Pros

• You don’t have to make a big commitment to an organization or place you’ve never met before.
• You don’t have to quit your job to have the time to do it.
• You can meet other volunteers…

Cons

• …though perhaps not really people in the community.
• You will probably have to pay as few organizations have the resources to train or just deal with someone who is gone as soon as they come.
• Your experience may be an experience for you more than something that locals will reap the benefits of.

Many people look at this last point as counter-productive: volunteers should be doing it to help others, not to help themselves. The Guide to Ethical Volunteering puts it like this: “None of us become international volunteers for purely altruistic reasons…The best volunteers are those who feel they have as much if not more to learn as they have to give.”

I think there’s an argument still: there are some problems that are complex enough that there is no simple solution that a volunteer or even aid agency can just come and “fix”.

Sometimes the solution is something that will happen over time – over a long time – and one of the main “ingredients” of that solution is the changing of people’s minds. Many of need to go and see a problem up close to fully realize just how serious and difficult to solve it is. Not everyone can volunteer for six months or work in the non-profit area permanently. A two- or three-week volunteer program may spark a participant’s interest in educating him or herself in a relevant field in order to address the root of the issue at hand.

Of course: don’t volunteer somewhere just to gape at “victims.” Research the organization and the place. Be realistic about what you will achieve in two weeks. But don’t let the cons stop your interest before it starts.