Global Vision International pairs interested travelers with expert trainers, so they can volunteer with one of 150 projects run by nonprofit organizations and NGOS in 30 countries. Projects include social, educational and community development work as well as environment and conservation programs.  
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I-to-I Meaningful Travel. This travel company sells 
        courses in Teaching English as a Foreign Language 
        and offers TEFL job placement around the world. 
        They also send volunteers on trips to work on 500 projects on 5 continents—perhaps working with 
        orphans in Kenya, or Hill Tribe children in Thailand. 
        
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Want to join a team of two or three who help women's 
                groups develop skills to improve their economic situation? Cross Cultural Solutions is a nonprofit that places 
                volunteers in locally designed and driven partner projects in 
                Africa, Latin America, Russia, and Asia. Year round programs provide 
                health care services, education and support community development. 
                You can participate for 1 week up to 6 months. Fees include room 
                and board but not airfare, and start at $2175; they vary by program 
                duration. Cross Cultural Solutions will survey your skills and 
                interests prior to placement and provide in-depth orientation 
                about culture and customs, plus language assistance.
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The definition of sweat
                equity: build a house from the ground up. Habitat
                for Humanity builds low income housing in 80 countries.
                Their Global Village Work Trips send teams into villages to work
                side by side with local people. Volunteers travel, work, live
                and eat together, often in primitive settings. Fees start at
                $1100 and vary by location. 
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Earn academic credit for international work in 
              Latin America and Spain that’s organized through AmeriSpan's Volunteer/Internship programs. Recent volunteers worked in a Guatemala 
              woman's educational cooperative, a Mexico women's crisis center, 
              an Ecuador women's prison,  a Peru education center for girls, 
              an Argentina program for street children, and Bolivian orphanages. 
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Village Volunteers. This organization collaborates with NGOS to support community leaders in Kenya, Ghana, India, Nepal and Seattle who empower local people, rely on indigenous resources, and build on cultural traditions to implement sustainable solutions for community survival, education and growth. All projects are initiated, executed and managed by local people. If you’d like to volunteer, contact Shana Green, Founder and Executive Director.  
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Global Volunteers offers 180+ volunteer vacation 
        opportunities in 20 countries on 6 continents.  You 
        might tutor grade-schoolers, share life stories with 
        elderly women,  stock the library. Average stay is 
        1-3 weeks. 
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Kosrae Village. Katrina Adams, from California, co-founded 
        this Micronesian eco-resort a dozen years ago. In September,
        you can join a team of volunteers who drive for two weeks to  
        collect data to help keep the indigenous coral reefs healthy. 
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Put your work experience to work
        in developing countries where any
        Professional experience is precious.
        A 2003 paperback directory describes 
        short, medium and long term options
        all over the globe: World Volunteers:
        The World Guide to Humanitarian and
        Development Volunteering. 
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Travel expenses incurred 
              on a trip that is mostly charitable in nature may be tax 
              deductible in the United States, though the monetary value of volunteer 
              time is not.  
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Irma Turtle was a VP 
              at Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide before she found her passion in life: tribal peoples. Her company, Turtle Tours, offers trips to indigenous communities.  Her nonprofit organization, Turtlewill, can arrange for you to travel with them as a healthcare volunteer (no training required) or a staff assistant. 
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Shine Your Light | Issues | Understand | Act
          
                    
          Music courtesy of Susan Werner - Excerpt of Help Somebody is from her album The Gospel Truth available at Amazon.com
          © Paola Gianturco 2007-2010 All Rights Reserved