Our Ethical Policy

Volunteers in Ghana

We understand that as a social enterprise sending volunteers to over 500 projects worldwide, any decisions we make and any actions we take can have a profound effect on the communities in which we operate. With this in mind, we always strive to provide as many positive benefits for our volunteers and project partners as possible while taking care to minimise any negative outcomes for everyone concerned.

We believe that the main ethical issue facing Projects Abroad Pro is the possibility of a skilled volunteer performing work that could or would normally be done by a local professional. The aim of our initiative is to help local communities, not to increase unemployment and we are taking the following steps to prevent this from occurring:

1. We will only send skilled volunteers to a project when the local partners cannot afford to pay for a local worker to do the job. An example of this might be an orphanage in Ghana that cannot afford to hire skilled social workers to care for children affected by HIV/AIDS.
2. We will send qualified volunteers to perform work where local people simply do not possess the skills required. An example of this might be sending an education worker to train teachers in Peru where the local people lack experience and skills.
3. We will look to send skilled volunteers to participate in peer to peer exchange programmes on projects that already possess adequate numbers of staff. An example of this might be a medical professional working alongside experienced doctors in Mongolia – they would work together and share ideas, with no local people having work taken away from them.

These are the main concerns of Projects Abroad Pro and the steps taken to counteract them. For more information on ethical issues relating to Projects Abroad as a whole, please visit our website.