Workaway is an organization allowing travelers to choose from 26,000 active work exchanges from more than 155 countries around the world. This is the perfect tool for volunteers to find hosts who need help, and vice versa.

 

 

It is standard for students to pay companies to work and volunteer abroad as a safe way to experience a new cultures. Whether they are ambitious or bored, rich kids spend their parents’ money and poor kids are left out or forced to “fundraise.”

But paying to volunteer is stupid. Think about it: paying to volunteer.

With Workaway, volunteer anywhere, anytime, for free. Most jobs ask for 20-25 hours a week with weekends off. Many include lodging and meals.

 

 

I gravitate towards diversity, and Workaway is defined by it. From picking strawberries in Polynesia to making açai bowls for a kite surf shop to hand-crafting chocolate to saving wildlife to teaching orphans English to making jewelry on the shores of volcanic lakes to helping huskies in Scandinavia, the adventures are actually endless.

 

 

Linking this site to friends has changed their lives. Stephanie thought she was leaving for three months, then decided she was never coming back. Marcela gained a new perspective and put it best when she said that after Peru, she knew that if life was ever not working out, she would just do more Workaways. Kelsey helped a single mom in Hawaii with childcare, eating fresh from the garden with the family and living in her private quarters. The mother happened to be a talented architect, earning Kelsey valuable connections in her dream field. Kelsey ended up becoming a part of the island, sliding down waterfalls and getting taken to gaze at red flowing magma.

Immersion is inevitable. Once you do one Workaway, you’ll have a base of local friends who can show you the true side of their culture. Like family.

 

 

Addressing some FAQs

Is Workaway safe?

Yes! As with anything, do your homework. Read reviews and contact past volunteers. You can even link your account with a friend and apply together. Often hosts will arrange to meet you at airports or bus stations, or stay in touch as you journey to the project site. Read Workaway’s message on safety here.

If it’s free why do I have to pay?

A subscription is $29 a year and necessary to contact  hosts, but reading all profiles, aka shopping for what best suits you, has no cost. Broke? Ask for it as a birthday present. Similar sites include HelpX and WWOOF.

How long do I have to commit and what’s included?

The actual logistics depend on the host. Some projects have a minimum time commitment, others do not. Some provide housing and all meals, while others may offer one family-style meal a day or provide groceries and expect you to cook for yourself. This variability is what separates a work exchange organization from more well-known programs like Peace Corps, which is great for those who cannot commit two years because they are still in school.

Occasionally a project may require a donation of a few dollars per day to sustain activities. I personally think being straightforward is the best way for a non-profit to ask for funds. I have already experienced adults using orphans or flat tires as excuses for needing money, yet when volunteers donated, the cash was used for non-urgent, personal expenses. And let’s be honest, as transient travelers, sometimes the most impactful action we can actually make is to help out financially.

 

 

My own experiences in Kenya and Brazil…

…get credit for introducing me to two of my best friends, Anna and Parbs. They are my older sisters. And it seems that all my other friends I’ve made abroad who also travel solo started their journeys with Workaway (or HelpX or WWOOF) as well.

Two years ago, I was a freshman sick of hearing people dismiss the gigantic African continent as one generalized entity. Alone or not, I was determined to go see it for myself because I had never met anyone else who bothered.

 

 

I am writing this as a junior who owes the clarity of what I want to do with my life to my Kenyan pals. I still communicate with them and know they will be there for me when I am ready to apply to medical school. Living with a local family in a Kenyan village with no plumbing or electricity, and eating Kenyan home-cooking using only my hands as they did, made me feel like I was doing something right with my life.

 

 

Workaway gave me a base on a mysterious continent. Once I got there, I went ahead and trekked Kilimanjaro too. In other words, I wouldn’t have been able to see the top of Africa without this simple website.

Take initiative. Don’t lose sight of your dreams. Hit the link and start planning today!

 

 

 

Interested in Africa? Read my posts here and more on the culture shock here.