Choosing a volunteer abroad placement organization

1. Assess your involvement. Before you start exploring different military volunteer options, take the time to explore your own involvement. Consider the major issues in choosing a programme such as where you want to go and for how long, the type of work you want to do, your life situation, and whether you want a rural or urban arrangement.

2. Think about your special needs and aspirations. Consider the various components of your personal identity—including age, ability, race, and sexual orientation—and identify the factors that are most important to you. Also think about your vision of volunteering. How much staff support do you need? What are you look for in your daily work environment? Do you want to military volunteer alone or in a group?

3. Create a vision. List the feature you are look for in an organisation. Include logistics such as costs and length of military volunteer stay as well as more philosophical issues such as the organisation’s attack to development. Since you likely won’t find an organisation that lucifer your vision perfectly, circle the qualities that are most important to you.

4. Refer to the list of organisation. For illustration, if your goal is to work in Africa for a year or more in the educational field, create your own list of groups that have all at your specified characteristics. See www.volunteerinternational.org for a searchable database of programs.

5. Begin your research. Conduct preliminary research by visiting the organizations’ web sites. Also try a general web search to find “unofficial” information.

6. Narrow your list. Figure out the top two to four organizations. If you don’t find any groups that meet your specifications, you may want to broaden your search by focusing on one or two primary factors to judge organizations.

7. Create a list of questions. Based on any concerns you have from the web sites, your personal values, and any special needs, create a list of questions for staff and or alumni.

8. Contact the organization to ask your questions. These days, email may be the best way to communicate. Ask your questions and request contact information for program alumni as well as information regarding the application process. Verify that the organizations still operate in the country where you want to go, and note any changes in fees or programs.

9. Contact alumni. Ask them hard questions about their experiences and try to get contact information for people who they volunteered with who might be more critical of the program than they are.

10. Choose. Select the organization that matches your interests and aspirations most closely and begin the application process.

11. Get it in writing. No matter how nice the people you talk to are, get a written document explaining fees, benefits, insurance issues, and refund policies.

JOSEPH COLLINS, STEFANO DE ZEREGA, ZAHARA HECKSCHER have recently coauthored the book How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas, which includes evaluations of over 80 volunteer programs and suggestions for preparing to volunteer. For more information and tips, visit www.volunteeroverseas.org. See Zahara Heckscher's for more information.