The Peace Corps is a wonderful program, providing the world with volunteers in many different subjects, including IT, business development, agriculture, HIV/AIDS assistance, education, health promotion, and environmental education and clean up. The benefits to volunteers include student loan deferment, learning a new language, some financial compensation, and medical coverage. However, the Peace Corps requires a commitment of 27 months, and sends you where they need you, not where you want to go.
There are several alternatives to the Peace Corps for people who want to volunteer for a shorter length of time, or who would like more control over their destination and the type of work they will be doing. These programs will generally cost you money, unlike the Peace Corps, which tries to at least keep you from losing money.
There are many websites that have a directory of alternative volunteering opportunities available. For example, VolunteerAbroad.com allows you to search for the specific country you would like to volunteer in. For example, I searched for all volunteer opportunities in the Caribbean. I found an opportunity to work with orphans in the Dominican Republic. The volunteer listing shows that you can volunteer for as little as 2 weeks, or for as long as 12 weeks. However, the drawback here, compared to the Peace Corps, is that you have to pay over $1000 for four weeks, and even more to stay longer. This is needed to pay for your travel, accommodation, and food. Also, unlike the Peace Corps, you can apply for this alternative as a couple and volunteer alongside your significant other.
If you would like to get paid, your best option is probably teaching English. Consider getting certified to teach, but most third-world countries will accept volunteers with no qualifications to teach English.
The VolunteerAbroad.com websites offers an array of alternatives to volunteering at all. Their listings include internships abroad, degrees abroad, studying abroad, eco adventures, and teaching abroad. For students studying abroad who wish to extend their stay in their host country, they may choose to intern abroad as a way to stay longer. Also, if your goal is to learn the language, having a job or studying in the language is an effective way to learn quickly. For internships, they may require you to pay a registration fee, and not offer a salary, but you will get more valuable experience working for free in Mexico or some other country than you would working as a waiter at your local restaurant as a summer job.
Another good website is GlobalCrossroad.com. The webpage advertises cheaper opportunities where it is easy to find them, and also offers several categories of opportunities. They list teaching abroad, TEFL (teaching English), volunteering abroad, and tours as separate categories. If you would like to get TEFL certified, they offer an online course. For people who would like to volunteer for a very short amount of time, Global Cross road offers “Mini-Ventures,” which are two-week volunteering opportunities.
So, if you’re interested in studying abroad, but the Peace Corps is too much commitment, don’t despair. There are many Peace Corps alternatives to choose from!
