This question is part of the very core of volunteerism. Volunteering abroad after all is about making a difference in the world. While there is no single answer to this question, three important points must be considered.

Point One: Be realistic

Throw out your ideas of saving the world, it isn’t going to happen and you will be a happier and better volunteer for accepting it. Fight the fights you can win and avoid insurmountable obstacles.

Point Two: Grassroots

Volunteering makes a difference on a very small scale initially. Even long term volunteers return with few immediate victories, perhaps a church built, field improved, or child vaccinated. These victories are tiny, but they form the vital foundation of major social and economic improvements.

For example: A volunteer staffed school in Ecuador taught local fisherman English and better small business strategies. Armed with this knowledge, the fisherman started an eco-tourism business, giving tours of a rare fish habitat. This eco-tourism company not only revived the local economy, but also brought the rare fish back from the possible extinction.

Point Three: Long-term

A volunteer built house might only help one family immediately, but this house will be a home for hundreds of people in its functional lifespan.

Similarly, a vaccinated child will not continue spreading the disease and thus will eventually save thousands even millions of lives in the long term.

Time turns a volunteer’s smallest victory into an unstoppable force of positive change.

When considering being a volunteer it is important to realize the impact of your work might be tiny in the short term, but epic in the long term.