# volunteer work in thailand



## Vicente (Nov 11, 2008)

Hi,

Is/(has been) anybody involved in Volunteer work in Thailand? 
I am interested to know more about it, and maybe do some volunteer work there for about 3-6 months. 

I found some sites on the web and I don't know what to think about them...one is asking for more than 1000 usd per month in order to let me volunteer

thank you for taking the time to read this.


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## Guest (Nov 17, 2008)

Vicente said:


> Hi,
> 
> Is/(has been) anybody involved in Volunteer work in Thailand?
> I am interested to know more about it, and maybe do some volunteer work there for about 3-6 months.
> ...


I've not been directly involved myself as yet, but a few suggestions. You really need to know where you are likely to be staying. Say for example you were coming to Chiang Mai.

- there is an expat club, the Chiangmai Expats Club, with long-term members, some of whom have direct experience of working with charitable organisations.

- another group is known as the Friends of Chiang Mai (here they are during the Loy Krathong festivities)...



A mix of Thais and expats, they are involved in various community projects.

- there's the likes of the Croston House Children's Home which does a lot of fundraising in CM. It is a Christian-funded charity, so whether non-Christians wish to support charities working in Thailand that to a greater or lesser extent have a second agenda, is up to the individual. 

- on this subject, I know an American who is directly involved in the management of an orphanage here, also funded by a US Christian organisation. He only accepts to work for them on the understanding that there is no evangelising involved. He assures me that there isn't.
___________________________http://frogblog-thaidings.blogspot.com/


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

I have a very negative attitude toward companies that charge fees to volunteer. Some are reputable, but a great many are profit-making organizations or non-profits that exist only to pay the originators nice salaries. Frankly, the best way to volunteer is to show up in a country and look around. Even then, it is hard to be sure that you are really doing any good. People often do projects that reflect what they think is important rather than what is needed or wanted by the community.

A few horror stories from people I've met who have been involved in various projects:

The English teacher who attended a program to welcome volunteers who had come to paint the school where she worked. When the principal realized that none of the volunteer team or their coordinator spoke a word of Spanish, he introduced them as the stupid people who actually paid good money to come down and do manual labor that they would disdain. It wasn't a poor school.

The woman who paid a considerable sum to live in a hut and eat bad food for a month while she cleared a hiking trail to help the village develop a tourist industry. At the end of the project, she met with the village elders, who explained to her that they had told the organizers that it was a stupid idea because the rainy season would start in a month and the trail would be overgrown within a week. The organizers didn't care, because they just wanted the fee.

The woman who showed up in a Central American country, got permission from the village to do a project, and spent a year building a playground. As soon as she left, the locals tore it down for wood to repair their houses.

The woman who was asked to check into a failed project. After a year with a European volunteer working with a local woman to set up a project, the local woman was left with an office, a program, and funds to last a year. She promptly moved to a nicer city, moved into a nice apartment, and enrolled her son in a private school.

There are plenty of legitimate projects out there, but you have to be careful. Take the advice in the previous post and find your project through people who have been on the scene for a while.


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## singto (Sep 15, 2008)

synthia said:


> I have a very negative attitude toward companies that charge fees to volunteer. Some are reputable, but a great many are profit-making organizations or non-profits that exist only to pay the originators nice salaries. Frankly, the best way to volunteer is to show up in a country and look around. Even then, it is hard to be sure that you are really doing any good. People often do projects that reflect what they think is important rather than what is needed or wanted by the community.
> 
> A few horror stories from people I've met who have been involved in various projects:
> 
> ...


In Thailand, there are an awful lot of people who want something for nothing. I rarely if ever work at all unless I'm paid. We've all got to eat and I absolutely refuse to do anything for free, especially if people or places are profiting - while I make nothing. Like you said, you've got to be very, very careful or you'll end up paying through the nose, all for the privilege of busting your ass for free.


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## Guest (Nov 17, 2008)

synthia said:


> I have a very negative attitude toward companies that charge fees to volunteer. Some are reputable, but a great many are profit-making organizations or non-profits that exist only to pay the originators nice salaries. Frankly, the best way to volunteer is to show up in a country and look around. Even then, it is hard to be sure that you are really doing any good. People often do projects that reflect what they think is important rather than what is needed or wanted by the community.


Hear hear. That sums up the situation perfectly. It's a personal opinion only, but I'm particularly unhappy with the Christian missionaries who for example have concentrated on hill tribe villages. Living conditions may have been improved, schools built etc, but whole communities and families have been divided as well, with loyalties torn between two different belief systems. To me charity is giving while wanting nothing in return, and that includes the conversion of people quite happy and comfortable with the beliefs they've held for many generations.

And I certainly wouldn't give a second of my time to an organisation that wanted me to pay them to work for them! 

There are on-line listings available that indicate the percentage of income that is swallowed up by 'costs'. I always used to check those out before donating. However you won't find those for small organisations...http://frogblog-thaidings.blogspot.com/


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## Vicente (Nov 11, 2008)

thank you all. 

That's kind of what I am thinking. I mean I would come there and give away 3-6 months of my time, on the condition that somebody benefits from what I do. But to come there, pay money and then paint walls - doesn't make sense. Somebody from Thailand can pay the walls better than me, and I can donate some money for him.


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## Winkie (Aug 8, 2008)

Be careful JUST turning up, lloking to do volunteer work. Technically you will fall breach of work permit regulations, and you could be in for a hard time.

Like all serious ventures, investigate and understand first.

Having said all of that, there are many orphanages, for homeless, ill, chldren. They always appreciate very much a visit with a few small gifts (toys, snacks, old clothing) and a few hours to spare - the children love it, even if only for a short time.


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## austhai (Nov 19, 2008)

Don't pay anyone anything.
Plenty of fair dinkum organisations who would love to have you.
Watch out for the missionary types.
Go more for save the children type organisations.


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## profile (Nov 21, 2008)

It is possible to get a work permit for volunteer work but is not always easy.

Take careful note of the advice above.

Good luck.


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## darwinite1 (Oct 19, 2008)

Winkie said:


> Be careful JUST turning up, lloking to do volunteer work. Technically you will fall breach of work permit regulations, and you could be in for a hard time.
> 
> Like all serious ventures, investigate and understand first.
> 
> Having said all of that, there are many orphanages, for homeless, ill, chldren. They always appreciate very much a visit with a few small gifts (toys, snacks, old clothing) and a few hours to spare - the children love it, even if only for a short time.


Hi Winkie and eveyone else,

I'm also keen to volunteer when we move to Phuket. I have experience in the area of HIV/AIDS and am keen to work with children/adolescents who are infected. I was hoping there would be refuge's or orphenages in Phuket that might focus on this special need and who could use a regular hand. Does this sound likely/reasonable? Do you think that it would be a problem with regards to a work visa as I've heard on other blogs that even volunteer work can be a problem with regards to work visas.

thanks!


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