Overseas

An increasing number of volunteer placement agencies are being established to meet a growing demand for overseas volunteer opportunities.

Whether you're looking to do something a bit different with your summer break, or keen to incorporate some volunteering into your big trip OS, you're very likely to find an incredible opportunity with one of the organisations listed below.

Be aware that some of these organisations are not-for-profit, while others will take a cut from any fees you might pay. While volunteer placing is a legal and legitimate enterprise, some people can feel quite strongly about where they want their money spent. Naturally it's up to you - just check out each organisation thoroughly so you know you're making an informed choice.

http://www.spw.org/

Student Partnerships Worldwide (SPW) is the Ampersand Network's first pick!

SPW places young people from around the globe in rural areas of Africa and Asia to work on health education and environmental projects with other international and local volunteers. Assignments run from 4 to 10 months in India, Nepal, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, and are designed in partnership with local communities.

http://www.conservationvolunteers.com.au/volunteer/world-conservation.htm

Conservation Volunteers Australia's World Conservation Programs give you the opportunity to volunteer overseas with a local conservation organisation. You can volunteer on conservation and cultural projects in an environment quite unlike anything in Australia. Projects run for between 2-5 weeks and with most projects you will be part of a team of volunteers. Destinations include USA, Europe, Central America, South America & Africa.

http://www.youthchallenge.com.au/

Youth Challenge Australia combines community development, health and environmental work in adventurous projects carried out by teams of volunteers aged 18-30 years.

No professional qualifications are required to work with Youth Challenge, which places young people on 6-10 week assignments in India, Papua New Guinea, Costa Rica, Guyana, Vanuatu and the Philippines.

http://www.raleighinternational.org/ausnz/

Raleigh International has overseas programmes that enable participants aged 17-24 and staff volunteers aged 25+ from all over the world and from all backgrounds to undertake a unique blend of mental and physical challenges.

Depending on the length of programme (5-10 weeks) participants volunteer with a community project and/or an environmental project plus undertake an adventure-based challenge.

http://www.gviaustralia.com

Global Vision International (GVI), a non-religious organisation, was formed in 1998 to provide support and services to international charities, non profits and governmental agencies.
With a large international network in over 30 countries GVI supports many conservation and humanitarian projects around the globe. Most projects typically range between 5 to 20 weeks. Projects include wildlife research, conservation, community work and teaching English.

Having been established in the UK and North America for several years, GVI is now launching in Australia and New Zealand.

http://www.volunteering.org.au/

Involvement Volunteers Association Incorporated (IVI) provides access to volunteer positions with community service and conservation organisations in countries all over the world.

IVI has developed an International Networked Volunteering system, which enables young people to travel around a country, around a continent or around the world as active volunteers. Argentina, Ecuador, England, Fiji, Germany, New Zealand and South Africa are among IVI's most popular destinations.

http://www.careaustralia.org.au/default.asp

CARE Australia is the largest non-political non-religious overseas aid organisation in the country, providing humanitarian assistance across the globe.

CARE does not have a volunteer programme like the other organisations listed on this page, instead trips are offered whereby you fundraise to support CARE’s work in projects similar to those you will visit. This gives volunteers the opportunity to see where the money you raise will go and what benefits it will bring to those communities.

http://www.australianvolunteers.com/

Australian Volunteers International is Australia's largest and most experienced international volunteer sending agency. Every year, AVI recruits, prepares and supports hundreds of Australians who volunteer to live alongside people of other cultures and work towards the sustainable development of communities.

In the last 50 years AVI has placed more than 6000 Australian Volunteers in 70 countries in Asia, the Pacific, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

Australian Volunteers International provides much needed technical support through the assignment of volunteers in direct response to locally identified needs. They are committed to long-term development outcomes through sustainable partnerships with host country employers.

There are opportunities for long-term placements as well as shorter projects through the youth programme.

http://www.volunteer.org.nz/

The Global Volunteer Network offers volunteer opportunities in community projects throughout the world. Its vision is to support the work of local community organizations in developing countries through the placement of international volunteers.

Whether you're planning to take a short volunteer vacation or a prolonged gap year, the Global Volunteer Network can provide a challenging and affordable international program to suit your availability and experience.

http://www.globalcrossroad.com/

Global Crossroads is one of the world’s fastest growing international volunteer organisations and offers a variety of placements in 20 different countries throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Global Crossroads offers a variety of programs for student volunteers and interns, which can include individualised or group placements, cross-cultural learning opportunities, in-country travel arrangements and free-time exploration.

http://www.rcdpnepal.org/

The Rural Community Development Program is a non-profit volunteer organization registered with the Social Welfare Council HMG of Nepal.

In response to the growing demand by students for affordable volunteer opportunities, RCDP has created short-term opportunities for students in India, Tibet and Sri Lanka, in addition to its programs in Nepal. Volunteer opportunities run throughout the year and are available in such areas as English teaching, orphanage assistance, conservation work and health care.

http://www.volunteerabroad.com/search.cfm

GoAbroad.com is committed to providing the world's most comprehensive international education and alternative travel databases. In addition to some of the largest directories of their kind on the internet, GoAbroad.com provides extensive additional information within its travel guides, currency converter and embassy directories.

GoAbroad.com's database of volunteer positions provides students with access to opportunities in most countries of the world.

http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/

Cross-Cultural Solutions offer short-term overseas volunteer and internship placements in countries overseas. Its Volunteer Abroad and Intern Abroad Programs operate throughout the year in countries such as Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Morocco, Peru, Russia, South Africa Tanzania and Thailand, and normally run for 2-12 weeks.

Programs offer participants the opportunity to work side-by-side with local people on locally designed and driven projects, and are designed to facilitate hands-on service and cultural exchange in the aim of fostering cultural understanding.

http://www.i-to-i.com/

Now in its eleventh year, i-to-i is an award-winning organisation providing unique travel and work experiences to people of all ages and from all backgrounds.

I-to-i believes everybody has the potential to make a difference to their own lives and the lives of others through meaningful travel. By offering a wide variety of volunteer experiences throughout the world, along with quality TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) training, each year i-to-i helps thousands of people find volunteer projects in many countries across the developing world.

http://www.volunteers-abroad.com/

Cactus Volunteers Abroad has teamed up with i-to-i to produce a range of award-winning volunteer projects. These volunteer projects provide unique travel and work experiences to people of all ages and backgrounds.

http://www.projects-abroad.com.au/

Projects Abroad provides volunteer placements across five continents offering a diverse range of teaching, care, conservation, medical, journalism and work experience projects. You can even talk to Projects Abroad about combing volunteering with fieldwork for your university studies.

http://www.mondochallenge.org/

MondoChallenge sends volunteers to help with development programmes in Africa, Asia and South America. All programmes are community based and normally range from 2-6 months. At present, all MondoChallenge volunteers are involved in teaching and business development, although healthcare and environmental programmes are also available.

MondoChallenge supports 49 individual projects, including business development projects in three countries and education programmes in seven. Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Kenya are among the countries to which MondoChallenge volunteers are sent.

http://www.earthwatch.org/

Earthwatch Institute is the world's oldest, largest, and most respected organization directly involving the public in scientific field research. This year, Earthwatch will support more than 140 expeditions in 48 countries, and will send some 3,700 members of the public into the field to work side-by-side with leading scientists.

These teams of volunteers collect data under the scientists' direction and work as full-fledged expedition members, sharing the costs of the research among them. Earthwatch invented this form of participant funding in 1971, and through it has involved more than 73,000 people in field research.

http://www.humanitariantours.com/Home.htm

Global Humanitarian Expeditions (GHE) is a non profit organization that sends volunteers abroad to provide humanitarian assistance in Mongolia, India, Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania (Kilimanjaro), Nicaragua and Ecuador.

Volunteers work in concert with local people to create, implement and maintain humanitarian projects in health care, education and community empowerment for the purpose of preserving and facilitating autonomy and improved quality of life of indigenous peoples.

www.theexchangeprogram.com

The Exchange Program was established in December 2004 to assist and encourage people wanting to participate in a voluntary work experience program and to benefit not-for-profit organisations. TEP is motivated to meet the educational, spiritual and physical needs of disadvantaged people in Brazil and to raise awareness of 'grass roots' organisations working with local communities and ecological issues.

TEP has positions available for motivated, friendly and creative people interested in volunteering with organisations that assist children and teenagers. It also provides opportunities with Brazilian based conservation groups for those who have a particular passion for the environment.