Our Vision

Projects Abroad office in Ghana

When Projects Abroad Pro was originally conceived we set out our vision for the initiative and the goals we wanted to reach.

1. Our overriding vision is that anyone who has a skill, qualification or experience and wants to volunteer their time and effort should be able to work alongside local people in a role tailored to their needs and abilities.
2. We are determined to make sure that Projects Abroad Pro volunteers, our local partners and regular Projects Abroad volunteers are able to work together on the same projects, helping each other and making a difference in poor communities.
3. Projects Abroad Pro volunteers must get the chance to meet and work with professionals in their industry, participating in peer to peer exchange.
4. Our projects will not be ‘one-way’ charity work where volunteers simply help the less fortunate. Volunteers must be able to learn about and experience a new culture while sharing their own with their host family and colleagues.
5. We will provide unrivalled in-country support through a team of staff in each destination.
6. Anyone applying for a skilled placement will be referred to a specialist recruitment consultant with experience of volunteering on a career break.
7. We will aim to provide as much flexibility as possible with our placements to meet the needs of professionals.

The need for Projects Abroad Pro?

Water Diving Certification in Thailand

Projects Abroad Pro was created primarily as a way to improve the standard of our projects for both the volunteers and the local communities involved. We felt that while many of our placements ran incredibly well, with volunteers forming a valued and respected part of the local community, on some projects both the volunteers and the project partners suffered from a lack of experience. An example of this might be a small medical clinic that is short of supplies, facilities and qualified staff. While our volunteers are able to provide a great deal of help, they lack the guidance of an experienced professional and it is difficult for them to make a long-lasting difference on the project. If the clinic was provided with an experienced western doctor who could advise both volunteers and existing staff, making changes to their working practice and improving the standard of care then our volunteers, the medical staff and their patients would all benefit.

This view is supported by feedback from many of our project partners who regularly request certain types of volunteer. An example might be a football club who need a qualified coach to help them with their training. Sometimes when inexperienced coaches work with these placements they themselves are looking to learn more about modern training methods and they could benefit from having an expert available. Even if a coach spent only two weeks with the project, they could design a training plan that could then be used by volunteers for years to come.

We have also noticed a trend in the number of volunteers looking for an opportunity to use their skills who only have a limited time available to volunteer. While these volunteers have always been able to work on quality projects with Projects Abroad, they would be placed in a generic location that might not make the most of their skills. By creating short-term placements specifically designed for people with certain skills and qualifications we feel that we can now offer exactly what prospective volunteers want and exactly what project partners want, thus improving the projects for everyone involved.