Voluntourism is a trend that’s not necessarily new, but definitely on the rise, especially amongst free-spirited, wanderlusting Millenials, like myself. If you haven’t already guessed, voluntourism combines volunteering with tourism, and is so popular that it gets its own travel category! Thousands of soul-searching, culture-loving, good-hearted people travel abroad each year to volunteer in other countries, and I believe it’s something that is essential for everyone to try at least once.
Yes, there are tons and tons of things to worry about and even more excuses to not volunteer abroad. But guess what? I had all of those feelings, and still went and volunteered abroad in South Africa! I can honestly say it was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had in my entire life…and I’ve done a lot of awesome stuff! #Humblebrag.
So here are my reasons why you should volunteer abroad, and hopefully if you’re already thinking about it, this pushes you to just do it already.
Jump To:
1. You Really Do Make An Impact
When I got to the underpriveledged primary school in Muizenberg, South Africa, my main concern was that I wasn’t going to be able to make as big of an impact because I didn’t have a lot of money or time to donate. But the first thing I learned was that just by being there, and spending time with the children, you give them something much more valuable than money. You give them a glimpse into your world, and places that they will probably never, ever get to visit.
No matter where you volunteer, sharing your world with theirs is something they won’t forget. Neither is the love and energy you give them just by making the effort to be there for them. Nobody has to travel thousands of miles to help other people, but you did. And that says a lot.
2. You Learn To Appreciate Good People
Unfortunately many people don’t treat others with kindness and respect. There is a severe lack of understanding, open-mindedness, and care in general that has a ripple effect on everyone, causing most of us to only care about ourselves. But don’t give up hope on humanity yet, there ARE good people in this world. After volunteering abroad, and meeting some of the nicest, happiest, friendliest people ever like the amazing teachers and volunteers at the schools, you’ll begin to notice traits in people with good intentions, and you’ll very much appreciate them.
3. You’ll Become Cultured
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but being a cultured person is a huge turn on to most people. What does cultured mean? It means you have learned about another culture and have an understanding and appreciation for their ways of life. Why is this important? It makes you more open-minded, educated, and enjoyable to be around.
4. You’ll Realize You Don’t Have 99 Problems
Seriously though. I shake my head any time I accidentally make a ‘first world problems’ remark. Oh you’re complaining about your 9 to 5 job in an office in AC? Try living in a tin shack with ten of your family members and working in another tin shack to try to make less than ten cents an hour, IF that. Upset that you don’t make enough to buy that designer shirt you’ve been eyeing? Take a look at the tattered clothing the kids in many countries wear everyday, it’s probably their only ensemble.
5. You Have The Time To Do It
EVERYONE thinks that they don’t have the time to travel, let alone go voluntunteer abroad. But you do, and saying you don’t is just another excuse you should stop making. If you’re just graduating college, you have no excuse at all, if you work, cool, so does everyone, stop using your sick days for hangovers and pile them together so you can take a trip that’ll make you feel way better than a day in bed. Oh and if you’re in a job that doesn’t offer time off…quit immediately.
6. You Have The Money To Do It
A lot of people ask me how I paid for my trip, which confuses me, because I don’t understand how some people don’t understand the concept of saving money. I rarely go shopping, I don’t buy designer bags or shoes, I know every happy hour spot in town, I do my own hair, I work out outside, and I save every dollar I can so that I can travel. Traveling makes me feel richer than any material item ever could, and while yes, it sucks draining your entire savings account to do so, it’s definitely worth it.
Try transferring $100 of each paycheck to your savings account, then once you see how much you start to save, increase it to $200, if you can. I took on an entirely seprate client account specifically so that I could save all of the money I made from it for traveling.
7. You’ll Fall In Love
You’ll fall in love with the culture, you’ll fall in love with the people, you’ll fall in love with traveling, and if you’re lucky, you might even fall in love with a special person. I’ve heard tons of stories about travelers meeting other like-minded people while volunteering broad and falling in love like my featured bloggers for Sydney from ManyManyAdventures.com. I also may or may not have fell in love while volunteering, who I never would have met unless I volunteered abroad since he lives in another country.
8. You’ll Make International Friends
Americans aren’t the only ones who volunteer abroad, in fact, they’re not even the majority. When you volunteer abroad, you’ll meet awesome people from all over like Australia, Turkey, London, Germany, Canada, and China, who are all there for the same reason you are. The Internet makes it easy to stay in touch, and it’s pretty awesome being able to see and hear all about another country without actually being there. Plus, you’ll have points of contact and connections for future travels. It’s also very interesting to hear how different other cultures are, and what they think about ours.
9. You Get To TRAVEL
This is probably obvious, but what’s cool about voluntourism as opposed to normal tourism is that you really get to experience the country that you travel to. Instead of just doing typical touristy things, the locals and other volunteers will show you what it’s like to live there, and you’ll get a completely different insight than you normally would.
10. You’ll Inspire Others and Yourself
It’s hard convincing yourself to go volunteer abroad, sometimes you just need a little push…so here’s your push…GO OR YOU SUCK. Ok maybe not the best push, but in all honesty, I couldn’t give voluntourism any higher of a recommendation. Plus once you’re there, you’ll inspire tons of other people to volunteer abroad, and you’ll inspire yourself to continue giving back, and especially to continue traveling. Once you get bit by the travel bug, you’ll catch wanderlust for the rest of your life!
How To Get Involved:
IVHQ.org is the organization I used to find my volunteer program in South Africa. I love them and will forever recommend them to anyone interested in volunteering abroad. They give you all of the information you need, answer all questions, and help you make a smooth journey to your volunteer house. They are also the most affordable, because they really do want to help people volunteer abroad. I’m an ambassador for them so tell them I sent you and they’ll be extra nice to you 🙂
They have programs in 28 countries from teaching children to wildlife conservation. You can go for as little as one week or as long as one year, and it’s only around $300 on average PER WEEK to stay in the volunteer house which includes 2-3 meals per day!
If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask, I can literally gush about how much I loved volunteering in South African for days!
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