07: Religious

Polly Freer harvests local weeds to eat while working in a village community in Zambia with the Church Mission Society Photo: Matt Freer Organisations

taking in everything from medical aid to teaching, construction to running soup kitchens.

Volunteering programmes also take various forms: some farm out groups of volunteers on

short-term workcamp-style placements, while others send individuals to live and work in

communities for extended periods (usually for a minimum of one year).

Why volunteer through a religious organisation? Perhaps you relish the thought of shar-

ing and working through your faith overseas. Or perhaps you never made it past the first

page of the Talmud, Bible or Quran but agree with the principles which motivate the work

of these organisations. If you have an interest in volunteering and, in addition, are in tune

with the beliefs and practices of a religious sending organisation, then combining the two

may lead to your ideal placement.

This chapter takes a look at what kinds of volunteer placement are available through reli-

gious organisations. As these organisations run both structured and organised placements,

it’s worth reading the How Do They Work? and Pros & Cons sections of this chapter in

conjunction with the equivalent sections in Chapters 5 (pp91–94) and 6 (pp149–156).

Though we’ve pulled together a lot of information here, it’s worth keeping in mind that

your local faith communities can also be a good source of information, as many have links

with overseas communities or NGOs that take on volunteers.

how do they work?

Costs & Length of Placements

Religious volunteering programmes generally work in the same way as secular pro-

grammes. The majority of religious programmes are well established and many have

been running for a long time (we found one with a 200-year history!), so they are often

exceptionally well organised. Depending on whether they’re organised or structured, the

cost and duration of placements vary. Many require you to fundraise a substantial chunk

of the cost and then they make up the shortfall, providing anything from your airfare to a

roof over your head. Others are totally self-funding – you’re responsible for all costs. None

of the religious organisations listed in this chapter is profit based; all money raised goes

towards the cost of your placement, or is invested in the overseas community or the aims

of the religious group itself.

While there are a few short-term placements, in general religious organisations are look-

ing for an extended time commitment from their volunteers.

Selection & Eligibility

The eligibility criteria and selection processes for volunteers also vary greatly between

organisations. However, almost all require you to have an understanding of the faith in

which the organisation is rooted, and some may require a demonstrated devotion to it.

Many of these organisations send only a handful of volunteers overseas each year and so

competition for placements can be stiff. Interviews are generally conducted in person

and references are required (sometimes these are from your local faith community). De-

pending on the type of work you’ll be doing, qualifications or relevant experience

may also be required.

The main qualities that religious organisations are looking for in a volunteer are: an un-

derstanding of the fundamental tenets of their religion; an ability to empathise; a capacity

to live in basic conditions; and a willingness to take on various (sometimes not-so-pleas-

ant) tasks as the need arises.

What to Look for

In choosing a religious organisation to volunteer through, there are a number of things to

keep in mind. A fundamental point to consider is the level of evangelism required of you

07: Religious Organisations:

How Do They Work?

Assisting those in need has long been the custom of faith-based and religious organisa-

tions. Many of these organisations, particularly from the three monotheist faiths – Chris-

tianity, Judaism and Islam – provide aid and relief through overseas missions, and often

welcome volunteers to help them achieve their goals. The degree to which religion plays

a role in volunteer work varies from organisation to organisation. Some focus mainly on

specific hands-on projects and faith is more of an underlying element; others have a strong

evangelistic mission, with the promotion of faith being their main aim.

So, although many of these organisations require you to belong to the faith in which

they are rooted, the extent to which you need to be practising depends both on the

organisation and the specific project. In general, though, you don’t need to be devout to

obtain a placement through a religious organisation. In some cases you don’t even need

to be a member of the faith in which the organisation is based. Many Christian organisa-

tions are nondenominational or inter-denominational, meaning that as long as you sup-

port the Christian basis of faith, it doesn’t matter whether you are Catholic, Baptist or

whatever. Christian organisations do offer the most opportunities for volunteers. Islamic

relief organisations tend to rely on permanent staff, but several Judaist organisations

place Jewish volunteers overseas, and there are also some Buddhist groups.

The types of work volunteers become involved in through religious organisations are

similar to that offered by other charities and NGOs working in the development sector,