We travel to see how another part of the world lives. We taste food and visit museums and monuments to learn the history of a particular place. The next time you go abroad, think about volunteering as a way to delve deeper into a culture and help it improve. The Voluntary Traveler: Adventures from the Road Best Traveled is a complete and thorough guide to inspire you to volunteer and to help you find an opportunity that is just right for you.
The first half of the book is a compilation of personal narratives from volunteers of all ages and backgrounds, whether experienced or complete novices. They volunteered for a range of causes including animal rescue and rehabilitation, medicine and dentistry, and teaching. No matter the type of project they worked on, each individual champions a volunteer organization that is close to their heart and that they encourage readers to research. If you feel the slightest bit of intimidation about volunteering in a foreign country, you can find reassurance in these stories once you read of how each individual was positively affected by the people or animals that they encountered.
As someone who is contemplating volunteering abroad, the second half of the book was especially helpful to me as it served as a guidebook to up to a 100 volunteer organizations. Each organization is broken down into basic information such as age requirement, fees, type of work, health requirements, and contact information so you can bookmark each page depending on what appeals to you and best suits your personality. The organizations are varied and are located in virtually every country around the world and so there is no way you can finish reading this book without finding at least one volunteer opportunity that interests you.
If you are just thinking about volunteering or have already decided that it will be your next trip, this is the book to set you on the right track. The opportunity doesn’t have to be a year-long venture but maybe a 2 week job instead. No matter the length of time, every little bit helps and in return you will receive a richer travel experience.
<a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0980232368?ie=UTF8&tag=wanderbooklu-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0980232368″>Available on Amazon</a><img src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wanderbooklu-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0980232368″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”” style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” />
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