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23 March 2017

Learn More About Short Term Volunteer Immersions

By Paul Brown


Basically, it is usually rare to find a person who would afford the time and the cost of being committed in volunteering for a long time. Basically, spending about six months to learn the local language while building relationships and working for sustainable development objective could be appropriate in terms of experience and impact. However, it might not be realistic for a person who is working or studying. However, to accommodate a challenging schedule for busy volunteers but passionate, short term volunteer immersions have become popular.

A number of people basically want to voluntarily give services although they lack the time. This is since they are unable to secure long breaks from their career despite their will to dedicate some time to some positive impact around the community and even other countries. Usually, volunteering opportunities exist for any individual having a willing heart to work.

Generally, there exist projects of all sorts that allow passionate volunteers to utilize their available time. Nevertheless, various challenges are faced by the short-term volunteers. One such challenge is the jetlag effect that pertains to disrupted sleep patterns, stomach ailments as well as headaches. Nevertheless, the short-term volunteers have to fight such symptoms so as to immediately shift their attention to work.

Another challenge in volunteering is the limited interactions as well as immersion. In reality, it may take around two to three days for the residents to come to terms to the fact that a volunteer is joining their community. This implies that it may take a while before the local residents can freely interact with you. Nevertheless, your time may be up by the time you begin to freely mingle and interact.

Another disadvantage is there is a limited impact from this programs. This is because it usually take quite some time to interact with the strangers and get the personal impact since some projects are generally not very effective for the short period. For instance, teaching children would require the time to connect with the students and work through the curriculum.

Another frustration faced pertains to one getting hurried or rushed. Generally, the long-term unpaid aids will make one to sit and make observations of the environment they work in. In consequence, you will meet random acquaintances who ultimately become colleagues. However, such short-lived programs will offer little time for relaxations as well as accomplishment. You will hence be left nursing the feelings of getting rushed as a consequence.

Nevertheless, you can do several things to alleviate such frustration during a short-term volunteer program. For instance, you can come up with a strategy to deal with exhaustion, jetlag or illnesses. You may begin adjusting your sleep patterns some days before the trip, like taking a pill during the flight to quicken time zone adjustment.

Another means of alleviating such frustrations is to be proactive. Basically, sitting idly or just waiting for instructions wastes the time that is usually very limited. Nevertheless, you could also seek chances of being helpful and friendly. Again, you could spend some time to build relationships through talking to the locals and seeking for language lessons.




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