You can get involved in Teaching, Care & Community, Medicine, Conservation, Business, Journalism, Veterinary Medicine, Physiotherapy, Animal Care, IT Projects, Sport, Law, Nomad Projects, Inca Projects, Archaeology, Khmer Projects, and French.

You choose how long your placement lasts. Apart from our 2-Week Specials, placements are flexible and most last from one month upwards. Most volunteers go for between two and four months. Our basic placement prices cover you for one, two or three months. Then you can add on extra months on top of these as you wish. You can stay (including placement and travel) in most countries for up to 6 months, but you can stay in Ghana for up to 12 months. These limitations are due to visa and work-permit restrictions.

Yes you can combine placements, both within a country and across countries. See Combinations for more details and combination ideas.

You choose when your placement starts and finishes. Placements run all year. There are no definitive deadlines for application. We do generally need at least 2 months to comfortably process an application, but we like to receive your application form as far in advance as possible - so please apply as soon as you've decided what you want to do. The longer the notice, the more we can tailor a program. If you decide last minute, do give us a call to see how quickly we can arrange it for you - we sometimes only need a few weeks notice.

Projects Abroad programs cost from $1695. See the prices page for details of the cost of the program you are interested in. You will not be paid for your work, but you will gain unusual work experience and discover skills you never knew you had - and have a great time! Our partner schools and other partner organizations can barely afford to pay their own staff, so these positions have to be voluntary and self-funded. Similarly we get great work experience placements for volunteers because we don't ask our partner-organizations to pay you. Indeed, we always make sure that organizations or individuals in the developing world don't have to pay anything as a matter of principle. We do not have government funding or other outside funding.

Our costs include all food, accommodation, comprehensive travel and medical insurance, and support from our expert staff at home and abroad. Our charges are important because they enable us to provide you with a good service and full support.

With the exception of when you are traveling or socializing, all meals are provided.

This really depends on where you choose to go. As we are not medical experts we cannot give out official advice - so talk to your doctor, who will be happy to advise on what you may need. Don't let injections put you off - you'll be glad you had them once you are enjoying yourself abroad!

Volunteers are welcome between the ages of 16 and 75. Many of our volunteers are between 18 and 25 years old, but a rapidly increasing number of career breakers and retired people are now taking part too. This has led to a stimulating mix of people in all our destinations.

No qualifications are necessary - just reasonable spoken English. No TEFL or teaching qualifications are needed for our teaching programs (although you are very welcome if you do happen to have them).

Few volunteers speak the local language before they go. It is an advantage to learn a few basic phrases but it is certainly not necessary to be at all fluent. Teaching volunteers teach English in English. This is what schools want. The only exceptions are the journalism and medicine programs in Mexico, the radio journalism placement in Bolivia, and the medicine project in Argentina where volunteers need reasonable Spanish, and journalism in Senegal where you need good French. Some basic French is also needed for Teaching and Care & Community projects in Senegal.

No. We accept volunteers from all over the world - in fact we actively recruit in much of Europe and the USA. We like to have a multinational mix - that's what cultural exchange is all about.

When you apply we ask you for the name and address of a referee. This will be someone who knows you well - such as a teacher or an employer. We then get in touch with them and ask for a reference. This is usually enough to assure us that you are suitable for a placement. We occasionally invite prospective volunteers for an informal interview to iron out any concerns.

The program is an excellent opportunity to combine adventurous foreign travel with a worthwhile job. As well as gaining experience that looks brilliant on your CV, you will improve your transferable skills such as team-working, presentation and communication. Above all, this is an unrivalled opportunity to gain an insight into a completely different culture and way of life.

Of course you can, although we certainly don't say that you have to. Request a Fundraising Guide once you've applied to get some ideas.

Please see our Volunteer stories page, or contact us and tell us where you would probably like to go and what project you would probably like to join. We will then give you the e-mail addresses of people who have done your kind of program or are doing it.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss our programs in more detail, please don't hesitate to contact us by emailing us.

The next step is either to contact us for more information or, if you've decided definitely what you want to do, apply now.