How to be an ethical volunteer:
Picking the worthwhile from the worthless

There are now a plethora of gap year organisations offering projects, placements and expeditions to almost any corner of the world you care to imagine. Choosing between them can be quite a challenge, and working out the reality and quality of the options they offer can be a confusing business, particularly when looking at those organisations that offer volunteer work placements. Volunteer work can be an excellent way to spend time within a community, and an opportunity to learn from, and interact with, the people and places you choose to travel to. Most people who choose to take part in volunteer work while on their gap year hope to do something they will find interesting, something they will learn from and something that will hopefully help other people. However, realising these ambitions is more complex than just signing up with the first organisation to show you exciting pictures and an interesting sounding blurb. I have spent the last five years researching the gap year industry, interviewing participants and host communities alike. Through this work I have heard tales of both incredible gap year volunteer experiences and also of some very difficult, unexpected, and at times even exploitive (of host and international participants alike) experiences. As a result, the following set of eight questions are designed to help you learn as much about the quality and value of the projects or placements an organisation offers BEFORE you arrive in country with your newly packed backpack and a whole bundle of expectations. Any worthwhile organisation should be able to give you detailed responses, whether by phone or in writing, to any of these questions. While it should be remembered that things change, an organisation's responses should give you a good indicator of the quality of the organisation and their commitment to the volunteer programmes that they offer.

Q1. Exactly What work will I be doing? Can the organisation provide you with a brief job description?

An organisation with a well set up volunteer programme should be able to tell you what work you will be expected to do, including how many hours a day, how many days a week and what sort of work it will be. For example, if an organisation offers a placement in a school, this may or may not be a teaching placement; you may be in classes or doing administrative work for teachers. Likewise a placement may involve 50 hours a week or, as in one case I encountered, a mere four. The greatest source of dissatisfaction comes from volunteers not doing what they planned (and paid) to do. Asking an organisation to give you details of the work involved will both let you know what to expect and also give you a way of holding them accountable if your expectations are not met.

Q2.Does the organisation work with any local partner organisations?

In any volunteer programme it is vital that local people have an input in decision-making; in deciding what they need and how it should be delivered. Organisations that work with local partner organisations are much more likely to have a real degree of local participation than those that do not. Ask the organisation how the partnership works; what processes do they have for consultation? Is there a local representative involved in the project on a daily basis? Is the partnership managed directly or through a local NGO? There are many partnerships out there that do not extend far beyond the logo on the website, so ask questions and get details if you want to be part of a genuinely worthwhile project. Finally, look for organisations that include local volunteers and workers in their programmes, as this will also give you a greater opportunity to work alongside, and learn from, local people.

Q3. Does the organisation make any financial contribution to its volunteer programs? If so exactly how much, minus any payments for food and accommodation for volunteers, is this contribution?

The vast majority of programmes need funds as well as labour; money is needed for materials, for local staff and to keep a project going after the volunteers have left. It is very hard to run a school with no money for books or sports equipment, or to build a bridge with no money for materials. Indeed in much of the third world labour is the one thing there is little shortage of. Some organisations do make a financial contribution to their programmes; for some this is a set amount per volunteer, while for other organisations this is an undisclosed percentage of end of year profits. Remember, it is your money and any programme is going to work better if it is properly funded, so ask where your pennies are going, and be persistent about getting a clear figure, and not an estimated percentage. Also, be aware that payments for your own food and lodging often do not assist your volunteer programme.The vast majority of programmes need funds as well as labour; money is needed for materials, for local staff and to keep a project going after the volunteers have left. It is very hard to run a school with no money for books or sports equipment, or to build a bridge with no money for materials. Indeed in much of the third world labour is the one thing there is little shortage of. Some organisations do make a financial contribution to their programmes; for some this is a set amount per volunteer, while for other organisations this is an undisclosed percentage of end of year profits. Remember, it is your money and any programme is going to work better if it is properly funded, so ask where your pennies are going, and be persistent about getting a clear figure, and not an estimated percentage. Also, be aware that payments for your own food and lodging often do not assist your volunteer programme.

Q3. Does the organisation have any policies on eco and ethical tourism practices, and if so what are these and how are they implemented?

Running volunteer programmes is an ethically complex business. If you really want to make a valuable contribution to a community you work with then you have a responsibility to question the eco and ethical policies of the organisation that you travel with. Look for organisations that have a long-term commitment to a community, employ local staff and have some mechanism for local consultation and decision-making. Otherwise, how do you know that the clinic you built is really needed? That an adult literacy programme is not more relevant than the new bridge you just built, or that when you have left there will be the funds or commitment to continue and maintain the project you have worked on?

Q6. What time frame is the volunteer program run on? How long has the program been running and what are the plans for the future?

A well-structured volunteer programme should have a clear time frame, and organisations should know from one year to the next whether a programme will continue. While all programmes must have their first year and a new programme is not necessarily a bad thing, programmes, and especially placements that just occur once can be problematic. For example, if you are acting as an English teaching assistant for a month or two what happens the rest of the school year? Are other volunteers sent or is the placement simply ended? It may be very disruptive for a class, a school or an orphanage to have constantly changing quantity of staff, and consequently you may find that your role is minimized, as staff must stick to the systems they can rely on year round. Establishing the level of commitment an organisation has to a given project or placement is vital in establishing the quality, and therefore value of that volunteer programme.

Q6. Can the organisation give you precise contact details for your chosen program?

Organisations tend to work in one of two ways. Either they arrange placements and projects and then fill the vacancies, or they wait for participants to sign up and then find relevant placements, the former system tends to produce much better projects than the latter. A good organisation with well-run programmes should know, and therefore be able to let you know several months before you travel where you will be going and what exactly you will be doing. If they cannot or will not give you these details be very wary of the quality of the programme, as hastily arranged programmes can be disorganised leaving both volunteers and local hosts with unclear expectations. Ask for specific contact details and then, if possible, contact the placement yourself and see what they expect of you, can you bring anything particularly useful, is there anything specific you can do to prepare, and most of all do they know you are coming? This last point might sound over the top, but I have encountered several volunteers who, having paid their money to an organisation offering placements, turned up to find no-one in the country knew they were coming. In one case, there was no project for them at the conservation centre they were sent to, and whatever arrangement the organisation had made from the UK had not been passed on to people on the ground. Some organisations may claim not to want to give you contact details till you have parted with you cash, worried that you will just organise the placement independently. But this is a poor excuse. If the organisation is offering a proper volunteer programme then you should be getting more for your money than just contact details. Furthermore, if they have proper relationships with the host organisations then the host will not be prepared to cut out the organisation. So be wary or organisations that make this excuse, as more than likely it is because they do not set up their placements until after you have paid your money.

Q7. What support & training will you receive?

Organisations offer vastly different levels of training & support. Look for an organisation that offers not only pre-departure training, but also incountry training & support. As a volunteer if you want to give as much as possible then you need to adress the skills you actually have to offer. A good sending organisation will want to help your hosts gets as much as possible from you and so training in both the practicalities of your placement and also the culture of where you are travelling, will all help you be a volunteer.
As for local support organisation vary widely, some will offer on site project managers while others will have local representatives who may visit you just once or twice. The nature of the programme depends on the amount of support required. However, make sure you know what to expect before you go. If there is a local representative how local are they (just down the road or several hours away by bus)? Will they help if you have problems with your placement or are they just there for emergencies?

Finally question yourself. Ask what skills you have to offer and either pick a plcement that matches these or do some further training. If you want to teach but have no expeince of teaching then do a TEFEL course, or perhaps volunteer in a local school. Things you do not have the skills or experince to do in Britain you are unlikely to have the ability to do in someones elses country. Be honest with yourself and your hosts about what skills you really can offer.

The key with all these questions is knowing what to expect, and knowing what you are paying for. There are many good organisations out there, and some very interesting volunteer programs. However, there are some less ethical programmes that can exploit both local communities and volunteers expectations. If you really want to make a valuable contribution to wherever you go then take the trouble to find out about who you are travelling with, what you will be doing, and as much as possible about where and who you will be working with. Remember, volunteer work is an amazing opportunity to travel with more depth, to learn about and not just pass through other places. So, travel with an open mind and start your learning from the very day you decide you've got itchy feet to be off somewhere new.