Summer medical volunteer programs abroad

Khaya has many goals, and the most important of them include providing the best volunteer experience possible, uplifting the communities where they operate, and providing employment and other opportunities to the people who live in those communities.

As part of their commitment to volunteers, Khaya offers affordable trips for students, gap year travelers, and others. To ensure each volunteer has the best experience possible, they go to great lengths to pair the right people with the right projects. This community volunteering project will have you working in a hands-on environment with a nonprofit organization in Cape Town. This extremely rewarding program will have you helping with a number of different community programs, including day care, a foster care facility, after-school care, drug rehabilitation, and a community food program.

Depending on the placements you choose, you could help with meal preparation, feeding children, looking after children and babies, assisting children with their educational needs, helping teachers with lessons and planning, participating in activities like singing, dancing, and exercise, working in a community garden, distributing food, or teaching life skills at a substance abuse clinic. Your main focus with any of these initiatives, however, will be providing support, love, and guidance to the children who are being helped through the Cape Town Community Project.

The Human Dignity Centre is a registered nonprofit organization in Port Elizabeth that provides community programs for children and adults, runs an orphanage, organizes fundraising efforts, and operates a primary school and after-school program.

The rural village of Xhosa is ideal for volunteers looking for a dynamic experience full of meaningful interactions, high impact, and fun. Partaking in smaller village projects such as teaching English, helping bookkeepers, leading after-school crafts and activities, and working in the local wood shop, you will help this underprivileged community thrive.

Staying in a hostel with other volunteers and tourists, you will enjoy a sense of community while you help preserve the indigenous forest and provide support and friendship to the local residents. This community suffers from a lack of jobs, and there are many tasks that they need help with, and for those travelers looking for a varied experience, this is an ideal volunteer opportunity.

There are few animals more adorable than the African Penguin, and in this project, you will help care for the species. There are only an estimated 25, breeding pairs of these penguins left in the world, and about 21, of them are located in the Port Elizabeth area. After caring for these penguins, you will help release them back into the wild, giving them a fighting chance at survival. From administrative duties to tourism and caring for the penguins, this program offers a dynamic experience that will touch your heart forever.

Since , Volunteering Journeys has provided volunteer placements in Asia and Africa for travelers interested in community development, medical care, wildlife and conservation programs, and even summer and gap year travel opportunities.

The basis for Volunteering Journeys was formed when founder Ridhi Patel quit her job in , and volunteered for three months in South Africa. This life-changing experience inspired her to begin building Volunteering Journeys in her home country of India, with a goal of bringing together travelers who want to explore the world, give back to the communities that welcome them, and learn more about themselves. This organization sets itself apart by providing personal attention and tailored trips for all volunteers, committing to high-quality service, and engaging community leaders and local professionals on all programs.

Located in Seenigama, Sri Lanka, this program invites you to coach sports at a local school, orphanage, or community center for children in need of support and connection. Throughout Thailand, elephant populations have been held in captivity for work as farm animals, cavalry in the army, and as tourist attractions. As a volunteer, you will work with an initiative to provide a home for domesticated elephants to live more naturally, without being chained up, ridden, or put to work.

A few of your activities can include preparing food, feeding the elephants, cleaning their living areas, and walking with the elephants to the river for bathing. This program also includes a guided trek through the surrounding hills, bamboo rafting, and much more. Since , Reach Out Volunteers has provided adventurous volunteer placements where travelers can make a difference worldwide.

So far, about 3, volunteers have signed up with Reach Out Volunteers, with 1, more expected to travel with this organization in alone. And you can be sure your work will be meaningful: Reach Out Volunteers only places travelers on projects created by the communities in which they work, with all programs employing local, skilled laborers to ensure long-term success.

A few optional activities you can embark on include exploring markets and shops, visiting temples, and relaxing at the beach. To learn more and to sign up, visit: www. Their programs are great for college students. Global Nomadic and the Green Lion Bali Center made it possible for me to make lifelong friends from all over the globe and bring many incredible experiences home with me.

Three weeks was almost too short. The longer your stay the better! With over 70 reviews on our website, uVolunteer is one of the most popular volunteer programs featured on Volunteer Forever and was named a top volunteer abroad program for Please note that volunteers have the option of staying longer than one or two weeks. Raul Roman is a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Cedric is a social entrepreneur who has lived in and traveled to over 30 countries.

I had the pleasure of meeting Professor Roman in Washington D. UBELONG was recently funded by a prestigious civic accelerator program and has now hosted several thousand volunteers. Indeed, Volunteer Forever fundraisers Stephani and Taylor specifically picked the organization for its low program costs. For example, UBELONG offers numerous volunteer projects in Cartago, Costa Rica where volunteers can care for elders, contribute to construction projects, or raise awareness of environmental issues for a local conservation organization.

In Quito, volunteers can contribute to local public health education efforts, volunteer in a school, or assist caregivers at an after-school center. You will still be responsible for your own airfare, travel insurance, vaccinations, and visa fees.

Volunteers are expected to work hours per day and can stay for as short as a few days to several months.

Furthermore, as a WWOOF volunteer, you are responsible for finding a host farm and working out your volunteer arrangements with the farm directly. Unlike volunteering with a traditional volunteer organization, there is no matching performed by WWOOF.

WWOOFing is a great option for travelers who are willing to volunteer a few hours of their time each day in exchange for food and a place to sleep. Also, the relatively short commitment is conducive to travelers who are only staying in a town or city for a few days at a time. Volunteers should note that they will be responsible for their own airfare, travel insurance, vaccinations, and visa expenses. VFP offers more than 3, volunteer opportunities in different countries. Most of the volunteer opportunities are for weeks, but there are longer volunteer opportunities as well months.

However, please note that there may be an additional in-country fee for some projects typically a few hundred dollars. People and Places is an award-winning responsible volunteer organization that was founded by Sallie Grayson and two of her colleagues in Indeed, the only other volunteer program outside of state-sponsored volunteer programs that includes airfare is Youth Challenge International, who provides a flight bursary for its Ghana and Tanzania programs.

The two People and Places volunteer projects that include airfare are located in the Gambia in Africa. The first project is at a nursery school that has a specific need for volunteers with experience in Early Childhood Development, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, child nutrition, education administration, or arts and crafts. This volunteer project seeks to help the Gambian people by providing them business and craft skills. Specifically, volunteers will be working with small businesses in Gambia to earn a living through tourism.

As such, this project is seeking volunteers with the following skill sets: accounting, information technology, general management, business administration, marketing and sales, product design, hospitality and tourism, and agriculture. As mentioned previously, the program fee for both of these projects by People and Places includes airfare and room and board.

However, the volunteer will still be responsible for travel insurance, vaccinations, and visa fees. With the exception of the Peace Corps, United Nations Volunteers, Voluntary Service Overseas, and other state-sponsored international development programs, most international volunteers will be responsible for assuming some costs for volunteering overseas.

However, there are several ways to reduce your out-of-pocket costs for volunteering overseas. Our list includes scholarships and grants from sources like Travelocity, National Geographic, Volunteers for Prosperity, and the Rotary Foundation.

Lastly, consider fundraising aka crowdfunding for your volunteer trip abroad. In fact, many of our volunteers have completely funded their volunteer trips by fundraising through Volunteer Forever. And if you need a little more assistance, our expert staff will provide one-on-one guidance and support to help you reach your fundraising goals. We hope all of these information and resources will help you go volunteer abroad! Air Force, where he served a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

To stay in touch! Most Popular Guidebooks. Related guidebooks. Are you a current student, graduate or a working professional in radiography or radiotherapy? Looking to gain work experience or just help in a developing country?

We have some rewarding radiography placements in places like Africa which will leave you memories to last a lifetime. On radiography placements and medical electives you will get to working with local doctors and staff helping patients and using x ray machines, CT and MRI scanners.

While we do offer special medical projects for specific age groups i. Some of our projects also offer entirely unique experiences. For example, Mongolia is our only destination where you can work a night shift with an ambulance team! Our Project Experts are here to help you find the perfect project. Call us on:. Students aged , wanting fun, structured, fully-supervised work experience with other teens during your holidays.

Families, wanting to grow and learn together by doing something different and volunteering abroad. Adventurers and explorers, wanting to combine different countries and different volunteering projects around the world. Schools, university and corporate groups of five or more people, wanting a tailor-made and unforgettable volunteering trip abroad. Home Medical Volunteering. Read on below for specific information on our different medical volunteer opportunities abroad.

Medical Volunteering Abroad for Doctors and Nurses.