The difference between volunteering for three weeks and three months is great. Here we constrast short term and long term volunteering.
The differences between a three week volunteer expedition and three year volunteer expedition are profound. In this article we examine the difference between short term (up to three months) and long term (more than a year) volunteer opportunities.
Cost
Shorter volunteer opportunities generally require the volunteer to pay a minimal fee to participate. It is a major misconception among prospective volunteers that this fee is a form of profit. In fact, in most cases the fees are returned to the volunteer in the form of room and board, project costs and materials, and local transportation. Some organizations also provide a weekly stipend for volunteers.
Immediacy
In general, short term volunteering lends more to direct action projects. Direct action means these projects directly improve the community in an immediate manner. Some examples of direct action projects include construction of community buildings and temporary medical clinics. These projects can be started and completed by a volunteer team in the short amount of time available.
Most short term volunteer programs involve some manner of English teaching or construction. These types of program do not require the volunteer to process any special skills.
The best types of short term volunteers tend to be professionals and trained individuals. These volunteers can enter a region and through training sessions and skill clinics, spread valuable services and/or knowledge through the local population.
Field Example:
Remote Area Medical is a US based organization which provides free medical care to remote areas around the Americas. A typical volunteer project lasts only two to four days, however due to the high percentage of professional doctors on the volunteer team; a huge impact can be made.
Here is a quote reviewing a recent Remote Area Medical expedition:
“In a 2 1/2 day period from July 25th to July 27th, 988 RAM volunteers provided free medical care in a total of 4749 patients.
Dentists, using 50 dental chairs, extracted 2681 bad teeth and filled 1101. General medical doctors gave 2067 consultations which included extensive lab procedures, pharmacy and telemedicine. 93 women received Mammograms. There were 1140 eye examinations and 814 people obtained free prescription eyeglasses, many of them made on site in the RAM mobile eyeglass lab.
The total value of free care delivered in 2 1/2 days was a staggering $653,309.00”
To learn more about Remote Area Medical, please visit their website.
Cost and Benefits
There are many free or even paying long term volunteer opportunities available. The US Peace Corp is one such opportunity and includes a monthly stipend and $12,000 after two years. It is rare to find a long term volunteer opportunity that does not provide some sort stipend.
Long term volunteering generally offers many side benefits to the volunteer other than financial, including deferment of loans, and alumni job placement.
Culture/Language
Long term volunteering allows the community and the volunteer to integrate and interaction on a level not available to short term volunteers.
“I think it was only after the first three months that I felt part of the community and knowledgeable enough to start effective projects that would make any sort of lasting change”
-Chris Gillman, Volunteer 2000-2001
Over time volunteers can learn the language and the culture of their host community and therefore can operate more independently. Long term volunteers gain the knowledge necessary to develop and run their own projects through communicating with the community and examining different problem and potential solutions.
Long Term volunteers are immersed in the local culture to a much larger extent than short term volunteers. The overall experience is much more intimate, with the volunteer becoming a member of the community, normally with a house or at least a room to himself/herself. Volunteers have time to learn the names of many individuals in the community and make friends among them.
Types of Projects
With the extended length of time available, a volunteer can take the time and energy to develop long term solutions for the community, including applying for and acquiring international grants for larger projects.
With less demand to create an immediate change, a long term volunteer is granted freedom from the structure of a typical short term expedition. Projects can develop, change, and be modified to better suit the situation without crippling any chance of the project being completed in time.
“I spent the first two months just getting to know my host village. I spent the next two months making a list of every complaint and problem of the villagers. Armed with this list, I had everyone in the village over for dinner and asked them to vote on the problem they wished me to solve. It was only the next morning (4 months into my 2 year trip) that I started to work.”
-Jason Tillman
Generally, short term volunteers pay money to complete a specific predetermined project. They fly into the region in a group and work as a group. It is it much more structured than a long term volunteer opportunity.
Long term volunteers often get paid to volunteer. They generally do not have a specified project and have the freedom to make their own. There is very little (if any) structure for a long term volunteer.