A Chance to Serve
Volunteer Ventures Abroad considers our program a cultural exchange opportunity with a chance to be of service to another culture. Volunteers are oriented to travel abroad with the idea that they are a student of another culture and there to be of service to their host community.
Volunteers can often be frustrated that they are unable to make the difference they would like to on a short term volunteer project. By focusing on creating a positive cultural exchange experiences, volunteers gain a deeper understanding of another culture and move away from the “we’re going to help these poor people” mindset to learning to appreciate and learn from their host community.
Volunteers represent their home culture and are encouraged to be flexible, patient, open, dependable, humble, enthusiastic and have a ready sense of humor.
Volunteer Ventures Abroad is a program of ERDT. ERDT has had 40 years of experience creating cultural exchange programs. Their mission is to encourage understanding and appreciation of all cultures. We continually educate ourselves on this mission, and share it through our initial consultation with prospective volunteers, in our newsletters and during the orientation sessions.
Our program was recently listed as a participant in the citizen’s initiative America’s Unofficial Ambassadors, which works to build peace through service in the Muslim world.
On a case by case basis, we discuss the volunteer plans with each participant and see if our program is a good fit. We have volunteer programs available for different sets of skill levels and are working to expand our programs to accommodate more diverse needs.