Should I organise my own volunteer program abroad or join a program with a volunteer agency ? Many of us would love to do some volunteer travel. Popular volunteer destinations in Asia for example are China, Thailand and Vietnam. The questions that many potential volunteers are asking themselves is why should I pay to volunteer when I offer to work fro free ? When you want to volunteer abroad during a gap year or short term you have two choices : organize your program yourself or join a volunteer program with a volunteer agency. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

The bottom line is that you do not have to pay to volunteer abroad ! You could do it yourself and not pay any fees but there are drawbacks to this. For starters if you want to organize it yourself you will need a few weeks in the country to organize things. You could start your research on the internet for a project in your favourite destination and it might work out well but it is a hit or miss. Does this project suit you, will you get support, what about your accommodation ? Most projects either have no website or a very bad one that is very difficult to find and after finally having found it you might be put off by the very bad website although the project might be very worthwhile. Charities are very bad at responding to emails in general which is quite normal as their job is to take care of their projects so you might get no or very irregular responses. Once you have found some projects you like you would need to be in the country and visit several projects to get a feel for the projects. You will also need to hire an interpreter as you need to be lucky to have a charity where someone will speak good English. When you finally can start your volunteering you will need to sort out any problems yourself which can be very time consuming. In summary the fact is that you do not have to pay tp volunteer if you have the time, patience, adventurous spirit to do everything yourself.

The other option which most people are taking is to join an organised volunteer program with a volunteer company. The benefits are that you will have a fully organised program so you can enjoy the experience fully. You can start your volunteering as soon as you arrive and as everything is organised for you all your time is spend on volunteering. There are some very good volunteer companies out there and if you shop around you can get a good price as well. What should you pay attention to when choosing a volunteer agency ? First of all the price. Compare the prices of the different programs on offer at your destination. Do I need to take the cheapest option ? Not necessarily, see what you get for your money, what king of projects they offer, the flexibility they offer and what their payment terms are. Support is also very important so check out how good they are by emailing them several times before you book and see how good their support is. It is also important that you get some information about your coordinator in-country before you book. Some agencies make you pay a deposit before they can tell you if you have been accepted others do not and only ask for a deposit when you have been accepted. Joining an established program will enable you to fully enjoy the experience of volunteering.