What do I take with me as a volunteer?
How long are you going away for? Where are you going to? What are you going to do? What are the necessities and what can you do without? These are the relevant questions that you need to ask yourself to help you draw up a list of things to put in your back pack or suitcase. You will have to make compromises and maybe be ruthless with what you leave behind. You need to consider whether you will be located in just one place, perhaps teaching English in a city somewhere with little intention to travel extensively, in which case you could possibly get away with a suitcase and pack more. If, however, you are going to be doing voluntary work in a jungle or on the move taking part in a number of different projects, then a sturdy waterproof backpack is definitely needed and you will be very restricted with what you can fit into that. So what are the essentials?
- comfortable and appropriate clothing for the trip
- necessary medicines and first aid kit relevant to the trip
- money, passport, tickets, travel insurance details
- list of important telephone numbers
Then of course there are the less-essential things that help to keep you sane (so perhaps that makes them essential then!), which can include any of the following:
- ipod/mp3 player (find the cheapest prices through a price comparison site like Kelkoo
).
- digital camera
- books
- lucky mascot...
- things you seriously can't live without
- things you know you can't get where you are going but know you will crave...
We have drawn up some example packing checklists in our volunteer checklists section, so feel free to browse those for ideas of what to take and what not to take. There may even be something on there that you had forgotten! Perhaps make up your own list first then compare the two.
If you have any comments about this volunteer guide on what to take with you to your volunteer project, please contact us.