Volunteering Without Participation Fees - The Price of Freedom

Volunteering Without Participation Fees

In two short weeks I will be participating on my third volunteer trip in as many years. Like my previous two journeys, this one will be in South America. Unlike my previous experiences, however, I have organized this one myself. Why? Because this time I wanted a more personalized experience that suited my independent travel style. This is not to say I don't see the need for certain organizations who can provide valuable services to volunteers who may require more guidance and structure, but there are other ways to volunteer abroad, some of which I will explore in this article.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Volunteer tourism sparked my interest in 2008 when I participated on my first project with Free The Children in Ecuador. My former workplace has a high profile partnership with FTC, and this was the second time they had worked together to send a group to Ecuador. All of the logistics related to project design, transportation, community partnership, room and board, and ancillary activities were already taken care of by FTC and my office’s Communications Director. Our primary responsibility as volunteers was to fundraise, pay $2100 that covered our flight and project-related costs (that we couldn’t fundraise for), and be enthusiastic about the project – especially since there was a lot of PR leading up to the trip and a documentary film crew was following us throughout the experience. It was definitely a unique initiation into the volunteer travel world, but one that left me wanting a more down to earth, less Hollywood experience.

MY NEXT VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

I tried to achieve this goal through traveling to Brazil at the end of 2010 with Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village program. Similar to my work-organized trip, the GV Team Leaders took care of everything short of booking participants' flight itineraries, and even hand-picked the members they wanted on the team. I had to write a brief essay and have a phone interview to prove my genuine interest and competencies before I could be one of the chosen 20. I was also responsible for booking and paying for my flight, as well as an extra $1540 to take care of assorted build-related costs. Even though we weren’t followed by a camera crew, our stay was relatively luxurious, leading me to believe that the sizable fees we each had to pay could have been directly allocated to the project if we had chosen not to stay at hotels with wi-fi and enjoyed all-you-can-eat lunch buffets.

This got me thinking about the price of volunteering. We are already offering our time and paying for our flights. Why must we pay a substantial extra fee to participate? I quickly came to the following conclusion: We mustn’t!

I’m an experienced, independent and thrifty traveler, skilled at finding good deals on most trip expenses and haggling with locals for activities and essentials, so it just made sense for me to find a volunteer program that suited my travel style for the next adventure. Catching my enthusiasm for this upcoming trip, my cousin Esther jumped on board. Although only a year younger than me, she is far less traveled, and this disparity has made itself evident throughout the planning process.

Volunteers in Peru with Pisco Sin Fronteras

A NEW WAY TO VOLUNTEER

We agreed that Peru-based Pisco Sin Fronteras seemed pretty legit based on reviews and the continuous growth of the organization. Along with submitting an application outlining our skills, participants are responsible for coordinating their own travel plans and transport to the site, and perhaps accommodation as they offer a limited number of beds on a first- come-first-serve basis. Our only expenses were:

• Our airfare
• Incidental snacks and activities that we plan ourselves
• A modest fee of $35 per week for operational costs and the daily meals they provide us with

Pretty reasonable, right? It seems like a no-brainer to pocket the $1000+ difference in participation costs, at the expense of navigating this process unassisted. This is my dream arrangement. But going through this with my unversed cousin has snapped me back to reality.

Feeling relatively coddled by my first two volunteer trips has made me long for this type of independent travel. Esther, on the other hand, has been anxious from the start. She has endless questions about travel vaccinations, transport to Pisco, nearest hospitals, protocol for on-site injuries, safety equipment – the list goes on. Since we were accepted to participate in April, my cousin has developed a relationship with the volunteer coordinator who has had the pleasure of assuring Esther that after years of successful operation, PSF will ensure our safety.

Pisco Sin Fronteras Volunteers in Peru

The latest matter, however, has been convincing Esther that she can get on the plane by herself in the first place. We are flying on separate dates from opposite sides of North America, and last night she called me to say she was nervous about flying solo. We had come such a long way to verifying with PSF that our time there will be as safe as possible, but now she might not even make it there at all! Suddenly I understood why my GV Team Leaders had asked so many questions about my travel history, conflict resolution abilities, and level of independence before inviting me to join.

I had to reassure Esther that the process of walking to the gate onto the plane, flying to her first layover, waiting a few hours in the airport before taking the connecting flight to Lima, is barely distinguishable if one were to do it alone or with another person. And as soon as she lands, I will be right by her side for the next two weeks till we repeat the process in the opposite direction.

As it stands right now, Esther is not sure if she is able to make this step. I tell her if she does, she can learn that she is capable of more than she ever thought she was. After all, apart from exploring new cultures, travel provides ample opportunity for self-exploration. I hope she can explore both, and so much more, as I have throughout my journeys.

Additional Resources:

• Related Article: How to Volunteer Abroad for Free
• Volunteer programs in Peru
• Volunteer programs in Ecuador
• Volunteer programs in Brazil