important if you are volunteering without the support of a sending agency based in your
home country.~ Acts of war and terrorism No-one will give you cover for nuclear, chemical or biologi-
cal warfare but some policies do insure you against acts of terrorism.
If your sending agency has not advised which travel insurance companies to approach,
or if you are arranging your own placement directly with a local NGO, try contacting the
following in the UK:
North American options include:
Australasian options include:
What to Pack
There is an old travellers’ adage, particularly relevant to international volunteers, that
advises, ‘Pack it and halve it; time it and double it.’ Kerry Davies, who volunteered in
Cambodia, agrees wholeheartedly with the first piece of advice:
Most people pack far too many things. It is tempting to visit a travel shop and buy lots of
expensive gadgets. Most things can be obtained in the country you are working in. You will
save money and support the local economy. Some things, though, are essential to take with
you but this depends on your country. In Cambodia you can’t get Western-sized bras and
the knickers are nylon. And I still like to pack earplugs for the wedding season!
Just like Kerry, returned volunteers mostly advise that you take items you know you can’t
easily buy locally. Jacqueline Hill who went to Bangladesh says:
I took a sharp kitchen knife, vegetable peeler and Swiss Army knife. Bangladeshi cooks use
floor knives which it takes quite some practice to master. Due to the abundance of fresh
food, there is also little call for tins, and consequently tin-openers. I sometimes shopped in
foreign food shops for treats (tins of tomatoes when the fresh ones were not in season) so
the Swiss Army knife tin-opener came in handy.
Deborah Jordan and David Spinney, who volunteered in Ethiopia, pick up on the ‘kitchen
knife’ theme and have a few additional suggestions:
Baggage allowance at 25 kilograms concentrates the mind. Check the climate and what is
available locally to avoid taking two years’ supply of tea bags or deodorant unnecessarily.
And remember, family members are good at sending parcels. Invaluable was our sharp
knife – all knives in the developing world bend. We also took a good supply of reading
matter, a laptop (if you can use it in your placement) and some DVDs (TV serials can keep
you going for weeks). We took our duvet in the second year and it was a great comfort on
cold evenings.
Clothing is another hot topic. Emma Campbell, who volunteered in Ecuador, says:
There is no point packing clothes for volunteering. I went to the market and bought two
cheap T-shirts and cheap shorts when I got there. They were ready for the bin, or the next
set of volunteers, after one month.
And Jacqueline Hill had a good solution for culturally sensitive clothing issues:
Returned volunteers had lots of useful advice. Recognising that most of my Western
clothes would be inappropriate, I bought a couple of shalwar kameez (long tunics with
pants worn underneath).
Michelle Hawkins, who volunteered on one expedition in Costa Rica and another in
Ghana, found that one of the most precious things she packed was a diary:
Even though certain memories do remain clear, the little details will fade. Journals are the
best things for recalling what you felt at the time. They can also be therapeutic:
writing down problems or issues you may have can help clarify your thinking and
suggest solutions. Or else, sometimes writing in a diary is just like sharing a problem with
a friend.
Most importantly, don’t pack things that are inappropriate for where you are going. Diane
Turner, who volunteered with Coral Cay Conservation (CCC, p136) in the Philippines
and in Fiji, remembers:
Despite the list supplied by Coral Cay Conservation, one person still brought a hairdryer to
a site that had no electricity!
Diane brings up a valuable point: if you are volunteering with a sending agency you will
usually be sent a detailed kit list, specific to your destination and project. However, fol-
lowing is a suggested packing list that assumes that you will not only be volunteering but
doing some travel at the weekends or after your placement. It is divided into eight sections:
security; sleeping; eating and drinking; hygiene; health; travel essentials; clothing and
footwear.Security
~ Money belt A money belt is the safest way to carry your valuables. It’s wise to have one
for when you’re out and about in the evenings or on weekends, particularly in towns or
cities. Think about its fabric: plastic sweats while leather is heavy and will smell. Cotton
or polycotton are the best bet, as they’re washable and the most comfortable.
~ Padlocks and a chain Good for securing your luggage and fastening the door of hotel
rooms. Chains are useful for attaching a backpack to the roof of a bus or the luggage
rack of a train.
~ Personal security There are loads of personal security items on the market like personal
alarms, internal door guards, a Pacsafe for your backpack (a steel mesh which covers
your backpack to make it unslashable and which locks onto things) and packable safes
for your room (attach them to a radiator or other fixed object). Check out what’s on
offer at your local travel specialist.
~ Waterproof pouch Consider taking one of these for your documents and money so that
you can keep them on you if you choose to go swimming, diving or snorkelling.Sleeping
~ Alarm clock To make sure you get up in time to start your volunteering day.
~ Mosquito net In risky places you will be provided with one, but it’s good to have your
own because it is crucial that your net is treated with a mosquito killer (such as
permethrine) and has no holes.
~ Pillow case Nab one from home, just in case you stay anywhere that’s a tiny bit unsavoury.~ Campbell Irvine (www.campbellirvine.com;
%+44 (0)2079 376 981)
~ Christians Abroad (www.cabroad.org.uk;
%+44 (0)870 770 7990)
~ Insure & Go (www.insureandgo.co.uk;
%+44 (0)844 888 2787)
~ STA Travel (www.statravel.co.uk;
%+44 (0)8712 300 040)~ Gateway Plans (www.gatewayplans.com;
%+1 800 282 4495)
~ HTH Worldwide (www.hthworldwide.com;
%+1 610 254 8700)
~ IMG (www.imglobal.com; %+1 800 628 4664)
~ Travelex (www.travelex-insurance.com;
%+1 800 228 9792)
~ Wallach & Company
(www.wallach.com; %+1 800 237 6615)~ Cover More
(www.covermore.com.au;
%+61 1300 72 88 22 in Australia)
~ World Nomads (www.worldnomads.com;
%+61 1300 787 375 in Australia; and in
New Zealand %+64 0800 110 202)03: The Practicalities:What to Pack