Benefits of volunteering abroad

1. Whether you’re taking a career break, gap year or you just fancy going travelling; volunteering abroad won’t just help you travel to countries far away, but also provide you with employable skills to embellish your CV with. It is becoming harder as a student or graduate when applying for jobs as most people going for it will have similar levels of education and skills as you. By choosing to volunteer abroad you can gain the edge you need to broaden your horizons and expand your skills set. If you’re thinking about jumping on a plane to become a volunteer abroad then find out some of the benefits you may gain from it. We may even be able to sway your decision: Volunteering abroad can be a mind-opening experience exposing you to cultures and experiences far from your normal everyday life. If you end up travelling to a third world country you’ll learn to appreciate your life back home more; and lots of people come back home enlightened with a better feeling about their own lives. Having a chance to experience another way of life will allow you to learn more about yourself as a person. Choosing to volunteer abroad is an altruistic act. Intrinsically volunteering allows you to give something back to a community or country without gain for yourself. By building schools in a remote village, helping out to conserve endangered animals, or teaching children about safe sex in countries with high HIV rates you’ll be making a difference to the society and area you’re in. During your career break or gap year volunteering programs abroad you’ll be able to learn new skills which you can take forward in your further life. One of the most important (and employable) skills is speaking another language. Some countries or areas (especially in the third world) may not know English so you’ll need to pick up some phrases and bits of their language in order to communicate. A lot of volunteers who travel from English speaking countries are used to teach English to the local children which will require relearning some skills you already have furthering your abilities, and helping improve the abilities of others. Volunteering abroad will do wonders for your professional life as choosing to do this shows that you are not afraid to be in a new environment and thrown in at the deep end; and this can tell future employers a lot about you. There are plenty of other employable skills which you gain from travelling and volunteering including team work skills, patience, the ability to think outside the box, and gaining a tolerance of others. Sometimes the people who travel and volunteer are outgoing, confident people but others go in order to work on those exact skills. Being put in a situation where you’re with new people and having to communicate with others can help to build your confidence if you’re otherwise a shy person. Volunteering abroad will give you the opportunity to build an audience and start a blog. Blogging is a big business and can provide you with a lot of skills including writing, social media, outreach and design. If you choose to blog about your travelling, volunteering and experience you could build a business from the other side of the world.       These are just a few of the benefits you can gain from volunteering abroad but if you’re still debating it then grab the opportunity with both hands because when you leave education, get a

2. full time job and start building a life it can become harder and harder to just drop everything and jump on a plane. Do it while you can and develop yourself as a person.