Volunteering abroad requires a lot of things. Volunteers need to be flexible, patient and self-motivated, and they need to genuinely respect their host community and culture.

If the above sounds like you, then great! But before you volunteer abroad, you should consider some of the following:

Can you live without home luxuries?
Most international volunteer work is based in developing countries, where water and electricity may not be readily available and the food may be very different from back home. Volunteers should research their chosen destination before they go, though most will be surprised at how easily they can cope without modern conveniences.

Are you open-minded enough to respect an unfamiliar culture?
Aspects of local culture may not make sense to you but always remember that you’re the visitor. You’re not there to change centuries of tradition and culture, so you must be flexible and work within local customs. In particular, developing countries are not as time-obsessed as Europe and the USA, so volunteers shouldn’t get frustrated if their itinerary doesn’t run smoothly or things appear disorganised – be proactive but go with flow.

Are you comfortable spending time in your own company?
Arriving in a new community with none of your usual friends and family makes it’s easy to feel a little isolated while volunteering abroad. This is a great opportunity to find out more about yourself, but to make the most of their trip, volunteers already need to be quite independent.

These questions are only a starting point, but if you answered yes to all three then it might be worth looking into exactly what kind of volunteer work you can do!