What are some reasons for volunteering abroad?
Volunteering overseas is a chance to make a personal contribution at the global level, to experience hands-on learning about another country and culture, and to exchange ideas with people you might not otherwise meet. International volunteers are able to learn from the communities where they work as well as from the experience of traveling in a foreign country and interacting with new people. This experience helps students to become more culturally fluent and more able to understand the needs and issues that exist in cultures and systems different from those which exist in their own communities. The experience of volunteering overseas should not end upon returning to Charlottesville. An important part of international volunteering is getting more involved in your community back home. For some, this will mean remaining aware of, or active in, global issues and/or politics; for others it may mean educating friends and family about the realities of the country where they were a volunteer.
