Volunteering abroad - a competitive process even for me
08:39, 13 August 2010
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How about that meteor shower last night?!Anyway...
A few years ago, when I would tell someone I worked at the United Nations Volunteers program, people would often say, "Oh, are you a volunteer?" Or, "Oh, then you're just a volunteer?"
I watched my UN colleagues handle this question by getting flustered and assuring the person, "No, I'm not a volunteer. I'm a United Nations employee."
I handled the question differently:
"Oh, no, I've never had the honor of being a UN Volunteer. In fact, I'm not even sure I would qualify to be a UN Volunteer. I just work at headquarters."
And I wasn't just trying to elevate the role of UN Volunteers, or the word volunteer, in these people's minds. I also meant it: I wasn't sure I could make the cut to be a UN Volunteer. I've worked abroad in developing countries. I've traveled abroad in developing countries. I've worked with and supported volunteers abroad. But I have never been such myself.
One of the most popular pages on my web site is on how to volunteer abroad with agencies that don't charge volunteers to pay their own way; I wrote it from my perspective of both creating assignments abroad for UNV and screening candidates for UNV positions, and from being the reference for two colleagues who applied to the PeaceCorps (and, therefore, I got to see exactly what PeaceCorps wants to know about potential candidates). People have used that advice to land on the UNV roster and make it through the PeaceCorps application process, and I'm very happy to have helped.
But let's be clear: while it was possible for me to land a job at UNV HQ, and to be a UN employee in Germany and Afghanistan, I never landed a gig as a UN Volunteer -- in the four years I was on the UNV roster, after I left UNV as an employee, I interviewed twice for UNV positions, and didn't get either of them. So when I tell people that the selection process for volunteering abroad programs is competitive, truly, I'm not kidding!
Though I adore the PeaceCorps, it requires a two-year commitment, which I cannot make at this time in my life. Should I get some more consulting gigs and enough money saved, I would like to apply to go on a World Computer Exchange (WCE) short-term, self-funded trip abroad to assist their local partner organizations with training for telecenter/telecentre staff.
In lieu of those options, I've applied to volunteer through VSO Canada (CUSO-VSO), which is affiliated with the main VSO program based in the United Kingdom and which MAY have short-term gigs available. VSO Canada accepts both Canadian and USA citizens as applicants. I have applied, I have passed the phone interview, and at the end of August, I will go for an onsite in Vancouver for an initial assessment of several hours. It will include group activities and an individual interview. And even if I go through all this and get added to the roster, an assignment may never come around that matches my skills and experience.
I write this to try to illustrate that, yes, being chosen to volunteer abroad outside of pay-your-own-way programs really is highly competitive and, even if you make the cut, an assignment may not happen. Volunteer sending organizations like PeaceCorps, United Nations Volunteers, VSO and VSO Canada (CUSO-VSO) have a tremendous amount of money and credibility at stake regarding their volunteers working abroad, and the fallout from one of those volunteers doing substandard or even destructive work is much greater than from a paid employee from a development agency, IMO. Also, they have far more qualified, accepted applicants than they have assignments available.
In addition to PeaceCorps, United Nations Volunteers, VSO and VSO Canada (CUSO-VSO), here is a list of organizations that place volunteers in developing countries, mostly for long-term assignments, and that do NOT require the volunteer to undertake costs his or herself:
- CHF International, short-term international volunteering opportunities for USA citizens only
- Winrock International, short and long-term assignments, mostly (but not all) relating to agriculture, for USA citizens only. Look under BOTH "volunteers" and "jobs."
- International Executive Service Corps (IESC), now includes Geekcorps. Short-term volunteering assignments for USA citizens only.
- The International Educators for Africa (IEFA) program by the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH), sends American citizens with experience as teachers, professors or administrators for organizations or departments to work within African countries' local educational systems, as volunteers, to assist in strengthening the quality of primary and secondary teaching methodologies and to support education planning and reform.
- Australian Volunteers International, for citizens of Australia only
- NetCorps Cyberjeunes Canada, for Canadian citizens only
- German Development Service, Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst, or DED, for German citizens only
- France Benevolat, for French citizens only
- Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, for Japanese citizens only
