International Volunteer Programs Association is an alliance of organizations offering volunteer opportunities; the main page offers the possibility to search by region, country, type of work and duration. The opportunities listed are those offered by members, and include large organizations such as Cross Cultural Solutions and Globe Aware, as well as worldwide-but-low-cost organizations like Volunteers For Peace. While there is certainly information on the sites of these providers, IVPA allows you to look at a variety of projects by country or region, rather than by visiting individual provider sites.

You can also browse through a couple of first-hand volunteer accounts – including one from a pre-med student who spent three weeks at Mother Theresa’s organization in Calcutta – and check out a pleasantly bulky section called simply how to volunteer abroad. Here you can find information on health, language, “the role of the international volunteer” and other topics as well as links.

Finally, do have a look through the resources section, which is adapted from that of How To Live Your Dream Of Volunteering Overseas. First up is a magazine called Glimpse, which features articles by “correspondents” living abroad; many are volunteers. It appears that you need to register to gain access to the full articles, but registration is free…and it looks like there is a good selection of articles.

Thanks to the links page at True Travellers Society for pointing me towards the IVPA site.