‘Adventure’ is a word that sums up a lot about working overseas, especially when it is work done with voluntary sector organisations. There seems to be a perception that if you are working on a forestry project in Nepal it is somehow closer to ‘real life’ than working on a commercial farm in New Zealand. There’s also a perception that it’s more adventurous because it isn’t cosseted – you get paid nothing or very little so you have to live just like the local people, or sleep in tents in the middle of nowhere.

While there is an element of truth in all of this, it is important that you are realistic about what to expect and this means doing some preparation.

FINDING OUT ABOUT DIFFERENT ORGANISATIONS

Before applying to an organisation it’s a good idea to find out what kind of work they are involved in, what kind of people they are looking for and what kind of terms and conditions you can expect.

There are excellent books and directories (see Useful Resources at the end of this chapter) listing hundreds of organisations and giving brief details about them. Use these to make a shortlist of organisations you are interested in and then contact them for more information.

The overseas work done by voluntary sector organisations can be split into two broad categories:

• 1.Development work.
• 2.Relief emergency work.

Development work has long-term aims, usually to do with empowering people and raising their standard of living. Relief or emergency work is often more of a short-term response to a crisis event such as drought, war or earthquake. Some organisations specialise in one type of work, but others do both.

Another split that can be made concerns the length of time that people might be asked to commit to working overseas:

• 1.Short-term work is usually anything from a week to a year.
• 2.Long-term work can be anything from six months to two years.

The longer the period of time that you want to spend overseas, the more likely it is that you will need specific job skills and qualifications. However, there are some organisations, such as RedR (Register of Engineers for Disaster Relief) which take only skilled people regardless of the length of placement.

If you want to go overseas with a partner or with your family you will need to find an organisation that supports this. Not all do. Some take only single people while others will accept partners, but not children. If you intend to take your family overseas it will be much more expensive and there will be more issues to consider, such as what will your partner do while you are at work, and will you be able to get schooling for your children?

Being on a register

If you are able to go overseas at short notice for brief periods you may be interested in registering with one of the organisations that responds to crisis situations. RedR is one, Oxfam and British Red Cross are others.

There are also registers for skilled people who are interested in longer-term work. Addresses of these can be found in the Useful Resources section at the end of this chapter.

PREPARING TO WORK ABROAD

On the one hand, it’s important to do as much preparation as possible before going overseas. Once you are 6,000 miles away from home, sorting out that problem with the bank won’t be very easy. On the other hand, you don’t want to do so much preparation that you get bored and feel that the adventure is disappearing under a mountain of paperwork. So the thing to remember is to be organised and to pace yourself.

Making practical preparations

This is the part of your preparation that you must be very thorough about. It would be a shame to return home early because you didn’t have the right work permit or enough money.

Timing

The sooner you start preparing for an overseas trip, the better. Bureaucracy in some of the world’s poorer countries can be extremely slow or unpredictable. At the very least it’s useful to have room and time to manoeuvre if something goes wrong.

As a general rule of thumb, if you are planning to go abroad for more than a year it’s a good idea to start planning at least a year before you hope to go. If you are going for less than a year you should start your preparations between six and twelve months before your departure date.

Checklists

In either case, start by making lists of things to do and matters to be dealt with before you go. In the early stages it can be quite a rough list, but you’ll refine it as you go along. Here are a few things that are probably worth putting on your list:

• Passport – is it up to date and if you are going overseas for two years do you have at least two more years to run on it?
• Visas, work permits and criminal records – does the country you are going to require these and how far in advance do you need to sort them out? Will the organisation you are going with arrange visas for you?
• Inoculations – you need to sort yourself out on these as soon as possible. Some can’t be given within a certain time of others being given. Some countries might require proof that you have been vaccinated against particular diseases. You can find out which inoculations you need from your own GP, from British Airways Travel Clinics or from MASTA (Medical Advisory Service for Travellers).
• Medication – if you regularly take any medications (whether contraceptives or drugs for controlling a condition) you’ll need to check if they are available where you are going. If not you’ll need to check if they can be stored safely or if someone is willing to send them to you at regular intervals.
• Insurance – does the organisation you are going with provide this and if so what does it cover? If it isn’t provided you’ll need to get some. Also, what about insuring any property you are leaving behind?
• Accommodation – there and here. Sending agencies usually provide accommodation, but do you know what to expect? Will it have an inside toilet or an outside pit latrine? Will it have pots, pans and curtains? Will you need adapters for your electrical plugs? Also, what will you do with your home in the UK while you are gone? If you rent it out, what if your tenant leaves after a month – will you have enough money to continue paying the mortgage? If you are a tenant yourself will you have somewhere to stay if you have to return suddenly?
• Clothing – what will you need to take (what will the weather be like)? What will you be able to get overseas?
• Luggage – what’s the weight restriction (both in terms of what you are prepared to carry and what airline companies will allow you)? Knowing how much you can take will help you to prioritise what to take.
• Diet – do you have any special needs and if so will you be able to meet them in the country you are going to?
• Money – even if you are getting paid while abroad, will it be enough? You need to try to find out what a ‘shopping basket’ of things like bread, meat, vegetables, milk, beer, clothes, stamps and paper costs in the country you are going to. How much money will you take and how will you keep it safe? Talk to other people who have been to the same place (or at least have had a similar experience). Find out how much money they got through, and remember, it’s almost always more costly than you think it will be. If you are going for a long time it might be a good idea to open a bank account there – what will you need in order to do this?
• Transport – how will you get around? If you are expected to drive what kind of driving licence will you need? Will you be insured for driving? Will it be worth buying a vehicle and what can you afford?
• Communications – how will you stay in touch with people back home? How remote is it where you are going?
• Paperwork – who needs to know you’re going – friends, family, the bank, the doctor, the landlord, the council... ?
• Language – what’s the spoken language and will you need to learn it? Is there any way you can start learning now?

Some or all of these issues will apply to you, though the list is not exhaustive because each person has different circumstances to accommodate.

When you have your list it should be pretty obvious which ones need dealing with first. Things like visas, health matters and your finances should be at the top of your list because not dealing with them could well mean not going.

Raising the money

If you are going overseas with an organisation that asks you to contribute towards costs, you may need to raise some money (amounts can vary from a few pounds to several thousands). Raising money is hard work, but you will gather useful skills and contacts along the way and you could have a lot of fun. You’ll probably raise most of the money through sponsorship and there are several sources for this:

• friends and family – and friends and family of friends and family
• neighbours
• your local church
• local businesses
• national businesses with offices or stores in your area
• local Rotary, Round Table and Lions clubs
• clubs that you are a member of.

It’s also worth contacting your local newspaper if you are organising a sponsored event because they might give you some publicity and that will help you get more money.

Being culturally prepared

It’s important that you do some cultural preparation, at the very least to minimise the risk of offending someone. If you have to live and work in a community the more you understand about the way it works the easier your time will be and the more enjoyable too.

But bear in mind that adapting to a new culture can be very challenging and you will have to adjust your ideas as you go along. We all carry our own ‘cultural baggage’, which is virtually impossible to shake off. There are two general rules of thumb for living in another culture:

• 1.don’t make assumptions
• 2.don’t challenge.

It’s all too easy to make the wrong assumptions and a good example of this is thinking that it’s OK for men to wear shorts in a Muslim country because it’s only women that aren’t allowed to show their legs. But villagers in Uzbekistan have thrown stones at European men because they wore shorts. Instead of making assumptions, observe what people do and ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask – it shows that you have respect and that you are interested.

It can be difficult not to criticise the ways of a society that is very different from yours. They may appear unfair, perhaps even cruel but avoid the temptation to challenge. In some countries, for example, women are legally the property of men and cannot have their own bank accounts or make any decisions affecting the family. Of course, you can always draw comparisons with the situation back home, but you should never openly declare that what exists in another culture is wrong (or worse, use loaded language like ‘cruel’ or ‘barbaric’). No matter how much you disagree with something, you cannot go in guns blazing or you are likely to give offence and could even be sent home.

You can get a lot of information about the culture of the country you are going to from films, books, embassies and hopefully from the organisation you are going with. If possible, talk to as many people as you can who have been to or lived in the country in question. You will hear lots of contradictions and that will reinforce the need not to make assumptions, but there will also be lots of very useful information.

FINDING WORK BEFORE YOU GO OR WHEN YOU ARRIVE

If you decide to go overseas with an organisation that recruits (volunteers or paid staff) in the UK your preparation should be made a lot easier because the organisation should be able to provide help and advice on many issues – especially work permits, health matters and so on.

However, some people decide to go overseas to do voluntary work and they enhance the sense of adventure by arranging as little in advance as possible. It can be done, but it isn’t easy. You should still make sure you are clear about the need for work permits and get as much information as you can from the country’s embassy in the UK. If they can provide you with addresses of voluntary organisations in their country you will at least have a starting point.

Otherwise, when you arrive you will have to start networking very fast – asking people you meet if there is any local project going on, contacting churches, newspapers, colleges and any other institution that might know of someone that knows someone who runs a project.

You’ll also need to make sure you have a solid financial base to work from.

RETURNING HOME

Another thing to consider if you want to go overseas is how you will adjust to life back in the UK afterwards. Many people experience greater ‘culture shock’ returning home than going away, especially if they have been on a long-term project. Check to see what kind of support the organisation you intend to go with offers to returning volunteers.

CASE STUDIES

Dennis Webster, science teacher

‘I went to Botswana in 1989. I’d been living with my partner, Alison, for a few years and we decided that she would come with me. The thing was she could only stay on a three-month residence permit if she didn’t have a job or if we weren’t married! We were told the chances of her getting a job were slim, so after a lot of thought we decided to get married. Looking back I suppose I never thought going overseas would affect my life in that way.

‘Anyway, I kept renewing my contract and we ended up staying in Botswana for eight years, during which time we had two children. Alison never did find a job so the finances were very tight. Having said that, we had a wonderful time and the worst thing about it was coming back to the UK. Everything is so rushed here and no one has time for anyone else. We’ve been back almost a year now and while the kids have adjusted I don’t think we have yet.’

Jay Hall, student

‘Apart from making sure I had the right inoculations and the right paperwork, there wasn’t much else I got right when I went abroad. The reality only started to sink in when I got off the plane in the sweltering heat and saw this little airport building at the side of the runway. I didn’t know a thing about the country apart from what I’d read in wildlife magazines.

‘I managed to find a cheap hotel room and then I just froze. I didn’t know who to contact, where to start. Added to that there was no light bulb in my room and no kettle to boil water with. I did eventually manage to find a local conservation group, but I was totally unprepared for their first question – ‘what can you do?’ I just thought they’d be grateful for my help if I just turned up. Naive to say the least.

‘I realised pretty quickly I was getting nowhere and decided to cut my trip short and save some money. I’ll go again, but I’ll be much better prepared and I’ll have some skills to offer.’

Rupinder Kaur, field officer, South Africa

‘Competition for paid jobs overseas can be very intense. I was working for an overseas charity and I’d been on working trips abroad that totalled about six months over four years. But I wanted to be a field officer – basically managing the organisation’s operations in a particular country – and I didn’t have any voluntary experience overseas, which is really crucial. So I applied to another overseas organisation to be a volunteer. There were no guarantees I’d be acceptable, just because I worked in the sector, but I did make it and then ended up spending three years in Papua New Guinea (or PNG as everybody calls it). The job I was sent to do was obviously my priority, but I helped out at the Field Office whenever I could. I started applying for field officer jobs even before I left PNG and eventually was offered this post, which is based in Johannesburg.’

CHECKLIST

• How long before going should you start planning?
• What factors should you consider in your practical preparations?
• What rules of thumb are useful in adapting to different cultures?

USEFUL RESOURCES

Useful addresses

Sending agencies

Further reading