Affordable Volunteer Opportunities Abroad
Africa, Latin America, Asia

Serving as a Volunteer Involves Safety and Security Risks
Living and traveling in an unfamiliar environment, having a limited understanding of local language and culture, and being perceived as well-off are some of the factors that can put a Volunteer at risk.

Volunteers Are Expected to Adopt a Culturally Appropriate Lifestyle to Promote Their Safety
Being a volunteer requires changes in lifestyle preferences and habits in deference to host country cultural expectations and in order to minimize security risks. Choices in dress, living arrangements, means of travel, entertainment, and companionship may have a direct impact on how Volunteers are viewed, and thus treated, by their communities. Navigating the differences in gender relations may be one of the most sensitive and difficult lessons to learn, but one which could have a direct impact on the volunteer's safety and the protection provided by the local community. Mature behavior and the exercise of sound judgment will greatly increase personal safety.


Building Relationships Is Key to Volunteer Safety
Your safety and overall experience depend on building relationships between volunteers and host-country community members. Your safety is best assured when you are integrated into the local community and valued as a contributor to local development and daily life. This is why Volunteer Visions works with local non-profits and non-governmental organizations. Our volunteer coordinators have worked and lived within the communities that you will be helping and will provide sound advice and guidance.

As a volunteer you have the responsibility to attempt to learn the basics of the local language before leaving their home country and attempt to integrate into their host community. The relationships that you build establish a presence for future volunteers. Your hard work and positive attitude will become the new standard for future volunteers.

Knowing What to Expect Helps Applicants and Volunteers Make Informed Choices

Volunteer Visions is committed to providing accurate information about our project locations to prospective volunteers. We provide a Volunteer Handbook tailored to the specific needs and conditions of each project after you place your project deposit.

However, we encourage you to read for yourself about your target country before applying. Many volunteers are surprised at how different cultures truly are after arrival.

Everyone has different expectations, limits and aspirations. While we try to do our best to describe our projects accurately, at times people are still taken by surprise. This happens because the impact that living in another culture varies greatly from person to person.

For example, the majority of people have little difficulty living with host families, however some women may feel constricted by the need for conservative dress in countries where Western styles are culturally forbidden. Other common issues that volunteers face are restrictions on movement and night travel, unwanted attention, health and safety risks, and completely foreign cultural behaviors.

While problems are rare, it is important to prepare yourself before choosing a country.
Please read about the culture of the country you want to volunteer in before placing a deposit.

For more information visit:

www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/
Visit this site for general travel advice about your country. It has
images, fast facts, history, and other information.

www.state.gov

The U.S. State Department’s website issues background notes
periodically about countries around the world. Learn more
about Tonga's social and political history

www.geography.about.com
This online atlas includes maps and geographical information,
and each country page contains links to other sites, such
as the CIA World Factbook, that contain comprehensive
historical, social, and political background information about
countries worldwide.

www.cyberschoolbus.un.org/infonation/info.asp
This United Nations site allows you to search for statistical
information for member states of the U.N

www.usaid.gov/
U.S. Agency for International Development

www.undp.org/
United Nations Development Programme

www.ausaid.gov.au/
Australia’s international aid agency

If a volunteer feels uncomfortable, our staff will try to resolve the situation or move the volunteer to another location. Volunteers are strongly encouraged to report safety concerns or incidents to both local staff and the Volunteer Visions main office.
By improving the information supplied to future volunteers we can develop strategies to help future volunteers avoid the same problem.

Simply being aware of the surrounding environment and using common sense will eliminate 99% of risks. Form more information about safety risks, click here :

In the event that there is a situation, two emergency numbers are included with the Volunteer Handbook. Please try the local coordinator number and then the central office.

Please write down those two numbers are carry them with you at all times.

Have a Wonderful and Safe Experience
Volunteer Visions is committed to providing our volunteers with the support they need to have a productive and successful volunteer trip abroad. Volunteering in a foreign country can be an incredible experience that will be remembered for the rest of your life. Your work is part of a larger movement to create a better world. Join volunteer visions and become part of the difference.