Volunteerism: Teen Service Trips Abroad

February 9, 2010 | Posted by

Teenagers today have many different opportunities to travel abroad for work, study, cultural exchange, or just for fun. However, the last couple decades has see a dramatic increase in the number of teenagers travelling abroad with the intention of volunteering to help people living in poverty, suffering from disease, or facing other trials. The whole idea of teen service travel has really taken off and now there are programs dealing with almost every conceivable issue, so the opportunities abound.

Most teen service trips are organized by various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that focus on specific issues or global concerns. The NGO programs reflect their issues and allow the teen service volunteer the opportunity to be on the ground working on whatever the cause may be. From fighting hunger and disease to helping communities develop economically or providing education, virtually any kind of volunteer opportunity imaginable is available to teen service travelers today.

These teen service trips can last from just a few weeks to up to a year and can provide the volunteer with the perfect opportunity to get to understand their issue by seeing and trying to help with the issue’s effects. However, unlike a normal vacation, the volunteers are expected to actively work and participate, which means it is important to find an NGO program that properly reflects the teen service volunteer’s true interests and passions. Volunteers that truly find themselves doing something they believe in will find the experience incredibly rewarding.

The first step is to find the right cause or issue that the teen service volunteer takes seriously and is interested in helping with. Once this has been determined the next step is to start looking at various NGOs involved with that particular issue and see what sort of volunteer programs they have available. NGOs are always in need of more volunteers, so finding the programs should not be too difficult. Finding a program that works with the volunteer’s time schedule and circumstances can be more difficult. However, it is well worth the effort once the right volunteer abroad program is found.

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