Good luck: 10 options for volunteer recreation
Text: Natalya Kudryavtseva
A reasonable majority tries to plan their summer vacation in advance. Let's be frank: Turkey and similar low-cost resorts no longer entice anyone, and the right amount of money is not always available for Europe, Asia and America. We found a way to combine business with pleasure - to go to a country that you have always dreamed of visiting, and at the same time doing a good deed. For example, go to international volunteer camps, where people from different countries of any age together do not burdensome work, and in their free time they rest and inspect the surroundings.
Rempart
The French agency "Rempart" is mainly engaged in the restoration of old architectural monuments throughout France. This may be an abandoned church near the Rhone, the dilapidated castles of the XIX century in the Alps or a historic building near the Mediterranean coast, in short, there are many options. On the site, you can select a project, write an application and fill out a questionnaire, after which you will receive an official invitation. It is inexpensive, on average no more than 10 euros per day. Accommodation is provided: in some camps you can live in tents, somewhere in the house, and sometimes in the castle, but in any case, you should take sleeping bags with you. Food is more interesting: every day in the camp, équipe cuisine is selected (team in the kitchen), which makes up the whole menu the next day, goes to the grocery store and prepares lunch and dinner for the whole camp. These 3-4 people on this day do not work, because cooking a three-course dinner for a company of 30 people is not a quick and difficult affair. Usually in such camps everyone lives as one big and friendly family: the common table, work together, hiking, entertainment - all in the company. One of the best options to practice French or English.
World4u
If France is not inspiring, then World4u offers a much wider choice of countries and programs: helping children, caring for animals, restoring monuments, ennobling nature, organizing festivals and much more. You can go to countries in Africa, Asia, America, as well as participate in a project in Russia - for example, live in a yurt on the shores of Lake Baikal and, together with an international team, do the cleaning and upgrading of the territory. World4u has an official representative office in Moscow, so with the understanding of what awaits you, things are simpler. To participate, you need to submit an application and pay a registration fee of 5,000 rubles. Some projects require additional costs, but not most.
Education first
A version of such European work & travel that is not known to the general public at all is the work of a "counselor" in EF camps. You can hardly find information about this on the site, but everyone in the office will be happy to tell. If you are young, energetic and speak excellent English, you can go to any of the EF camps in England as a staff for free. You will have to watch over the children, entertain them and solve their problems that may arise. This work is harder and more important than the previous one, but it is paid. The same is possible in France and America.
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms
If you are a happy farmer in your soul and dreamed of planting a fruit tree in Fiji all your life, then WWOOF ("World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms") - an online database of farmers around the world - will help you with this. You choose a country and a farm, contact the farmer himself and personally agree with him about the duties and accommodation options. Most often obtained work in exchange for housing and meals.
Help Exchange
The Help Exchange is a WWOOF-like organization, but it’s not only farmers who are registered. On the site "HelpX" you can find a request for help in using a computer and untwisting the site in exchange for living in the city of Shkoder in Albania, for example. Or greeting "Aloha" from the Hawaiian Islands and cry for help in caring for pets. Most of all it looks like a game at random - you may get lucky and you will find an offer that you simply cannot refuse.
Conservation volunteers
"Tell me about Australia" after the program "Conservation Volunteers". Completely free or on average for $ 100 per week (including room and board) you can live in Australia or New Zealand and interact with their flora and fauna. In addition to ennobling nature, you can choose a project to help people with disabilities in any park. True, the site offered a lot of options and have to work hard to find your own and inexpensive, but it's worth it. Every year, "Conservation Volunteers" attract more than 10,000 volunteers from around the world and plant about 1 million trees in Australia and New Zealand.
Move Nepal
Help can bring joy, and can be accompanied by feelings and discomfort - it all depends on the project in which you participate, and your personal attitude. Someone easier to communicate with nature and care for animals, but someone needs a real feedback, live feedback from communication with people who need your help. The non-governmental organization "Move Nepal" supports schools, orphanages for children with disabilities, and invites volunteers from different countries to help those less fortunate in life. You can teach English to children with disabilities, teach deaf people to use a computer, and more. For 250 euros per month, the organization provides volunteers with accommodation, food and transportation in the project area.
Sudan volunteer program
Teaching English in the largest and one of the poorest countries in Africa - Sudan - will be a really interesting experience. Of course, participation in the program is free, but you need to know the language very well, at the level of the native speaker, and be at least 22 years old. This is an ideal option for those who have already graduated from university, but have not yet been hired, because the program involves only long-term participation - from 6 months. In addition, they will pay a monthly salary of about $ 250.
Volunteer HQ
Another international organization that deals with many countries is Volunteer HQ. On the site, you can choose any project, starting with the rescue of turtles in Bali and ending with work with children in Peru. Prices depend on the country and type of activity - at least $ 180 per week stay.
Couchsurfing
Of course, not everyone is ready to work on their vacation, so there is couchsurfing. Popular among Europeans, the system when you live for free with a hospitable foreigner. A huge Internet base will help you choose the perfect location, and according to reviews about the host you can understand that he is not a maniac, but a pleasant companion (or not). And if hitchhiking is added to the couchsurfing, then incredible adventures and homecoming are not guaranteed with empty pockets. It is safer, of course, to go on such trips to the company, but you can go alone, especially if your hero is Walter Mitty on a longboard in the heart of Iceland.