Other Veterinary Volunteer Abroad Projects
Types of programs offered:
Hands-on Veterinary volunteer abroad programs for pre-vet and vet students.
Program highlights include:
- Community vet health surveying and screenings through family and farm visits
- Wildlife veterinary field trips
- Vitamins for cattle, horses, donkeys, and pigs
- Neuter/spay clinics for smaller animals
- Application of vaccines (seasonal) and immunizations
- Clinics to provide vaccinations and immunizations for parasite control and nutrition supplements
- Dental care for animals
- Urgent animal care in the field
Where they work:
Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Tanzania.
How long: ISL offers 9 to 14 day programs throughout the year. Extended stay options are available.
Who can join: 18+. Vet programs are for vet school students and pre-vet students.
Know before you go:
Founded in 1994, ISL specializes in arranging medical volunteer trips and places a strong importance on working with respected, in-country medical providers. Safety, sustainability and comfort of volunteers and patients are top priorities for ISL. Preparation and orientation seminars are available to prospective volunteers. In addition to veterinary abroad projects, volunteer opportunities are open to nurses, nursing students, doctors, medical students, pre-med students, dentists, pre dental students, and dental school students.
Volunteers typically are housed in modest hostels with provided meals and work within a team of volunteers with similar interests and expertise. All volunteers are transported and accompanied by ISL staff members at all times.
Types of programs offered:
Vida Volunteers offers pre-vet and advanced vet programs. The Pre-vet program is for those students without any previous surgical training and the Advanced Vet Program is designed for upper level veterinary students and recent graduates. Volunteers will gain clinical and practical experience. The Vida program focuses mainly on the sterilization of felines and canines in field clinics; however, participants will also gain experience working with large animals.
Where they work:
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua
How Long:
Programs typically run for two weeks. Students can also sign up for two programs back to back for an extended four week stay.
Who can join:
Eligible participants include first and second year veterinary students, pre- veterinary students, veterinary technicians, and veterinary assistants.
Know before you go:
Vida Volunteer is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit humanitarian organization based in Minnesota and operating in Central America. Lodging is usually a combination of basic hotel and homestays. If a particular trip is to be very rustic (ex. no running water or electricity) participants are informed of these conditions in advance. Recreational activities for volunteers are available and visiting local communities if time permits. Please note that volunteers are required to submit a short essay stating their motive for wanting to be a Vida volunteer in order to be accepted into this program.
Other Conservation Volunteer Abroad Programs
Types of Programs Offered:
VESA offers a combination of volunteer and adventure programs. Examples include:
- Sampling the genuine Ecuadorian Amazon with the people who live there. Experiencing authentic South Africa and be part of a tribal community in a UNESCO world heritage location.
- Tasting the real life of a Fijian village then visiting the tropical islands of the sunny South Pacific.
- Staying at and caring for elephants in a remote elephant sanctuary in South East Asia.
Where they work:
South America, South Africa, South East Asia, Fiji Islands.
How long:
Programs are two weeks in length.
Who can join:
18+ years of age.
Know before you go:
VESA is an environmentally conscious organization with the focus on environmental stewardship and respect in the pristine locations they work. They employ local people where possible.
Programs are tailored to individual volunteers based on skills and experience. Volunteers can expect to be fully immersed in the local culture.
Volunteers who successfully fundraised via the Volunteer Forever website for VESA projects:
Shell Poole, USA. Raised $4815 to volunteer in South Africa to teach English at an orphanage, renovate run-down facilities, help build homes, and work with cheetahs and leopards in rehabilitation.
Types of Programs Offered:
Ecoteer offers inexpensive volunteer work and job opportunities at eco lodges, marine conservation, farm, teaching and humanitarian projects.
Where they work:
Western Europe, South America, Oceania, North America, Eastern Europe, Central America, Australia & NZ, Asia, Africa.
How long:
Program times vary from one month to six months.
Who can join:
18 + years of age, or, if younger be accompanied by a guardian.
Know before you go:
Ecoteer connects volunteers directly to volunteer job opportunities abroad through a membership program ($25 US annual membership fee). All volunteering enquiries go straight to the individual projects. All monies are paid directly to the project leader, not Ecoteer.
Membership includes an Ecoteer volunteer page, full access to the forums and ratings for each volunteer project (Only ecoteer volunteer members can vote) and get updates direct from Ecoteer.
Types of programs offered:
ISV supports sustainable development and conservation based initiatives around the world. Conservation projects include protecting endangered species, and conserving fragile ecosystems. Custom trips are also available.
Where they work:
Australia, Botswana, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Mozambique, New Zealand, South Africa, Swaziland, Thailand, Vietnam, Zambia.
How long:
This organization offers two-week volunteer programs and four-week ‘ultimate adventure’ programs where individuals participate in two-week volunteer project followed by a two-week action-packed adventure tour.
Who can join:
18+ years of age, however, there is a special program for 15 – 18 year olds as well.
Know before you go:
ISV has been in business since 2002 and has had more than 30,000 volunteers on hundreds of projects. More than 310 universities grant academic credit for participation in ISV programs, check with your local university. You will be travelling with a group of 25-50 other volunteers.
Other Teen Ecotourism Programs
Types of programs offered:
ISV supports sustainable development and conservation based initiatives. Projects include; education, protecting endangered species, infrastructure support and conservation of fragile ecosystems. Custom trips are also available.
Where they work:
Australia, Botswana, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Mozambique, New Zealand, South Africa, Swaziland, Thailand, Vietnam, Zambia.
How long:
This organization offers two-week volunteer programs and four-week ‘ultimate adventure’ programs where individuals participate in a meaningful two week volunteer project followed by a two week action-packed adventure tour. You will travel with 25-50 other volunteers from around the globe.
Who can join:
Currently enrolled high school students aged 15 -18 years old.
Know before you go:
ISV has been in business since 2002 and had more than 30,000 volunteers on hundreds of projects. Over 310 universities grant academic credit for participation on ISV programs and you can combine your project with an action packed adventure tour.
Volunteers who successfully fundraised via the Volunteer Forever website for ISV projects:
Ryan, USA. Has raised $2800 to date to volunteer on a wildlife conservation project in Thailand.
Sam Hobbs, Australia. Has raised $2338 to date to volunteer on a conservation project in South Africa.
Volunteering in Africa: Melissa Haynes’ Story
Melissa Haynes shares her personal story volunteering abroad at a Big Five game reserve in South Africa. Since then, her life has been forever changed. She’s gone on to write about her volunteering experience in a book titled “Learning to Play with a Lion’s Testicles”, which has appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Ellen Show. Melissa also discusses several worthwhile projects to consider for those who want to volunteer abroad in animal / conservation projects and has tips for fundraising for your volunteer trip expenses.
I went to Africa because I was hungry. I was hungry for adventure, a journey, an awakening. I wanted to give back, to step outside of myself and get back to myself all at the same time. I wanted to make a contribution – however infinitesimal it would be. So I signed up to volunteer solo on a Big Five game reserve in South Africa. What I didn’t realize at the time was that not only would it be the greatest adventure of my life, but it would also change the course of my life forever.
I wasn’t a student at the time. Nor was this my first adventure. I had already crashed and burned as a Junior Advertising Executive, after which I ran away to Central America and opened a coffee shop in a sunny town with mostly shady people. After returning to Canada when my father passed away I took a job in Event Marketing management which eventually led to winning a handful of Olympic contacts for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.
For the next four years I wore the hat of Olympic Project Manager. It was thrilling and exciting but when it all came to an end, I was left wanting more. Not more status or more money, but something that would enrich my soul. I was at a crossroads in life: take the job offer in front of me to sit at the head of a company – or leave all comfort and security behind and go volunteer in Africa – a dream I had since childhood that the ‘should do’s’ had shelved for years. I threw caution to the wind and chose the latter. That decision was the greatest I had ever made because it was made from a place of passion and love instead of fear.
I spent six weeks in Africa. Part of my time was spent in the Knysna townships teaching conservation to children and some on an elephant reserve in Plettenberg Bay rehabilitating elephants waiting to be released into the wild. The majority of my time was spent on a wildlife conservation project on a Big Five game reserve in Albertinia, on the famous garden route in South Africa.
While I loved every minute of every project, my passion was working with the Big Five. Not only did I learn about the wildlife and the workings of the lodge, I learned the value of a physically challenging hard day’s work, often in extreme mid-day heat or early morning near freezing temperatures.
The enthusiasm and kindness of the rangers and project managers was unparalleled to anything I had experienced before. I was also relieved to find that, from the perspective of pure creature comforts, the game reserve went beyond my expectations. Meals were delicious and my tent was warm and durable (a welcome relief as the lion camp bordered on my tent camp). Tenting, in my opinion, is the best way to experience Africa. One feels closer to the land and animals. Even though sleeping alone in a tent camp was the biggest obstacle I had to overcome on this adventure!
The backdrop to the reserve was the magnificent Langberg mountain range – standing tall like dark blue uniformed soldiers guarding the pristine valley. Not far away on the other side was the Indian Ocean, where, on a weekend off I found myself a few centimeters away from a great white shark in the, err, safe confines of an aluminum cage.
Time disappeared, modern conveniences were no longer important and all major players in my previous life became irrelevant. Instead key players became survival, teamwork, willingness and openness to do any job required of me. Jobs included shoveling elephant dung, rebuilding roads one stone at a time and tree planting under the watchful eyes of a pride of lions only 200 meters away with nothing separating me from them but fear itself.
Each and every day I gave sweat, tears and persevered trying desperately to even out the balance sheet, but, at the end of it all, I received far more than I could ever give. My efforts only magnifying what I got out of this experience.
It’s true that to give is to receive. This is proven day after day in a small, out-of-the-way place in South Africa where the skies are always blue and there’s always so much to do. A place where the miracle of giving is always evident.
Volunteering is a great way to not just see a country, but to experience its culture and leave an impression. Because even if that impression is one tree planted, a sustainable vegetable garden built or leaving a smile on someone’s face, it was worth it.
After volunteering in Africa I was changed forever. This experience gave me the courage to pursue other passions I had long ago shelved. One of those passions included writing a book. I wrote a book titled, Learning to Play with a Lion’s Testicles. The title is an actual South African expression that means learning to take chances. It is about my volunteering adventure and all the lessons I learned from the animals about overcoming fear, taking chances, dealing with death and forgiveness.
My book went on to appear on the two most popular television shows: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Ellen show. And now I’m working on book two. None of this would have been possible had I not made the decision to follow my passion and volunteer in Africa.
I know that you too will be changed forever if you decide to volunteer.
Volunteer Forever · Guest Author Contribution
The mission of Volunteer Forever is to make it easier for people to volunteer, teach, intern, and travel around the world by helping them find and fund their trips abroad.