Volunteer Placement Organization: Volunteers For Peace

By Kate | Permalink | No Comments | March 7th, 2007 | Trackback

Volunteers For Peace is a non-profit organization which was founded in 1982. It works by acting as a partner to a large number of similar organizations worldwide and its goal is “to work toward a more peaceful world through the promotion of International Voluntary Service (IVS) projects, historically known as International Workcamps, and the exchange of volunteers.”

There are over 3400 separate volunteer opportunities listed on the site (though some are the same project, just at different times of the year). Many cost about $250 for two or three weeks, generally including accommodation, though some have an extra fee. Interestingly, VFP refunds $50 for volunteers who provide written feedback about their experience (which means you can find a wealth of quotes from volunteers here.)

Essentially, through this site you have access to a variety of project descriptions – not all projects include the same information (accommodation seems to be included routinely, but sometimes there are no details about it), and while there is a box for “extra fee”, sometimes that box says $0 but in the text of the project description an extra fee is in fact listed. I don’t say this to imply the site is misleading, just to illustrate that the information provided may not be complete or totally clear.

Some example projects include one in France, where volunteers help renovate and rebuild a hiking trail; they also build security marks and take part in another small construction project.

Volunteers can also spend two weeks in Indonesia, visiting schools in the morning and helping with English skills development through competitions, discussions, and other fun activities in the afternoons. Independence Day is celebrated during one of the project timeframes, so volunteers participating at that time can experience this holiay with locals. Accommodation is with local host families. Note that there is an extra fee for this project.

In a town near Izmir, Turkey, you can volunteer at a youth center and join local teens in a film-making contest. Accommodation is in double rooms at the youth center; this project also has an additional fee.

Note again that not all projects have a lot of detail in the descriptions, and my understanding is that a local organization – not VFP – actually runs each project. I imagine it would probably be very worthwhile to contact the organization about the project you are interested in and ask some specific questions after you check the FAQs answered on the VFP site.

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