Sjálfboðalidastarf

The volunteer program is not a tourist trip, and you should expect to work. The work you do will not require any special skills that you do not have. The most important thing is that you have the will to help.

You must be prepared for the fact that the way you will live will be much simpler than what you are used to at home .

Depending on the type of project you choose, it is important that you either want to live with a host family and possibly learn the local language (individual stay); or that you want to live with a group of young people where communication takes place primarily in English (group stay).

When you go on an individual stay, you typically live with a host family, and there is a lot of focus on getting close to the culture, learning the language and becoming part of the local community . For example, you get a local contact person, your family is a local family, and you are connected to local AFS volunteers in your area. You share everyday life with all the people around you.

Since individual stays are individual, they are quite flexible, and everything from start date to work tasks can often be adapted to you.

A group stay is more focused on the actual volunteer work and life in an international group . You will of course also have contact with the local community to the extent that it is relevant to your work tasks, but you will primarily experience an international atmosphere with lots of tasks and exciting activities.

You want to go out and help someone, give your time and energy. So why should you pay for it?

First, there are some real costs associated with going on an AFS stay, whether it’s a volunteer program or another program: food, lodging, health insurance, preparation, Global Competence Certificate learning process, AFS membership, and administration of your application.

In addition, you pay a fee to the organizations that offer your program – AFS Interkultur here in Denmark, and our partner in the host country. Remember that AFS is a non-profit organization , and our purpose is to create more peace in the world through intercultural learning.

It might be easy to decide that you want to do something good for someone in another country. But how do you do it in a meaningful way? And in a way that also ensures that you have a good experience?

That’s why you choose a program with an organization like AFS.

If you have tried to compare prices between group stays and individual stays, you could see that group stays are significantly more expensive . 

The partner makes all the difference.

AFS is a non-profit volunteer-based organization . This means that when you sign up for a program in an AFS country (most individual stays), local volunteers help the office arrange your stay. It is typically volunteers who contact the local projects (whether it is a school / NGO, etc.), and it is volunteers who find a host family for you. AFS host families do not receive money to have you stay with them, but choose to do so in order to have an intercultural experience in their home. This makes the costs of AFS programs somewhat lower.

AFS programs have a strong focus on intercultural learning and experiencing another culture. Our philosophy is that you have already achieved the purpose of a volunteer program by living in another country, perhaps with a local family, and having something meaningful to do while you are there. 

Group stays are structured differently, with a greater focus on work and structure, and with more costs. 

All projects have their own base (a house) where you live with other volunteers. Volunteers must of course be coordinated, possibly driven to work, helped, etc. and therefore there are always several employees living with the volunteers . 

A group of volunteers can go further and solve bigger tasks than a single person. The results are therefore something to be proud of, and resources are used to share them with the local community : it could be national parks / local authorities / NGOs. 

For ethical reasons, it is not possible to volunteer at an orphanage through AFS.

An orphanage may sound like the obvious place to give your energy and time to. But children in an orphanage can quickly bond with you, and while they enjoy the time they have with you, it can be quite hard for them to lose you after a few months and to be surrounded by volunteers who are constantly coming and going.

Almost all of our programs are open to everyone, regardless of your age.

Most of our participants are between 18-25 years old, but that doesn’t mean you can’t come if you’re 35, 55 or 75.

All group stays have no age limit.

Some individual stays have an age limit, but our partners in other AFS countries can often be quite flexible about it. So if you find a project with an age limit, let us know and we will check for you whether you can still participate.

Of course!

You can be as many as you want. This applies to all group stays, but also to all individual, flexible stays.

You are never alone on an individual volunteer stay!

These stays are called individual because it is possible – and also likely – that you are the only international volunteer on your project. 

But that doesn’t mean you’re alone. It just means that your network will be local: you typically live with a host family , you’ll be affiliated with a local organization/school/ngo, you ‘ll have a local contact person.

Last but not least, you will also get in touch with AFS in your country . You will get in touch with the AFS office, local AFS volunteers and other participants in the program. 

At least you’ll make lots of contacts on your program, and you won’t have to worry about being lonely.