Volunteer in South East Asia
Have you been dying to pay South-Eastern Asia a visit and are simply fascinated by Asian culture? Do you love Asian food and want to experience what it means to live in Asia first-hand? Are you looking to go on an incredible adventure abroad, while also growing as a person doing good? If any of this sounds like you, becoming a volunteer in South-Eastern Asia might be just what you need.
If this is the first time that you are even thinking about becoming a volunteer, we are here to help you. In what follows, we would like to introduce you to our top countries for becoming a volunteer in South-Eastern Asia. Find out what each of these destinations is all about and choose your perfect place to volunteer abroad!
Of course, we will also tell you about the kind of charity work that you can expect to be doing in Asia. Whether you are interested in working with children or saving the wild orangutan population of your chosen volunteer country, the possibilities are almost endless. Find out which volunteer projects are taking center stage in which country.
Once you are confident that you have found your desired country for volunteering, we encourage you to check out the respective country guide as well, where we provide you with even more useful information. For now, let's learn a little more about our top 6 countries for becoming a volunteer in South-Eastern Asia first.
Volunteer opportunities in South East Asia
Mass-population, outdated social systems and animal mistreatment as a source of income are only some of the causes of the continent’s issues. According to the
- poverty and rising income inequality
- lack of transparency and accountability in government
- gender inequality in the political and economic life
- ethnic and religious conflicts
- unequally distributed access to education
- sustainable usage of natural resources
There are many ways for volunteers to help with some of these problems, and the most hands-on and active way is to volunteer in Southeast Asia for one of the many projects on site. Whether you are passionate about teaching and providing quality education in Vietnam or Cambodia, supporting rural communities as a volunteer in Malaysia or whether you want to protect local wildlife in Indonesia and Thailand, one of the many volunteer programs will give you the chance to do exactly that.
Read on to find out how to volunteer in Asia, what kinds of volunteer programs exist and what your tasks will be when volunteering abroad.
Animal and wildlife conservation
South East Asia’s animals and wildlife are as diverse as the continent itself. From orangutans in Indonesia and Malaysia and elephants in Thailand, the life on land is a variety of amazing animals. But not only does this destination convince any animal lover with its diversity on land - its oceans are filled with just as much wonderful marine life such as sea turtles, sharks and coral reefs that can be found around the numerous islands of Indonesia when you volunteer in South East Asia.
One of the main problems this destination is facing when it comes to its animals and wildlife is the exploitation of the local fauna for economic purposes. This includes, for example, elephant riding in Thailand, or buying jewelry made from turtle shells as a souvenir in Bali, one of the main island of Indonesia. Additional threats are
- illegal poaching
- wildlife trade
- shrinking habitats
- environmental pollution
The combination of all these threats has led to declining numbers of many animals, even to the point of near extinction. As a wildlife conservation volunteer, you can support efforts to prevent this decline and rehabilitate native species.
Support community services
If you want to immerse yourself in the culture and get in touch with the locals during your volunteer work in South East Asia, a community program is the perfect opportunity. Community work calls for open, outgoing and empathetic volunteers that aren’t afraid of getting involved and can face hard realities.
Depending on what your skills and qualifications are, there are many different ways to help in a community development program, no matter if you’re seeing yourself at volunteering projects in the Philippines, Thailand or Vietnam. Some of them are:
- taking care of young children
- supporting women empowerment and human rights efforts
- helping out at an orphanage
- working with street children
- renovating and building community facilities, houses, and schools
Before you decide to volunteer at an orphanage, a women shelter or as a counselor, make sure you are prepared for your task and understand what to expect. While working with orphans might sound noble at first, it is important to realize that more than 80% of children living in orphanages are not orphans. They are separated from their families because they are poor, disabled, from an ethnic minority or because they are suffering from other exclusion factors.
Many of the children and women you will be working with have experienced violence or abuse and are traumatized. For this reason, it is essential that volunteers MUST have appropriate skills. If not, you could be putting yourself and the people you work with at risk. Therefore, if you wish to volunteer at an orphanage or women shelter you should meet at least one of the following requirements:
- experience in working with traumatized clients
- training as a child caretaker
- training as a psychologist
- training as a social worker
If you are especially interested in women empowerment and want to support women's rights with your volunteering efforts, there are also volunteering projects available in countries such as the Philippines.
Teaching in South East Asia
Shortage in staff and geographical difficulties make it difficult for many students, especially in rural areas, to receive the education they deserve. As a teaching volunteer in South East Asia, you can support the staff in local schools and support the progress of the children in the classroom by providing extra help and attention. Depending on the volunteer program you choose, there is a great variety of tasks you could be doing:
- helping out at a daycare center for children with special needs
- assisting disabled children
- supporting local teachers and staff
- providing shelter and education for orphanages
- educating women
- teaching at an NGO High School
The main focus, however, is teaching English. As English is the world language, and as South East Asia is a dream travel destination for so many people, the tourism industry is one of the major income sources, especially in rural areas and temples. How cool would it be to teach English to Cambodian Monks? Of course, other countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are looking for teaching volunteers as well.
Biodiversity and its conservation
As a volunteer in South East Asia, you can join environmental programs to make a real difference in the effort to preserve the unique flora and fauna, temples and coral reefs. Environmental programs are focused on agriculture, conservation work and marine conservation. All of these conservation programs are spread all over South East Asia, so you will have free choice. Depending on the volunteer work you will join, typical tasks might include:
From large hospitals that have to meet the needs of hundreds of patients every day to small healthcare centers, you will get a say as to where you will be volunteering. If you are either studying medicine or you are training to be a nurse, becoming a healthcare volunteer in South East Asia will be the perfect fit. As a volunteer in South East Asia, you can choose from the following healthcare projects
- Working as a coral farming assistant
- Cleaning reefs
- Surveying seahorses
- Building and maintaining coral nurseries
- Cleaning beaches, village areas, temples
- Working on temple’s main conservation and preservation sites
- Repairing and fixing mangroves
- Contributing towards a sustainable development of the local community
- Snorkeling tours and in water cleaning
- Running a plastic recycling plant
As a volunteer in South East Asia, your work can make a significant and lasting contribution to the social project goals and will provide you with a unique experience.
Medical and healthcare
A country is only as healthy as its people. If you want to make sure that sick people are receiving the care that they need, then volunteering in this field of interest might be just right for you. You will likely not just be a healthcare volunteer in South East Asia, but take on the role of a volunteer social worker as well.
From large hospitals that have to meet the needs of hundreds of patients every day to small healthcare centers, you will get a say as to where you will be volunteering. If you are either studying medicine or you are training to be a nurse, becoming a healthcare volunteer in South East Asia will be the perfect fit. As a volunteer, you can choose from the following healthcare projects:
- nutrition and healthcare education
- rural health assistance
- medical hospital assistant
- assisting in hospitals
- supporting local clinics
- joining a medical internship
Most of the volunteering services needed will require a certain set of skills in the medical field but can vary based on your level of expertise and years of experience. If you are not a trained nurse or doctor you can still support local communities by informing locals about infectious diseases and hygiene measurements.
Cost of living
The suggested daily budget for living as a volunteer in South East Asia is between US$ 20 and US$ 40. This is an estimate made considering the average price of some of the services you might need and things you might want to buy. It gives you a general overview of how much things cost in this country, so you can be prepared and save the money you will need for one of the volunteering programs.
Additional costs you should consider as a volunteer in South East Asia:
- program fees
- flight tickets (
find cheap flights to South East Asia ) - travel insurance (we recommend
World Nomads ) - fees for your visa
- personal expenses
Things to know before you volunteer in South East Asia
Before starting your volunteer work, it’s important to think about the cultural norms you’ll need to adjust to. In addition, learn about the precautions you might need to take when volunteering abroad. The following list might help you with that:
Safety & Precautions
Before you leave on your volunteer trip, make sure to read up on the safety advice your government gives for tourists in the specific country you are planning on visiting. Most Asian countries like Thailand are pretty safe, however, it is important to use common sense at all times and be aware of the current political situation.
Here are some universal tips you might want to follow during your volunteer work in South East Asia:
- Keep your personal belongings and important travel documents with you at all times! It also makes sense to bring attested photocopies of these documents, in case you lose them!
- If you are going out, do not take a lot of money, jewelry or other fancy possessions with you. Take only the money you will need and leave everything else back home!
- In the unfortunate case of you being robbed, do not resist the robbery!
- Be careful when withdrawing money from a bank or at an ATM!
- Do not use unregistered taxis! Doing so increases the risk of becoming a victim of a crime.
- Do NOT ever buy, take or sell any kind of drugs - in some Asian countries this is punished with prison or even death penalty.
Health advice
It is annoying to get sick when traveling abroad and although it is a common concern for travelers to get a stomach illness when traveling to Asia, there are some basic precautions you can take to avoid it:
-
Get all proper vaccinations four to eight weeks before any volunteer trips to Asia, especially if you will be working with animals such as the elephants in Thailand.
Find out which vaccinations you need in which South American country
on the website of the
US-based health protection agency CDC . - Don't drink tap water! All water should be either boiled or filtered before you drink it.
- Try to avoid street food, as most stomachs are not used to it.
- Wash all your fruits and vegetables thoroughly.
- Plan for how you will get health care during your stay. Get a travel insurance and bring medicine with you, especially if you need special medication.
Packing essentials
It's nice to have a slight idea of what to expect from a foreign country. It's even nicer to know, which packing essentials should definitely land in your backpack! This makes life a whole lot easier when it comes to preparing for your time as a volunteer in Asia. It is always a good idea to ask you project coordinator what volunteers should bring for the specific programs as well.
- Apart from the essential travel documents, like passport, travel medical insurance information, and visa, you should also keep photocopies or scanned copies of these.
- Always carry sunscreen with you!
- Keep enough cash with you! You might want to consider getting a money belt.
- Carry luggage with you that will aid, not complicate your trip, like daypacks or backpacks; as well as lightweight bags.
- Pack appropriate clothing and shoes! This means clothes that are suitable for a variety of climates, as temperatures can vary greatly throughout Asia. Especially, when working in the forests, long clothing protects you from bug bites.
- Don't forget to bring locks for hostel lockers and also for your luggage!
Who can volunteer in South East Asia?
As you will have noticed by now, there are many different projects that expect different skills and abilities from their volunteers. While you can find out the specific requirements for each project on their program page, here are some general requirements that apply to most volunteer opportunities in South East Asia:
- You need to be at least 18 years old for most of the volunteer opportunities in South East Asia. When in doubt, we advise you to get in contact with the local project manager, as in some projects you can also volunteer when you're 16 years old.
- You need to have basic English skills to join a volunteer project in Asia. Please note that some teaching projects might ask for more advanced skills though.
- Depending on the project you're interested in, you might need to provide a criminal background check and a health declaration before volunteering.
How to volunteer in South East Asia
So you’re ready to volunteer in Asia but you’re not quite sure how to get started? Take a look at the following 3 steps that will prepare you for your volunteer work in South East Asia and an unforgettable adventure abroad:
- Check whether there’s a match between you and the project by looking at their requirements.
- Take a look at the location of the project and decide whether it would be a location you are excited about.
- Get in touch with the organization and see whether your expectations and your schedule match up.
Once this is sorted. Let’s take a look at the practical steps:
Insurance (Health & travel)
We recommend getting both health and travel insurance to all our volunteers. In fact, this is even a requirement for most programs abroad. Get in touch with your program contact person to find out if an insurance plan is already in place for volunteers.
Visa, Passport, and Documentation
Look into the visa requirements for the country you will volunteer in. Make sure you have a valid passport considering the requirement of the host country and prepare the correct documents to fulfill the visa application.
And that’s it! You’re ready to volunteer in South East Asia and fall in love with the nature, the people and the incomparable mix of tradition and modernity.