is three years experience in your field, gained in the last five years, and a lot of countries also require an official qualification in order to secure a work permit. It’s not all about qualifications though – you have to be self-assured, problem-solving and flexible to adapt to the challenging but rewarding life of a poverty-fighting volunteer.
There is a huge breadth of opportunity for roles you might not have considered as volunteering positions – across sectors like teaching, medicine, farming, business, tourism, IT, midwifery, fundraising, communications, animal husbandry and botany.
VSO asks volunteers to make a long-term commitment. This is important as volunteers need to immerse themselves in a local community and build relationships with their counterparts to ensure that the work is sustainable.
There are standard roles for skilled professionals of all backgrounds, open to volunteers aged between 24 and 70; and VSO is keen to talk to retirees in particular. Placements last for between 12 and 24 months.
This might seem like a long time, but VSO believe that the impact a long-term volunteer can make justifies the time commitment. A real, sustainable and long-term change to people’s lives takes time.
However, there are also specialist assignments available for between three to six months. These opportunities are open to highly-experienced professionals who can provide advice at senior levels – generally with 10 years of experience in their chosen field.
Volunteers report working with VSO as a life-changing experience. Ruari O hEithir, a secondary school deputy principal from South Dublin, volunteered as an education management advisor in Rwanda for two years. He described his work as “the single greatest experience” of his life. Others working as midwives, HR managers, engineers in countries like Tanzania, Papua New Guinea and Uganda describe their volunteering as “a wonderful adventure”, “an exciting and rewarding experience”, and “the start of a ripple effect” in their life.
With the broad range of skills needed from volunteers, as well as varying time commitments and regions needing our help, you might just be the perfect person to get involved and make a real difference.
Why not come along to our Meet VSO events in Dublin, Belfast and Galway this October to find out more? Visit vso.ie to learn about the opportunities available to you.
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I worked as a teacher in a school which catered for a nomadic tribe of sheep and goat herders in East Africa. One of my former pupils is now a Professor of Astrophysics, another is a Professor of Mathematics, still another an Ambassador for his country. (I claim no credit for any of these successes). The astrophysicist was an orphan who was taught to count with stones in the sand by an Irish medical missionary sister. I suspect that I got more out of my volunteering than my pupils did. I would recommend the VSO experience as challenging but life enhancing.
If there weren’t so many volunteers, donors, NGO’s and agencies tripping over themselves trying to “help”, maybe Africans could actually get up on their own two feet and do it for themselves for a change.
I think the general idea is to bring over professionals to help and teach.. Ya know teach a man to fish etc..
People going over to help build or something else they are not skilled in is silly to me when there’s already people in Africa who can do it, free holiday volunteers..
The British government had a similar attitude towards the Irish during the great famine, “Why should we intervene, let them sort it out”. Result 1,000,000+ needless deaths – but Margaret don’t let that stop you from making pig ignorant comments.
Don’t worry, I don’t usually let bleeding heart, gullible, soft touch idiot types, stop me from saying what I think. But thanks for your concern.
Not only did they not intervene they exported food out leaving people to starve! Slightly different situation!
Like Ireland in the 1840′s, Africa is a resource rich country. The resources are mis-managed by a corrupt ruling elite, resulting in the deprivation we see today. So no Colette, it’s exactly the same situation. Europe messed up Africa and became fabulously wealthy as a result. It will take years to undo the damage.
Even if the food exported had been kept here, there would still have widespread starvation.
This country was the breadbasket for Britain, for years Britain had not been producing enough food to feed its own population. Ireland was not developed industrially for this reason, it suited the Brits to keep us agricultural and poor. We also provided vast numbers for the Brit armies and navy, I think 30% of the Brit navy in the battle of Waterloo was irish.
The Brits commissioned reports all through the 1800′s about the situation here and time after time they were told that this country was a disaster waiting to happen. Their callousness when the inevitable tragedy struck is on the record: they used the famine as a tool to clear people from the land so it could be more profitably used for food production.
That would be an interesting thing to do for a year or so.
Anyone who participates in this scam is a fool. How about you take the €1200 you were going to spend on a flight to Africa and give it to a starving family instead? This is just an outlet for smug, middle-class champagne socialists to prove to their facebook friends how “liberal” they are.
I really think that is such an unfair comment. As mentioned above, schemes like this are aimed at providing people with skills to take them out of poverty. They are looking for people to go for a min of 12 months thats a serious committment.
This ain’t about “starving families” mate. It’s about skilled professionals going over to impart their skills to locals for one + years. Get over yourself and you stick-it note global policy solutions.
Don’t ever pay to volunteer – it’s a scam! The money goes to paying people’s wages and not towards the organisation. Anyone can get a flight to Africa / Asia or wherever and volunteer for local charities there without paying to volunteer. People really need to research this more
spoken like a true bleeding heart! bet you’re a great volunteer in your own area too!
Aye, this of course has nothing to do with the VSO it should be emphasised.
You don’t pay to volunteer with vso.
Err Fiona, can’t volunteer as I work long hours as it is. But go ahead be a judge of how wonderful a person is by how much they volunteer at home…! ;)
Charity begins at home,not in africa.
Look up what charity begins at home actually means. It might surprise you.
F’in HATE that saying, spoken by people who haven’t a clue of the suffering of people in other less fortunate countries.
Begins at home but where should it end?
Where do I get my P.P.S number when I get there…..
Do the agencies supply bullet proof vests and body guards?
Most of the CEOs of these Charity’s pick up around 150000 per year, charity for who? The head of Goal went to the High Court last year about a fall out between themselves, I think it cost them 500,000!
Jesus Christ ! The absaloutly horrendous remarks of some people on this article truly make me ashamed to be Irish ! Why do your very best to see the faults in everything ! It’s takes a truly sad individual to find a problem with people wanting to help the less fortunate !
Apparently I haven’t got what it takes as I applied to VSO as an Accountant, via their online application system in 2009. I got an automated response and no other follow up. Very professional and courteous! I subsequently took up a volunteer position with an other INGO, for whom I still work (having worked with them in various roles in 4 African countries).
Did you follow up the initial rejection slip ? The online application system seem stupid to me ….pandering to modern technology. Surely face to face meetings would be more appropriate??
Enough help needed at home. Let them sort themselves out. Most of these countries could not give a flying F about us, and in many cases despise the very people who send or give aid..
Ignore the begrudgers. There are some commenters that can’t tell the difference between VSO and a scam company that might charge 4k for 3weeks ‘volunteering’. It’s probably better those commenters stay at home since they clearly are short on the cop-on you’d need to be a successful volunteer.
Fantastic to read the testimony of people that have actually volunteered and learned how great it feels to give some honest help to people. Yes, there are many political changes needed to make our world more just and getting to know people in poorer parts of the world is one way to begin to understand that. Step up if you have the time.
Standard anti-Limerick comment. Surprised the usual suspects didn’t beat me to it.
And why exactly should these countries give a flying f## about us? Are you really that small minded as to think that their problems are less important then ours ? Also you clearly have never gone out of you way to help anybody from any of these countries and experience their sheer gratitude ! Typical uniformed comment to say the least!
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