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Program Highlights

Very Affordable

Why spend thousands on volunteering abroad you can do the same for much less with Helping Abroad? Helping Abroad was formed to make volunteer abroad affordable for everyone. We have strived hard to offer you all the services and facilities that other organizations have while reducing the cost of volunteering significantly. We have hired only local staff, formed partnership with only local organizations and kept our administration cost to the minimum to offer you programs that are high in quality, very safe, flexible and highly affordable. We want anyone motivated to work in disadvantaged communities abroad to volunteer in our programs without worrying too much about the financial side of things.

High Quality Program

Helping Abroad provides extensive support to volunteers and to local projects we work with in Asia, Africa and Latin America. We are always researching ways to make our programs more high quality and very affordable. The highlights of our programs:

  • Most of our volunteers find our programs life changing. This feedback demonstrates the work we have done to ensure our volunteers immerse in local culture, are received warmly and the work they do are appreciated, meaningful and sustainable.
  • Our volunteers come from all walks of life. We receive volunteers from college students to retired professionals. Because of our commitment to work with local communities and only use local support, our programs are also very affordable. The extremely reasonable fees make it possible for even people with limited budget to volunteer with us.
  • Most of our volunteers are extremely satisfied with our volunteer programs. Many give very positive feedback and return home to tell about our experiences to others.

Helping Abroad also conducts yearly program evaluations and research. We look at all aspect of our volunteer programs and see how we can improve them. Our website is also upgraded whenever we feel the need. We also have quality brochures and experienced staff to help our volunteers get ready for the program.

Safety our #1 Priority

The safety of our volunteers is our number 1 priority. Before we offer volunteer programs in any locations, we always conducted thorough safety appraisals. Once we are completely satisfied with the safety standards we then put up the program on our website for our volunteers to enroll in them. In the area where our programs are running, Helping Abroad also builds up a strong infrastructure and hires local support staff to reach our safety standard. In case of any emergency, our support staff will quickly help or guide our volunteers. Our entire process is directed towards the safety of the volunteers. Our safety structure included:

  • The Home Base we offer in many countries is a safe and secure place for our volunteers to stay and enjoy while volunteering. Our volunteers will share their bedroom with other volunteers on same-sex basis. Our resident cooks will prepare hygienic and tasty local food. You will also meet other volunteers in the Home Base and share your experience, enjoy meals together and maybe even plan your future journeys together. Our Home Base really is a home away from home.
  • Our well-screened, experience and socially respected host families. In many countries, our volunteers get to stay with host families. This stay will give our volunteers a wonderful opportunity to immerse in local culture and maybe even learn the local language. Our host families will all have passed our strict selection criteria and they will offer our volunteers a very safe and secure place to stay. The meals they prepare will be hygienic. Most of our host families are strategically placed to ensure our volunteers spend less time traveling from project to their accommodation every day.
  • Our country coordinator will be the overall in-charge of helping and guiding volunteers during their stay. All our coordinators are experienced volunteer placement organizers and are local to the area. They are well respected and have assisted volunteers for many years. The coordinators will know most of the rules and regulations about the country and they will also know all the Home Base/Host Family and project details. Our volunteers will have our
  • Our Project Staff – you will be meeting our project staff on a daily basis. The staff will help you during the project to make your experience very worthwhile. The staff will all be local so they can help if in case you need anything.
  • Orientation – before the start of the program, all our volunteers will receive comprehensive orientation, where they will learn about all the dos and don’ts while volunteering, places where they can go to enjoy their free time, things they need to take precaution against and all the safety details. This orientation will also introduce you to the culture and history of the place. Most volunteers feel at ease after the orientation and really find the information presented during the program very helpful.

Our volunteers can also contact our Head Office in the US anytime if they want.

Community Approach

Helping Abroad works directly with local community projects only. We have formed partnership with many organizations from around the world. All the programs we offer have all started directly by the local communities with their needs in mind. These projects empowerment local communities to achieve economic and social growth through many different approaches. Our volunteers will participate in these projects to ensure the project achieve their aim quickly. You will contribute in a small but meaningful way, and our contribution will have a lasting effect.

During the project, our volunteers will stay with the local community. You will make local friends, experience local culture intimately and work in local projects like teaching in school, conservation efforts started by local people to make their environment sustainable, work in an orphanage to help orphaned children, or volunteer in medical project to treat the injured and ill.

Since all these initiatives are locally owned, the work our volunteers will do will be highly appreciated by the community. In fact, these communities really look forward to hosting international volunteers.

Pre-departure and In-country Support

We are dedicated to giving our volunteers an extraordinary experience. This process starts with the moment you send us an email to inquiry about our program or call us. Our dedicated team of support staff is well trained and very knowledgeable. We will immediately look into your requirements and advice you with the options available to you. Besides our staff and the details on the website, you will also have our brochures to read and decide which program and place interests you the most.

Once you make up your mind and apply for the project, we will keep you informed about your application status. It takes about 1-2 weeks to finalize your program. Once the program is finalized, we will immediately get back to you with full details of the program. The program sheet will contain all the information you will need to know before leaving for the host country. You will know the details of vaccination shots you will need to take, how to get your visa, which airport to fly into and how to contact your country coordinator once you are in the country. In addition to that, our program staff will be on hand to help you with whatever questions you may have. Our staff can answer any specific questions about the community and the program. They can also provide in-depth information about the local culture and day-to-day life within the community, and give you a sense of what you might expect as an international volunteer.

Once your tickets are booked, you will need to pass on the information to us so we can organize an airport pickup once you arrive in your host country. Your country coordinator will be in charge of activities in your host country. You will either receive a phone call or an email from the country coordinator welcoming you to the program. You can also call the coordinator if you want.

Once in your host country, our staff will pick you up from the airport and transfer you directly to your accommodation. Next day, your program will start with an orientation program, where you will learn about the culture, history, safety issues and all the dos and don’ts while volunteering. Armed with this information, we will then be ready to volunteer in the project.

Throughout the project, our coordinator and local staff will be in touch with you. You are also welcomed to drop in our office any time to discuss anything you may have. You may also want to go on a tour and do other activities. You can always ask our coordinator for advice.

With all this support structure behind you, our volunteers will have no reason to worry while in the host country. Our volunteers will work in a local community, make local friends, immerse in local culture, travel around to enjoy the landscape and return home with extraordinary experience. All this is what separates Helping Abroad with other organizations.

Complete Volunteer Experience

To ensure our volunteers get an extraordinary life changing experience, Helping Abroad offers many different types of programs. Through our programs, you will get an intimate as well as a thorough experience.

The programs of Helping Abroad are 1 to 12 weeks long and starts on 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month. Our volunteers arrive on Sundays to start their volunteer program from the next day. After a thorough orientation program, volunteers can either start with a language and cultural program, which are normally a week long, or go straight for a volunteer program. The language and cultural program introduces volunteers to the culture, history, language and tradition of your host country. You will also tour different places and soak in more of the place. Most volunteers who enroll in our language and cultural program find it a very good way to start their volunteer journey as it gives them confidence and thorough acknowledge to succeed in their project.

Our volunteers in Latin America can enroll in Spanish language classes and take the class either in the morning or the evening, while volunteering during the day. Learning Spanish in Latin American gives volunteers an ability to communicate better with the locals. This is vital if they want to contribute in their projects more meaningfully.

Besides the volunteer programs, which are all locally based, our volunteers can enroll in a tour, trekking or safari program depending on the place where you are. Most volunteers take the tour program after completing their volunteer project to round of their stay in the host country.

Helping Abroad is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization that empowers disadvantaged communities with sustainable and meaningful volunteer programs. We offer unique, highly flexible, safe and very affordable programs in over 17 countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Who Volunteers?

Volunteer Abroad is for everyone – people with limited budget or on career break, college students, retired professionals or families wanting to holiday together.

Our volunteers are generally 18 or above, with no upper age limit. But we also receive much younger volunteers, children as young as 10 volunteering with their parents in our family volunteer package. We also have group programs, where groups above 3 or more volunteer together or go on different projects in the same locations. We’ve hosted church groups, groups of children and teachers from school, and groups of people on a break from their work.

Most of our volunteers enroll in the program to travel to meet new people, experience unique culture and landscape and do something positive during their travel. They also want to have fun, maybe learn a new language and challenge themselves in a very new surrounding.

Most of our projects do not require skills to volunteer. If you a native English speaker or speak good English, you can teach English in a local school, or help orphaned children improve their English. If you want to work outdoors, you can enroll in our nature conservation or animal/marine conservation projects. You can also help illiterate women or street kids by counseling them and learn new skills yourself to teach them. In most countries, our medical projects are only for medical students or professionals.

When Can You Volunteer?

Most of our projects start on 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month, except in Surin, Thailand and South Africa. The volunteers will need to arrive on Sunday to start their project from the next day. You can volunteer for 1 to 12 weeks.

We operate programs thorough out the year. Some of our projects, like teaching in school, will not be available when the schools have holidays. In some projects, like in Panda Conservation, the projects can be temporarily unavailable during renovation works. Our most popular project is volunteering in an orphanage, which is open year round. The children need lots of love, care and attention in the orphanage and our volunteers can really help give children a better future.