Volunteer Opportunities

Opportunities within the Susila Dharma network

Want to volunteer in India?

English teacher and permaculture specialist needed in India at SD member project, Anisha.

This summer Anisha was host to the Human Force Volunteer Camp, where one of the activities was teaching English to local schoolchildren. Not only did this prove immensely popular to children, but it highlighted a need in the community where the level of English is fairly low. Because of this experience, the project would  like to recruit an English teacher to teach a summer school and pre- and after-school classes. Find out more! 

Another learning experience for Anisha was brought by a HF volunteer from Australia, Jayadi,  a student in permaculture, who taught staff members some permaculture techniques and helped improve agricultural output while saving water! Anisha was so impressed by Jayadi that they have invited him back, and are looking for another permaculture specialist to help him. Interested? Find out more! 

Virtual volunteer needed!

Do you have experience with graphic design? Usaha Mulia Abadi in Mexico is looking for someone to help them create a new visual identity (logo etc.) and refresh their publications (flyers, newsletters). You don’t have to be in Mexico to do this – all you need is a computer,  an internet connection and ideally desktop publishing software.

If you´re interested in helping out, please contact Mariamah Flores at usahamuliabadi@gmail.com.

For more information about the project, see its web page.

Click for other volunteering opportunities within the SDIA network, such as Human Force Volunteer Camps for Social Change and the Budesti English Language Summer School in Moldova.

International Volunteer Programs

If you are interested in volunteering, know that some governments facilitate and support their citizens to volunteer abroad. There are also several major non-governmental organisations which send volunteers. Here are some helpful links to check out:

• Australia: Australian Volunteers International (AVI) recruits, prepares and supports Australian volunteers who live and work in developing communities. It is an international volunteer-sending agency supported by AusAID. AVI and its volunteers are committed to achieving long term development, poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods. Visit: www.australianvolunteers.com
• Canada: CIDA’s International Youth Internship program is an employment program for young Canadian professionals (ages 19 to 30 inclusive). It offers post-secondary graduates the opportunity to gain valuable international development work experience. Visit: www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/. Check out Rooftops Canada / Abri International http://www.rooftops.ca/ for volunteering and internship opportunities both in Canada and abroad.
• Europe: The European Volunteer Centre brings together national and regional volunteer centres across Europe and actively promotes volunteering at European level. visit: www.cev.be European Voluntary Service is a programme opened to all countries within the European Union. It covers 100% of the expenses for the young people interested in going abroad to any county of the EU or a developing country in another continent. Visit: http://ec.europa.eu/youth/youth-in-action-programme/doc82_en.htm
• France: There are several organisations which send professional volunteers on long-term placements, including La Délégation Catholique pour la Coopération – visit: www.ladcc.org and the Service de Coopération au Développement – visit: www.scd.asso.fr
• Germany: The German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development covers 75% of the costs for going abroad and doing voluntary service in a developing country:www.weltwaerts.de/. See also Senior Experten Service
  www.ses-bonn.de/ for short and medium term opportunities for seniors.
• United Kingdom: Voluntary Services Overseas works with its overseas partners to find qualified and experienced volunteers to work with their projects. Visit: www.vso.org.uk International Service is a development agency which sends volunteers to Latin America,   West Africa and the Middle East. Visit: www.internationalservice.org.uk. Community Service Volunteers is an organization in United Kindom that mobilizes around 150,000 volunteers per year. You can participate even if you are not from UK. Visit: http://www.csv.org.uk/volunteering
• Worldwide: SCI-IVS – Service Civil International is a peace organisation that co-ordinates short and long term voluntary projects for people of all ages and backgrounds.It has 43 branches and groups worldwide and an ever growing number of partner organisations. The network spans 5 continents, but is based mainlyin Europe and Asia. Volunteers have the opportunity to participate in a huge variety of projects all around the world. Visit: www.sci-ivs.org/new/index.php?sciintInternational Cultural Youth Exchange is an international non-profit youth exchange organisation promoting youth mobility, intercultural learning and international voluntary service in the five continents. Visit: http://www.icye.org/

And last but not least, the United Nations also recruits professionals from all over the world with at least 5 years relevant experience to work as volunteers internationally. See www.unv.org