Volunteer in Community Development | The Ultimate Guide

Take your chance as a volunteer in community development and make a contribution towards the improvement of rural communities. You are an active, fully motivated person, who likes a challenge? Communities in need all around the world need people like you!

If you decide to  volunteer in community development, you’ll have a great opportunity to immerse in new cultures, and support on-site teams. One of your many responsibilites is to empower communities and help them to gain access to infrastructure, water supply and to protect their environment. You can imagine that work as a volunteer in community development is hard and never-ending and social projects depend on volunteers for various projects.

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[item title=”Benefits of volunteering in Community Development”]

• Creative solution approaches: Limited resources and manpower to face societal and environmental problems often lead to the need of a creative mind. Seeing how people in different countries approach a community problem and how they find solutions is a valuable learning experience for a volunteer in community development and definitely increases your own creativity in terms of problem solving.
• Rewarding for your health: Due to several studies, former volunteers reported that their volunteer experience made them feel healthier, less stressed in life and overall, increased their self-confidence and life satisfaction. In addition to that, especially community development goes hand in hand with physically work quite often. Therefore, it will help you to stay physically healthy and to increase your strength and stamina.
• Career boost and experience: If you’re still not sure where your future career might lead you, volunteering in community development is a great way to get experience in a field of your interest. Even if you’re not directly looking for career experience yet, it gives you the opportunity to practice important skills used in the workplace, such as teamwork, communication, project planning or task management.

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Childcare

Especially in rural areas with a high poverty rate, child labour and the negligence of children’s needs are unfortunately a part of the daily routine. As a volunteer in community development, you can help in childcare programs to ensure that all children get their best chances in life and are prepared to take their fate in their own hands.

As childcare in general includes different stages of age, education and background, the tasks for a volunteer in community development are manifold. Volunteers are needed to help out in day-care (especially after school) to guide and advise children in terms of homework or socialising. Besides being an adviser for educational issues, you’ll be a mentor who provides guidance and shelter as well. Connect with the kids by emphasizing the importance of a community and team playing in a playful and creative way.

Construction

Earthquakes, floods or poor access to infrastructure often put small communities in a desperate position, as they don’t have the resources to rebuild and establish everything on their own again. Therefore, volunteers are needed to provide assistance in construction programs in countries like Nepal, Thailand, Ghana, Kenya Malaysia or Peru. If you decide to volunteer in construction, your work mainly includes the restoration of derelict school buildings or the supply of drinking water, as well as the provision of access to sanitation. Especially the second focus is a big issue in rural areas and offers a great chance for volunteers to make a difference by constructing rainwater tanks or pumps.

Culture & Art

Participating in a social project isn’t just about helping communities in terms of reconstruction or education – it’s also about facilitating a mutual understanding of cultures and preventing tribal cultures from extinction in the modern world. If you decide to volunteer in Community Development, you can aid programs that focus on culture & art.

As every culture is quite manifold, your task as a volunteer will be too. As small communities or tribes often lack the resources for incorporating arts in school or aren’t able to get noticed because of discrimination, your dedication can help to change that by promoting intercultural understanding, mentoring art performers, or helping to develop cultural education. Therefore, your passion for culture and arts can inspire others in experiencing culture in a different way.

Food Kitchen

If you have to worry about how to get your whole family a decent meal, quality might not be your number-one priority. A lot of people worldwide struggle to have a daily meal, so programs that help fight against this, are highly needed. As a volunteer in community development, you can work in Food Kitchen programs, in which your dedication can help to ensure that a good nutrition can be ensured for all members of a community. Your tasks include developing didactic material for training on nutrition, the participation in organic farming or sharing your expertise in hands-on-settings in a community kitchen.

Human Rights

Although the social and political situation is improving more and more in many developing countries, the empowerment of women and ethical minorities still suffers from stagnation. Most programs are working in the fields of Human Rights help to raise awareness about this issues; as well as to provide counselling to the victims of violence and injustice. A lot of these programs offer educational courses with focus on human rights or HIV prevention. With your contribution, you can help to ensure that their voices are being heard.

Social Work

Besides contributing to the work of organisations in the empowerment of the minorities, they often need help in general social work as well. In contrast to social work in the human rights sector, general social work is more devoted to community outreach related tasks like psychological counselling, assisting in classrooms, or organising skills development projects for young adults. If you’re looking for a diversified task where you interact with people of all ages, take your chance as volunteer in community development with a focus on social work. Local aid organisations as well as the members of the prevailing community will definitely welcome your effort.

Sports

Although teaching languages is by far the most popular subject in programs with a teaching focus, it isn’t the only available option. If you are a real sporting ace for instance, how about combining your passion with your commitment to a better cause? As football is a highly regarded leisure activity in many countries, it’s often used to connect with disadvantaged children. Help to make a difference by coaching the little champs and discover numerous raw talents. If you’re not really into football, there are also programs, which are looking for general sports coaches or sport camp coordinators.

Where to volunteer

Because fostering community development is an important cause all over the world, there are various destinations that offer you the option to volunteer in community development. Click on the map to see which opportunities are currently available.

By doing volunteer work and exploring one of the most beautiful places in the world, you end up creating a lifetime full of memories in a short period of time. -Fas (24), volunteer from America

Important facts to Know

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[item title=”Patience”]Number one priority when it comes to required skills is patience. Keep in mind that the community you working with may not be resourced very well and therefore, the working progress can be a little bit slow. Not just for the general construction work but for your work with children as well it is quite important to take some time for the needs of the little ones.[/item]
[item title=”Teamwork”]Crucial for the success of a community development program is the ability of all volunteers and local workers to work together as a team. Especially in community development it’s indispensable as you may need to react really quickly.[/item]
[item title=”Sensibility”]Especially working with kids, ethical minorities or local communities requires a high level of sensibility as you may have to adjust to the prevailing habits in the country. As a volunteer in community development it’s crucial to pay attention to the diverse needs and customs of the people you’re working with.[/item]

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Although not required by most social projects, it’s always advisable to be able to apply first aid in a case of an emergency. If you neither have the time nor the money to visit a course in advance, ask the Red Cross or other aid agencies for information. Usually they provide good information material that can be useful for you.

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Typical Program for a volunteer in community development

• Average duration: 2 – 24 weeks
• Average fee: $196 / week
• Average working hours: 9.00 am – 15.00 pm
• Requirements: Basic English, minimum age of 18 years, university degree, health declaration,

How to Apply

After reading so much about your opportunities to make a difference as a volunteer you’re probably interested how you can apply for your favourite project in particular. Just follow these steps and you’re free to volunteer abroad in no time.

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Find Opportunities

Browse your program in community development and have look at which program you would like to help. Choose where to volunteer and which cause you prefer to support.

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Send Application

Go to the program page of your favourite volunteer program and click on “Apply” on the right sidebar. Set the date for your stay, cross check your personal information, upload the required documents and click “send application” afterwards.

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Receive Invitation

If you’re accepted, the social project will send you an official invitation, including your duration and program fees. Accept the invitation to reserve your spot.

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Now you have every information you need to find your perfect match for your social trip abroad in community development. All you have to do now is browsing through the various programs on Volunteer World.

This platform is all about making volunteering simple and transparent. Featuring more than 500 volunteer programs in 70+ countries, it is a one-stop resource for volunteer abroad opportunities. If your are interested in other categories or ways to volunteer abroad, click here for more inspiration.