placement. prices include everything except
personal spending money. stride has an
initial cost of £1950 (for one year) which
covers flights, orientation, Crb checks and
medical clearance, plus £450 per month for
food, accommodation and supervision.
eligibility: applicants must have a personal
faith in jesus and be over the age of 17 for
step and 18 for stride. skills required depend
on the placement. people with disabilities are
welcome to apply.
groups or Individuals: step volunteers are
placed in teams of eight to 12. ready made
church, mixed age or university teams
welcome to apply. stride is for individuals,
couples or families.
annual no. of Volunteers: 150
annual projects: 40
partner programmes: over 50.
selection & Interview process: Interviews are
conducted in person at the reading office
or in Ireland and scotland. references are
required.
In-country support: each step team receives
orientation and the services of a latin link
supervisor. each strider has an approved
mentor, often a member of latin link.
tearfund
100 Church rd, teddington,
middlesex tw11 8Qe, uK
%+44 (0)845 355 8355
[email protected]
http://www.tearfund.org/transform
tearfund is a Christian-based organisation
that places volunteer teams in developing
countries on projects that have been
initiated by local communities. these
include healthcare projects, literacy classes,
implementing systems for clean water and
sanitation, hIV/aIds education, and drug-
rehabilitation or food-security programmes.
Volunteers work through local churches and
Christian agencies. tearfund hopes that the
programmes will act as catalysts for returned
volunteers to continue working towards its
Christian mission.
status: registered charity.
timing & length of projects: placements are
from two weeks to four months, with set
departure dates throughout the year.
destinations: latin america, africa, asia and
europe.
Costs: two-week teams cost £1400, and
summer four- to six-week teams are £1600
to £1750. four-month teams cost £2750 to
£2950.
eligibility: the minimum age is 18 and,
while specific skills aren’t requested, useful
training or talents are welcome. Volunteers
must agree with, and sign, a basis-of-faith
statement. applicants with specific medical
needs or disabilities, or who are over the age
of 65, must sign additional forms and have
additional insurance.
groups or Individuals: Volunteers travel,
live and work together in teams of six to- tearfund prefers not to place friends
together.
annual no. of Volunteers: 450-500
annual projects: 40-50
partner programmes: tearfund has hundreds
of overseas partners.
selection & Interview process: Interviews are
given at special information events or at the
orientation which applicants attend before
volunteering.
In-country support: In-country support is
provided by the local partners. tearfund also
has an emergency telephone system and
a 24-hour international medical support
service.
toybox
po box 5967, bletchley,
milton Keynes, mK3 6wd, uK
%+44 (0)845 466 0010
fax +44 (0)845 466 0015
[email protected]
http://www.toybox.org
this Christian charity works in partnership
with local organisations, supporting frontline
work with street children in latin america,
with the aim of making a long-term difference
to these children and their communities.
Volunteers help with prevention, rescue
and rehabilitation programmes, providing
practical help and friendship. they also
work in small, specialist family-style homes,
providing education and social support to
families. toybox works in partnership with
latin link (p207).
status: registered charity.
timing & length of projects: placements are
for three weeks.
destinations: guatemala.
Costs: Individual placements cost £1800.eligibility: Volunteers need to have a clear
Christian commitment. the minimum age for
placements is 17.
groups or Individuals: team projects are
made up of eight to 12 volunteers. families
and married couples can be on the same
team.
annual no. of Volunteers: 10
annual projects: 1
partner programmes: 1selection & Interview process: applicants
apply by form, supplying two references.
Interviews take place in reading or with
coordinators in scotland and northern
Ireland.
In-country support: a local ex-pat coordinator
meets volunteers in-country, sees them to
their accommodation, answers queries,
helps with language and is on-hand to help
throughout the placement.Big on community? Got that team spirit? Feel
like you missed out on the communal living
of the ‘70s? Then think ‘kibbutz’.
The kibbutz movement began in Israel in
1910 and was organised by European- Jewish
pioneers in pursuit of a communal ideal,
where all members would work together,
own everything in common and act as an
all-inclusive assembly to make the governing
rules. The first Israeli kibbutz had only 10
members – by 1940, there were 82 com-
munities with over 26,500 inhabitants. Today
there are more than 250 kibbutzim (the
plural of ‘kibbutz’) spread across the country.
They are all pluralistic and non religious (with
the exception of the 16 HaKibbutz HaDati
which are Orthodox Zionist).
Kibbutzim are an extremely popular
means of combining travel with volunteer-
ing, although in recent years the movement
has lost some of its lustre, amid the ongoing
political and civil unrest in Israel. Neverthe-
less, the kibbutz movement still chugs along
and welcomes volunteers from countries
that have diplomatic relations with Israel.
In fact, these days you may get an even
warmer welcome for making the effort to
bridge the growing gap between Israel and
the rest of the world.
Each kibbutz is made up of approximately
600 people. As a volunteer, you will be
expected to pitch in with the rest of the com-
munity, taking on tasks assigned to you and
working eight hours a day, six days a week
(with an extra three days of breathing space
allotted per month). You might find yourself
picking avocados, maintaining irrigation
systems, collecting eggs or farming fish.
You might also find yourself working in thekitchens, doing the laundry or helping out in
the kibbutz’s income-generating venture, if
it has one – perhaps a guesthouse, restau-
rant, health spa or shop.
To volunteer, you need to be between
the ages of 18 and 35, be in good mental
and physical health, be able to commit to
a minimum of two months and willing to
leave after six, speak a reasonable amount
of English and be willing to undergo an AIDS
test on arrival. You’ll also need to shell out
US$60 for a registration fee, US$17 for a visa
status alteration and US$80 for the kibbutz
volunteer health insurance policy (valid for
one year). These fees cover nearly everything
for your stay on the kibbutz: communal
meals, laundry, shared accommodation
(two to three people per room), and even
some monthly pocket dosh. It is possible to
volunteer alongside your friends or partner
but families are not welcome.
To apply, you can either show up in Tel Aviv
with fingers crossed that there’s an available
placement (there often is), or contact the
representative in your home country.UK London (%+44 (0)20 8458 9235;
[email protected];
1A Accommodation Rd, Golders Green Rd,
London NW11 8ED, UK)
USA New York (%+1 212 318 6130;
[email protected]; 633 Third Ave, 21st flr,
New York, NY 10017, USA)
Australia South Caulfield (%+61 (0)3 9272
5531; 306 Hawthorn Rd, South Caulfield,
Vic. 3161, Australia)
New Zealand Auckland (%+09 309 9444;
PO Box 4315, Auckland, New Zealand)Kibbutzim
07: Religious Organisations:Development