When invited, Peace Brigades International sends “teams of volunteers into areas of repression and conflict. The volunteers accompany human rights defenders, their organizations and others threatened by political violence.” So how do foreign volunteers help?

“Perpetrators of human rights abuses usually do not want the world to witness their actions. The presence of volunteers backed by a support network helps to deter violence.”

And in fact, while no advanced formal qualifications are required to be a PBI volunteer, those interested must be over 25 and go through a rigorous application process. Volunteers are required to speak the local language if it is Spanish, or to learn it on site with language classes paid for by the volunteer before actually starting volunteering. Volunteers make a time commitment of at least a year and live in a house with other volunteers.

Peace Brigades International currently has programs in Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and Indonesia, and in the past has worked in North America (often in connection with native tribes in Canada and the US), the Balkans (Croatia, Serbia and Kosovo/a), Haiti and Sri Lanka. You can read current reports on Colombia, Indonesia, and Mexico and find others via the main page.

PBI sends out requests for help from time to time - occasionally to publicize events or sometimes to request a letter or email sent to appropriate authorities. PBI “depends on outreach and public relations to carry out its work. The safety that we offer to those being accompanied, as well as the security of PBI volunteers themselves, is directly related to the level of international support that we achieve.”

Find out how you can help from home here, and you read about and order their book here.