Volunteering

Also curious about this.

>>1221937
picked olives in israel and it was unpleasant and awkward

>>1221937
Do you want a job ? Just be an English teacher in a foreign country.

Fuck doing volunteer work in a third world just to stroke your ego. You will be more beneficial to the third world teacher their kids English than you will be digging watering holes for Africans.

>>1221937
You don't need to volunteer, as long as your degree is 4 years you can get your TESOL to teach overseas
I wouldn't exactly know how it really works for those people, but apparently people get homesick fast

>>1222026
what if I'm not a native english speaker :(

also, it is more appealing to work only ~1 month in each place

>>1222079
Then you are fairly fucked. I don't know what you can do then. Fuck working for free though. You could always try to find a job OP

>>1221937
I lived in West Africa for a while, loads of volunteers everywhere.

Volunteering there is a fucking scam, and its cynicism is through the roof.
>do only basic job, that locals could do (masonry, well digging, basic maths, etc.)
>you effectively put locals out of job
>kids get that weird "White superiority" show when you arrive with your fresh clothes and new phone, coming in with the shiny NGO SUV, from far away by plane, while nobody in their village never had any of this except 2nd-hand clothes and shitty Nokias
>you're basically seen as the Elves in the Lord of the fucking Ring
>your presence here is only for exposure and the eventual money you give to the NGO to "organize" your trip here, your work is useless, you don't know how to do shit anyway, and locals will fix any fuck-up you've done once you're gone.

Many volunteers came back to the main city either very happy, or in soul-crushing depression. They were easy lays either way, which was nice.


If you want to do some actual good work, get an actual short-term job in a NGO, volunteering is for uninspired suckers. Which ones depends on your nationality, your country probs have some programs here and there around the world.

>>1222080
lol I am fucked because I can't teach english?
there are other options out there bud
g4p being the last of them

>>1222082
ghana or togo?

File: I Love to Laugh.jpg (10KB, 320x192px) Image search: [Google]

10KB, 320x192px

>>1222264
Can we get up a petition to change the name of Benin (country next to Togo) to "Dinein?"

>>1221937
I was a volunteer in Kenya a couple of years ago. Generally, if you have no skills whatsoever that is useful to the natives, then don't bother at all. They will only use you as a sponge for rent at ""exclusive"" dorms for volunteers, """cheap""" safari trips or guilt trip you into donating money.

Can a programmer do something for NGOs, while living in Africa? Because I have no other skills.

I did Peace Corps in Mozambique, where I taught English and Chemistry to high school kids. Super cool experience.

I'll also second the sentiment expressed above in regards to NGO cynicism. I had a few expat friends (they were Finnish, which might impact this narrative) working in the same town, and met several more traveling around. They all expressed deep pessimism for the state of things in Africa in general and Mozambique in particular. Whether or not things are really all that horrible for them is up for debate, it depends wholly on what you value. But this chiefly negative perception is most definitely going to toll on your general well-being. What makes me think: where did that pessimism come from? It seems often times they express the opinions of their superiors or those who contracted with them, who undoubtedly see a ton of funding go towards little tangible progress. That fleet of white modified Land Cruisers isn't cheap. Neither are the perpetually A/C'd and highly secure houses and compounds.

It felt like a lot of people went into the job with good intentions to make an impact, but quickly grew tired with life as an expat in a vastly different culture and place. The corruption, bureaucracy, incompetence, and apathy of many people makes work extremely difficult. Then you have the unfairness of the whole state of things- that we were lucky enough to have a degree, good health, an apartment, etc. while so many others don't and desperately do. It's becoming increasingly awful with the spread of cheaply available technology and information, as now Mozambicans see the unfairness everyday on TV. Then this white schmuck shows up and is instantly granted a high-level position, ties to the local and state government, a car, relatively luxurious living quarters, everything they've dreamed of having. This immediately makes you an outcast. Plus you're probably white.