Volunteer Vacations
Volunteer vacations—taking holiday trips to do humanitarian work—have never been more popular than they are today. But even if you want to go on one, it’s difficult to understand what the experience is really like. So, for a firsthand account, Bottom Line/Retirement spoke with Sharon Brostrom, a Californian in her 60s who has been taking an annual volunteer vacation for the last six years…
What was your first experience like?
I joined several other volunteers at a summer camp for elementary-age children in Poland. I helped the children with English lessons, and it was a terrific experience. The camp was outdoors, and that created an easier teaching environment than a classroom.
The other volunteers and I stayed in an old mansion that had been donated to the camp, which was near the Belarus border. It was a beautiful area, and being outdoors freed us to do treasure hunts and hikes. The learning experience was also fun for the kids.
Were those living quarters typical of what you get on volunteer vacations?
No. Volunteers shouldn’t expect to stay in a mansion, but I’ve always found the living quarters to be more than adequate. A few years ago, I was on a volunteer vacation in Ecuador and stayed at a hotel in the central part of Quito, the capital. Staying there gave volunteers a chance to see the contrast between the affluence in parts of the capital and the dire poverty of the children we worked with.
What was your “job” in Quito?
We worked with children who had a wide range of physical disabilities. Some were in wheelchairs and others on crutches. In poor countries like Ecuador, disabilities can be an especially serious problem because children who have them are often abandoned by society.
The volunteer work I did was at Camp Hope, a nonprofit group that provides care to disadvantaged children. The goal was to teach them skills that can integrate them into society and sustain them later in life. The volunteers I worked with came with energy and experience, and I believe we helped make a difference in their lives. For example, in addition to physical rehabilitation, we taught them skills that could help them get jobs—skills that other people take for granted, such as using a telephone.
Is language ever a problem on volunteer vacations?
It wasn’t a problem for me in Quito because I know a little Spanish, and the kids I worked with were of kindergarten age, so none of the work required a high level of language skill. Global Volunteers offers participants a language sheet of needed phrases for the country you are in. Usually, the volunteers are eager to learn more. Also, when you are working on a hands-on project, you learn many ways to express yourself.
Before going on a volunteer vacation, it obviously makes sense to learn something about the country where you’re going and to know at least a few useful phrases in the language. You can also find many volunteer vacations where foreign language isn’t important, such as helping care for infant children, as I’ve done in Romania, or working in an English-speaking country, as I did a couple of years ago in Australia.
Apart from the work you do on volunteer vacations, what about fun?
There are many opportunities to meet local people, sample the food, do some shopping and see the sights. Last year, when I volunteered in Crete, the accommodations themselves provided lots of fun. They overlooked the Aegean Sea and included a swimming pool.
Like many other volunteers, I often stay a week or so longer than the assignment in order to travel around the country.
Are there ever any expenses that aren’t covered by the sponsoring organization?
Volunteers pay fees that usually include room and board and support of the program they are working with. In addition to these fees, volunteers must pay transportation costs to the country their site is in, as well as any out-of-pocket expenses, such as souvenirs, gifts or perhaps a glass of wine with dinner.
What kind of people are you likely to meet on volunteer vacations?
Fellow volunteers have been some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. They’ve ranged in age from their early 20s to their 80s, and they’ve included people in the construction business, corporate executives, teachers, nurses and students.
Some of the people I’ve met have been truly inspiring—like the 83-year-old math teacher whom I met when I volunteered recently in India. When I’m that age, I only hope I’ll be as spry and motivated as she was!
Do you plan to go on more volunteer vacations?
Two young girls I worked with in Poland keep writing me, asking if I’ll come back. Each time I look at the letters, I know that I’ll go on many, many more volunteer vacations.
Bottom Line/Retirement interviewed Sharon Brostrom, a Lutheran pastor in Richmond, California, who has gone on a volunteer vacation each year since 2000.
Reprinted with the permission of:
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