Gap year volunteering

[seikopath]

Anyone or anyone's kids had experiences with organisations like Raleigh international or Project trust?

Looking for advice /recommendations on behalf of one of my kids

[RustyRoses]

Personally, I'd recommend an apprenticeship rather than volunteering.

So many people I knew that went on programs like this, came out having learned nothing about the real world, treating it as a holiday with no seriousness to it that, even if they were taking part in humanitarian projects. They knew they could just go home anytime.

However everyone I knew that spent time working with a crafts person, learning a skill (even if it wasn't one they would continue with) and seeing how things like deadlines affect projects and teams, came out with a far more mature view of the world.

Personally, I didn't take a gap year. In retrospect I wish I had and had spent time in a real business, because I came out of university so naive and unprepared.

[seikopath]

This one has been working a variety of paid jobs consistently since she was 13. She wants to do a gap year volunteering somewhere she hasn't been before and might not have the opportunity to go to again. When I say 'gap year', its a bit of a misnomer as she says that she doesn't want to go to university. She just wants to do some volunteering in a developing country.

[Mr Curta]

A lot depends on the area of interest, Dave. I took a 'gap year' off work around 2001 and spent a chunk of it on a marine conservation project on Danjugan Island in the Philippines. Before being let loose on the reef all volunteers were PADI advanced and Rescue Diver trained and we had to pass a course in coral, fish and invertebrate identification.

I met some truly wonderful people, formed strong friendships and have incredible memories of both the diving and the island itself. The results of the project eventually led to the island becoming a protected sanctuary and I'm pleased to have played a small part in it.

http://www.danjuganisland.ph

[IdiotAbroad]

There are a lot of options out there. Have you heard of Camps International? Great outfit run with safety as number one, rather than simply unleashing a bunch of gappers to paint the same section of school/ token "work". It is proper, meaningful, long term stuff. UK based, very helpful, very experienced. Not the cheapest as a result.

[Coronet king]

2 of the bosses daughters have been with Raleigh to Costa Rica. Youngest went off travelling for 3.5 months just returned yesterday. What do you want to know?

[Mr Curta]

2 of the bosses daughters have been with Raleigh to Costa Rica. Youngest went off travelling for 3.5 months just returned yesterday. What do you want to know?

Another endorsement for OR in CR, Dave.

[Scepticalist]

There's definitely a couple of issues around gap year volunteering:

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...lidays-madonna

https://www.theguardian.com/global-d...to-do-it-right

I know my niece rejected a lot of organisations before finding one where she could make a tangible difference rather than just a glorified holiday. If you're interested I'll ask her for details of the ones she rejected.

[Passenger]

kibbutz or moshav perhaps...

[catch21]

My daughter has done a couple of summers at Camp America teaching horse riding/looking after kids. Got a mammoth amount of out the trips. PM me if this is of any interest and I'll find out more for you.

[seikopath]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions so far.

She definitely wants to go to a developing country and do some sort of social work, preferably with children. She's not that interested in doing any sort of conservation work.

She doesn't want to go to Asia, I've taken her there and she loves it and definitely wants to go back there at some stage. But she says she wants to volunteer somewhere she hasn't been before and might not have the opportunity to go again in the future.

She did mention CR a few weeks, at that time you mentioned OR in your email Matthew. We talked about it, I was encouraging her to go to CR, because I've heard such good things about it, and as a parent I was relieved she was going to a destination that I perceive as relatively safe. I also don't know anyone who has lived or spent time there that didn't love the place.

But I get the feeling recently that she wants something a bit more hard-core. Recently she's been talking about the Dominican Republic.

I know there are alot of issues around 'gap year tourism' and the aid and charity sectors in general, but I just want to help her find a volunteering placement where she can contribute to a genuinely useful project, hopefully one that is really well run. Then she could fulfill her aim of really contributing to something of benefit which would also help her develop as a person. She wants to go for a fairly long period (eg 8 months or so). As a parent I am of course perhaps clucking and worrying unnecessarily about her safety, but then she is my youngest and my only girl, so it is only natural. So it would help me have peace of mind if she went under the auspices of one of these organisations that can provide effective support if she needs it, especially if an emergency should arise.

I know there are alot of bogus agencies out there. For example, in Nepal, alot of young western kids go out there to volunteer by teaching English in schools for example. They pay the NGO handsomely for their placement, what they don't realise is that the schools are also paying the NGO to find teachers, they soon find out they have absolutely zero support when they are out there, eg in finding accommodation etc, let alone if something goes wrong and they have some sort of medical emergency for example, and it's basically just a money making scam.