La Vida Idealist

I was thinking about what made me decide to volunteer as a Kiva Fellow in Peru and Bolivia, and I thought it would make sense to share some of those thoughts with potential volunteers.

Here are some of my considerations (grouped into the categories professional and personal):

Professional

• Employment – Are you working? Between jobs? How will your volunteer experience affect your employment status? I have some colleagues who were able to take a leave of absence from work and even carve out a deal with their employer to get paid some part of their salary upon return. This, of course, could only be okay with certain employers. In my case I left my job and then applied, so there were a couple of months between my application and my acceptance to the Kiva Fellows program when I wasn’t working.

• Time – How much time do you need to feel like you’ve made a difference and what are the requirements for the program in which you are interested? How much time can you take off from work (see above)? How much time do you want to be away from home and loved ones? My husband and my cats Mojito and Arepa are patiently waiting for me to come home. I figured six months was as much as both of us could stand, even with visits.

• Language – To what extent do you need to speak the local language if it’s not your native language? In my work as a Kiva Fellow in Peru and Bolivia, I talk to my colleagues and my clients every day in Spanish. Without a good grasp of the language I would be ineffective.

• Type of Organization – Resources, size, name. Do you want to work at a large well-known organization that works in many countries, such as the Red Cross? Or do you want to work for a small start-up organization? I choose Kiva because it’s pretty well-known and respected, but is small enough where I could make a significant contribution.

• Industry – What is your interest? Children? Health? Environment? Microfinance? Narrowing this down will help you find your ideal placement. My experience is in finance, and I’ve always wanted to put that skill to serve a social goal. I’ve also been intrigued by microfinance for years.

• People you will work with – In many cases, you will not know the types of people you will be working with until you meet them for the first time when you arrive. However, I recommend doing some due diligence by visiting the organization’s website, searching Google for news, and talking to past volunteers and employees if you can. Try LinkedIn for connections.

• Other volunteers – Will there be others working with you or will you be working alone? Just as you would choose a paid job, it’s good to know if you will be working as a team or independently.

• Poverty level – Are you comfortable working with people living in conditions much worse then you are used to? From working with Kiva I’ve seen many unhealthy children, walked on dirt floors, and witnessed dogs, chickens and people living in the same room. I’m saddened by this but I hope my work with Kiva will help some of these people work their way out of poverty.

• Paid/Free – I have learned of some programs where the nonprofit or a placement agency asks for a fee to volunteer on top of your room and board. (Some will pay for your housing.) Make sure you know and are comfortable with the fees you’ll pay.

• Organized/Individual – Do you want everything to be set up for you when you arrive or would you rather scout out a project individually? The Kiva Fellows program is well-structured, but I have a friend who was installing stoves in poor communities without the help of a large organization.

• Day to day – What exactly will you be doing? Teaching English to little kids in a classroom is very different than tutoring English to one student.

• Experience level – Do you need specialized skills as you would to volunteer with Engineers or Doctors Without Borders? If you have those skills, perhaps a specialized placement would be a better use of your talents.

What do YOU want?

Personal

• Place – Does climate matter? Would you like to be in the mountains or in a hot tropical place? Do you get to pick? I choose to work in a Spanish speaking country and did my interviews in Spanish, but I was flexible so Kiva could decide where I fit best and  would have a better chance of being accepted.

• Place to live – Where will you stay in your time abroad? In my experience, there are many things you may have to sacrifice in terms of comfort. In Cusco, I had to walk outside through a patio to go to the bathroom and take a shower. During the rainy season, this wasn’t so fun but I dealt with it.

• Free time – Consider where you think you would enjoy living. Yes, I’ll admit, the way I ranked the countries in my Latin American list included some research on the potential for rock climbing. It’s ok considering you won’t be spending all your time volunteering. Volunteers can have fun too!

• Environment – Rural vs urban? In a city, you may get more choice for food, places to live, internet access and things to do, but generally you’ll deal with more pollution, traffic and potentially miss waking up to the sound of cows and a beautiful countryside landscape.

• Comfort with “dirtiness” – Honestly, I couldn’t think of another way of describing this. There is just generally more dirt, dust and unclean bathrooms without toilet paper than what you are used to when you go to less developed country.

And finally…

• Goals – What are you trying to get out of the experience? For me, working in microfinance in a developing country was a dream which I have accomplished working with Kiva.

• Dreams – It’s ok to be idealistic (wink wink).  That’s part of what makes volunteering great. You are helping to change the world for the better, even if it’s just your world and perspective. During a six week trip I took with my husband to Australia and New Zealand, I decided to apply for the Kiva Fellows program. I put my online marketing career on hold and gave up a fairly decent salary. Pursuing the dream was worth it.

This is a laundry list of things to consider, but what’s really important is to prioritize what’s most important to you because you’ll have to compromise. No organization is perfect.

I also recommend tempering your expectations for your volunteer experience and let it exceed your expectations. Because it will. In any case, I believe any experience enriches your life, even if it’s not the most amazing thing in the world.

Other things to think about when looking for a volunteer experience?  This is the list I came up with but please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below. I’m sure people would appreciate your perspective too.

Lethal Sheethal has recently left in her  six month volunteering adventure as a  Kiva Fellow in South America. If you’re interested in seeing what she’s up to post-experience, follow her on Twitter and/or check out her blog.

Want to volunteer abroad but not sure where to start? Check out these other La Vida Idealist posts for more ideas on how to take that first step: “Six Simple Steps for Volunteering Abroad,” “Making It Happen for Yourself,” “So You Spin the Globe…,” “It Pays To Do Some Research,” “Panning for Gold: Plucking Out the Nonprofit Gems,” “Volunteering 101: Interview Yourself,” and “Five Things to Think About When Choosing Your Volunteer Location.“

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