There are many ways to get involved in development through volunteering (and apparently being a volunteer makes you more happy and live longer too, http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0506_hbr.pdf). Some examples of development volunteer opportunities follow.
Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYADs)
Funded by AusAID, one of the Australian Government's most popular initiatives is the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development volunteer program for young Australians aged 18-30.Each year around 400 people travel to partner countries to work for up to a year on programs designed to tackle poverty. Priority sectors for the AYAD program are health, education, governance, rural development, environment and infrastructure.For further information: www.ausaid.gov.au/youtham
Australian Business Volunteers (ABVs)
Part funded by AusAID, Australian Business Volunteers' approach to poverty reduction and sustainable growth is to strengthen the private sector, which is seen as the engine of development. Volunteers with ABV are mature, qualified and experienced Australians who possess skills in a wide variety of fields. They come from sectors including professional, business and trades. Through sharing their work skills and sound governance practices, ABV volunteers help build capacity and sustainability of small and medium-sized businesses. Each year ABV undertakes between 200 and 300 short-term assignments (one to three months). ABV has a continuous volunteer recruitment and dispatch procedure enabling rapid response to clients' needs. ABV operates in the following countries in the AusAID-supported component of its programme:
- Pacific: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu
- Asia: Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Thailand (regional assignments only), Vietnam
For further information: www.abv.org.au
Australian Volunteers International (AVI)
Funded by AusAID, Australian Volunteers International (AVI) recruits, prepares and supports Australian volunteers who live and work in developing communities. As an international volunteer agency supported by AusAID, AVI and its volunteers are committed to achieving long term development, poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods. AVI works with partner organisations in host communities to ensure that placements respond to locally-identified needs. Volunteers are skilled professionals from the education, health, community development, finance, IT, communications, rural development, trade and engineering sectors. AVI provides short and long-term volunteer placements in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, as follows:
- Pacific: Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
- Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand (regional assignments only), Vietnam.
- Africa & Middle East: Afghanistan, Lebanon (Palestinian refugees), Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Palestinian Territories, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
For further information: www.australianvolunteers.com
Volunteering for International Development from Australia (VIDA)
Funded by AusAID, Volunteering for International Development from Australia (VIDA) enables Australian citizens and permanent residents aged 18 and over to undertake volunteer assignments in partner countries, including Indonesia, to contribute to sustainable development. VIDA volunteers may undertake placements in host organisations for periods of between one and 36 months. As part of the Australian Government's overseas volunteer and international aid programs, VIDA aims to assist developing countries to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development through skills transfer, institutional strengthening and capacity building. Countries in which VIDA operates are as follows:
- Pacific: Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
- Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Thailand (regional assignments only), Vietnam
For further information: www.vidavolunteers.com.au
United Nations Volunteers (UNV)
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organisation that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and it can transform the pace and nature of development. Volunteerism benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer by strengthening trust, solidarity and reciprocity among citizens, and by purposefully creating opportunities for participation. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for recognition of volunteers, working with partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing an increasing number and diversity of volunteers, including experienced UNV volunteers, throughout the world. UNV embraces volunteerism as universal and inclusive, and recognizes volunteerism in its diversity as well as the values that sustain it: free will, commitment, engagement and solidarity. Based in Bonn, Germany, UNV is active in 140 countries
For further information: http://www.unv.org/
More details on volunteering are also available on ACFID's website, http://www.acfid.asn.au/what-we-do/humanitarian-emergencies/how-can-i-help/volunteering
