Many people are increasingly opting for international volunteer placements instead of beach-side holidays. Here are just some of the reasons why:

1. For the Cultural Experience

Volunteering within a community allows you to experience the local culture & way of life in a way that even the most hardened of backpackers or tourists can even dream of. It gives you a more complete picture as to how people live, and a deeper understanding of local customs. Many people are increasingly recognising that spending a couple of weeks volunteering in a Cambodian Orphanage is immensely more fun, memorable & rewarding then a couple of weeks on a beach on a Tropical Island.

2. To Give something back

Volunteering gives you a chance to give over your time & skills to the benefit of impoverished communities. Regardless of your age or level of experience, if you approach your work with a positive attitude, you’ll no doubt see the benefit of your involvement – even if it is something as little as putting a smile on a child’s face!

3. Pay for the support & security

You could try to go it alone and volunteer without the support of an organization such as vMaD. But that means arranging your own accommodation, transport to and from project, finding a decent project to work with and not receiving any pre-departure or in-country support. As an established locally run organization, we can also ge better prices for most of these things than you can! You’ll find that once you add up the cost of doing all of these things yourself, the difference between paying an organizations like vMaD to arrange your volunteer experience and going it alone is negligible. What is more, if you go it alone, there will be nobody there to support you if things do go wrong.

4. Your Volunteer Fee as a Donation

The reality on the ground in Cambodia and in other developing countries is that the vast majority of people face a daily struggle to survive, and the same is true of non profit organizations such as ourselves who try to our hardest to help. We are a small NGO dependent upon donations. Without volunteer fees, our projects would not be able to continue. After paying the costs associated with your volunteer program (accommodation, transport, etc) 100% of your fee is spent on our projects - such as providing food to the orphans or building an improved sanitation facility.

Read this article for more information on paying to volunteer.