Volunteer 4

by Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher

Are you looking for a more meaningful travel experience? Do you want to give back to the communities you visit, make a genuine connection with locals, meet like-minded travellers and build your skills?

International volunteering opens up all these opportunities and this book has all the advice you need to get you there.

Much more than just a resource directory, Lonely Planet's Volunteer is packed with invaluable information and full-colour inspiration to get you planning your perfect short- or long-term volunteer experience anywhere in the world - whether it's monitoring sea turtles in Greece, helping set up handicraft businesses in Ghana or building community centres in Guatemala!

Inside Lonely Planet's Volunteer: A Traveller's Guide to Making a Difference Around the World:


159 organisations listed and reviewed
Opportunities on six continents, in 130 countries
Over 120 seasoned volunteers share experiences and top tips
Unique, user-friendly structure arranged by volunteering programme type
Fully illustrated with colour photographs of volunteers in action
Covers practicalities and raising money
Volunteering programmes included:


Conservation and wildlife
Agriculture and farming
Emergency and relief
Education and training
Authors: Lonely Planet and Don George

About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves in. Lonely Planet's founders, Tony and Maureen Wheeler, are leaders in championing the importance of travelling responsibly, and those values are at the core of Lonely Planet's mission to create the world's best travel content.

TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards winner in Favorite Travel Guide category in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Ebooks

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2007

About the author

OUR STORY
A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies and Lonely Planet was born. One hundred million guidebooks later, Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel guide publisher with content to almost every destination on the planet.

Reviews

[Tamara]

This book focused mostly on volunteer opportunities out of Australia and the U.K, but it did have some helpful definitions of the types of volunteer travel opportunities out there.

I learned that the best opportunity for me to look for is one for a "volunteering holiday" (1-3 weeks) dealing with conservation & wildlife programmes.

Some of the volunteers' experiences were interesting to read about as well.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great tips on all the practical aspects of preparing to go abroad. Lists many different types of volunteer programs. Unfortunately, many are based in Australia or the UK and not accessible to American travelers. Still very useful though.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dated but overall a good resource for someone seriously considering traveling abroad to travel. I appreciate the detail and explanations and have also come to the conclusion I may not personally volunteer abroad with that being the sole purpose of my visit.

[Tony Vu · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my best friends bought this for me, and it set me on a course to change my life!

[Georgette]

I bought this book fresh after a holiday. A real holiday, not the kind where I take a few days off and not leave the house until have to go back to work.[return][return]What prompted me to get it is the realisation that I would prefer to do something useful or educational while on vacation. Dashing around a foreign country on a controlled schedule with minimal interaction except for the part where they try to sell you things like snake placenta pills? No thanks and yuck.[return][return]The latest baby in this famous travel book series was put together by LP writers, with contributions from volunteers, who have or are still doing work in the international volunteering sector. [return][return]So you want to volunteer. Now what?[return][return]There's more to it than identifying what you want to do and picking a place to go. Volunteer work means you pay them to take you in for a certain amount of time. Depending on the type of programme you choose, food and accommodations may be included. [return][return]There are two kinds of international volunteering. Development Volunteering involves humans - emergency and relief, working with children, building and construction, community development and education. Conservation & Wildlife Volunteering involves non-human subjects - archeology, wildlife and marine conservation. [return][return]And then there are the programmes - Organised Volunteer Programmes, where almost everything is arranged for you; Structured & Self-Funding Programmes, where you'll have to figure out half the arrangements yourself; DIY Placements, where you cut out the middle man and go straight to an NGO or locally run program yourself.[return][return]The book also deals with the practical questions. How do you fund your trip? Do you have to quit your job for long-term volunteering? Can you volunteer as a family? What are you going to do about the house? Pets? Mortgages? Cars?[return][return]There is also a section for volunteers coming home after a stint in a developing countries. How do you deal with reverse cultural shock? How do you put your volunteer work to your advantage when looking for a job? What if your trip is prompting a complete career change?[return][return]Lonely Planet's "Volunteer" is subtitled "A Traveller's Guide to Making a Difference Around the World" - showing you how to get a different sort of holiday, the kind where you roll up your sleeves and pitch in on what other people might identify as "work". [return][return]In fact, certain organisations mentioned in this book welcome skilled volunteers - there's always some use for a doctor, veterinarian, architect or scientist in some far-flung destination... like exotic Borneo.[return][return]Which brings me to one disadvantage I identified in this book - it was written with the Western demographic in mind. Most of the organisations listed here are based in USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand. [return][return]Dr Kate Simpson, who completed a PhD on gap years and international volunteering, said in the overview chapter:[return][return]"International volunteering is part of a long tradition of people from the West setting off to help or change the countries of the Global South (aka the developing world) and have adventures while they do it. Where once these people were missionaries and soldiers, colonists and explorers, teachers and entrepreneurs - now they are international volunteers."[return][return]There's a tiny section somewhere in the book with contact information for volunteers based in Asia, but unsurprisingly, this doesn't include organisations based in Malaysia. [return][return]Borneo and Malaysia only pops up as one of the locations for volunteer placement, which raises the question of us looking at local volunteering opportunities to begin with. A local option will not take up as much of your time and money, and will give you a taste of what to expect when you decide to mount a major expedition. [return][return]For those of you looking to make a difference during your annual leave, I encourage you to look up local NGOs who may need a helping hand and a little more local awareness. However, I don't blame you if you prefer to work with street children in Romania or sea turtles in Greece instead. It's your holiday, and there are Western volunteers out there who will be thrilled to come here.[return][return]After all, the whole point is to get away from home, wherever that is, and learn about the side of the world you don't live in. You might do some good and change some lives while you're there.

[Lily]

Great guide as the majority of Lonely Planet books. The biggest question is when and for how long...

[Renee Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book difficult to reference, hence not making it very useful.

[Debra]

I am looking into a volunteer position. A place I can do some fulfilling work to help others. Release my inner nurturer to provide a difference in a social serviced community.

[BritQ · Rating 3 out of 5]

In some aspects i felt it was lacking but overall a good first look into volunteering oppertunities!

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book about voluntering around the world!

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great review of the resources for traveling and volunteering abroad, but mostly focuses on he opportunities that people have to pay for to go on.

[Juan Camilo Munoz Apraez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great advices to be a volunteer

This book gives you some great advices to be a volunteer, including stories of real people being a volunteer in different countries.