There are numerous organisations that need help from volunteers in Thailand, which is a fantastic way to experience everyday life in Thailand, meet lots of locals, learn some of the language and also enjoy the reward of helping others.
If you are planning on travelling for a few months, beginning your trip with a few weeks volunteering is also a great way to get a sense of orientation in a new country, plus meet other like minded volunteers who might become great travel buddies too.
Bear in mind that volunteer work is usually hard work too, and that it’s not a commitment you should take on likely. Although for you it may feel like a vacation before you get there, you can’t really have a casual attitude towards what you’re doing when you arrive. Both your organisation and the people you’re helping need you to be reliable and dedicated to what you’re doing. So before you sign up, make sure you’ve asked yourself whether you really want to give your time as a volunteer.
Even though you are donating your time and effort for free, you will still have to pay your own flights and living expenses in most cases. This is because many volunteer organisations simply can’t afford to pay this for volunteers themselves. Arguably volunteers get as much out of the experience of working with the organisation as they contribute, so it’s not a one way street.
There are numerous grass-roots organisations in Thailand that run on a shoestring and are always in need of help. BK Magazine recently published two great articles – Holiday Helpers and Be Good – detailing various charity groups in need of help from visiting foriegners. Most of these groups have their own websites of varying quality to let you get a better idea of what they’re about. With these organisations, you can simply contact them ahead of time and ask if you can help and arrange to meet them when you arrive in Thailand. VoluntThai.com and SmilingAlbino.com are two established companies in Thailand jointly run by foreigners and Thais that are experienced in helping foreigners join them from overseas.
If you prefer a more mediated volunteer experience, there are many professional volunteer companies that charge quite high fees for volunteer holidays in Thailand whichcan last anywhere from a couple of weeks to months. Don’t be too put off by this – these fees often go towards funding the project itself, and simply couldn’t exist without them. When checking out these sorts of companies, it’s worth scouting around to find out how much of the money you pay goes to the charity organisation itself and how much is profit for the holiday company.
A couple of examples of professional volunteer companies to check out are ResponsibleTravel.com, who do all sorts of adventure and eco-holidays, and i to i
, who focus on vocational holidays, the majority of which are teaching English.
If you’ve got any volunteer experiences and suggestions from Thailand, please leave a comment and share with others – it would be great to hear from you
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