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Volunteering Abroad
waterloosunset:
How about the Peace Corps? They'll send you off to help others, and pay you for it, so you won't have to worry about saving up for it. I know a lot of volunteering programs are designed to take money off young people, making them pay £3000 to help build houses somewhere, when they could organise it themselves for much less.
And I know the UN does a lot of humanitarian work, with the World Food Program etc
ViolentDove:
I looked into doing this for a while as well. If you've got a qualification or experience in something, you might be able to find a program that'll let you use your skills and pay your way over there, or at least provide accommodation and meals free of charge. I know there's a scheme in Australia for skilled volunteers, no idea about the U.S. or U.K. though, sorry.
I never ended up doing it (I was looking at working in a TB clinic), on account of re-enrolling in Uni for another year. Maybe next year!
Edit: With regards to meshing with college, you could possibly look at a volunteer program in an area related to your studies, so you might be slightly knowledgeable about what you're doing, and gain some experience that might help your studies as well.
RedLion:
Great guys, thanks for the responses. I'm going to see what happens as college starts, but I am definitely going to pursue this.
redglasscurls:
Just don't go via religious mission group, and really check into the background of the group you go with to make sure the things you do are actually worthwhile. The Washington Post ran this article about bullshit mission trips a few weeks ago, and made the point that if you're willing to spend all the money it takes to go someplace and build them a church they really don't need, why not just send that money to the people in question and let it be used for things that are actually lacking?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/04/AR2008070402233_pf.html
Jimmy the Squid:
My cousin, who is an arsehole, is one of those people who go to impoverished nations and build unneccesary churches so that missionaries can withhold food, water and medical assistance to everyone who refuses to give up their culture in favour of Christianity. He essentially uses this as a way to get free flights to places, spend two weeks pretending to give a shit about the world and then spend another three weeks surfing and being a tourist.
If I'm able to I would like to spend a year with the Doctors Without Borders program after I finish my masters degree. I hear, via my lecturers, that they need psychologists so in a couple of years when I have finished my studies I think I would like to do that.
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