Anyone volunteer internationally?

[Pose]

So, this summer I have 5 weeks planned to volunteer internationally. I'm especially interested in Africa. If it takes less than that, fine, if it takes longer, that's fine too.

I have looked into two organizations. The first being http://crossculturalsolutions.com/ , and the second being Gesundheit! (http:///www.patchadams.org). The first is where I'll probably end up if no one recommends something better, but the second appeals mostly because of the man that leads it. I'm sure it'd be a great experience. Not too sure that it's what I'm looking for, though. The clown suit, their goal to spread happiness isn't exactly mine.

The way price factors into everything. For the 5 weeks at crossculture (I'm interested in their Tanzania location), it'd cost me around $3,000. Most of which I can get from support of relatives and friends, but I also have around $1,000 put behind myself. I'm also pretty sure (waiting for an e-mail back) that I could do my 5 weeks with a focus on health-care. Have I mentioned I'm also a photographer? I'm big into street photography, photojournalism, and wildlife. What better place could I pick? (ignoring they've arrested people in the past for photographing hospitals, churches, and other public places.)

For Patch's..it'd cost around $3,800 for the two weeks.

So, one of my questions would be -- would these 5 weeks count towards 'experience' in health-care, or apply whatsoever to the medical school application in the future? The answer to this won't really sway my goal to do it either way, but I'd still like to get an idea.

Second question -- has anyone volunteered through this program before? Or one similar? What was your experience like, and would you do it again?

And finally, to repeat an earlier question, can anyone recommend any other organizations? Or, if you've had a negative experience, share that, too.

Thanks.

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[Anastasis]

I have been volunteering internationally for seven months now and it has been the greatest experience of my life.

I would recommend it for everyone. I can't say whether it will count as clinical experience or not, but at the very least, it would make for an interesting topic of conversation in an interview or a personal statement.

Feel free to send me a private message if you want advice on living abroad or anything like that. Good luck with fundraising as well.

 

[notdeadyet]

One thought, Pose, if you're at all intimidated by the money aspect, is to look at Latin America. Due to the headaches with permits, airfare and whatnot for travelling to Africa, prices for volunteering are pretty high.

You can head to Central America for about half the cost for twice the length of time, and this is no exagerration. Lovely people, very much in need, and you'd be exposed to a very useful language. Might want to give it some thought...

 

[g3pro]

Why the hell would you want to SPEND money to volunteer? If you want to do good, there are plenty of needy children in this country that could use that money. Or you could donate that money to international organizations to help them bring relief to the impovrished. W.T.F. would you do something like that? To get into medical school? It makes a great impression on ADCOMs for sure: it shows them that you will go to any ends, spend any money, to get into medical school. Very selfish.

 

[sumfratrisamor]

I'm thinking about Zambia, Africa. Good luck whatever your decision is.

 

[evajaclynn]

Why the hell would you want to SPEND money to volunteer? If you want to do good, there are plenty of needy children in this country that could use that money. Or you could donate that money to international organizations to help them bring relief to the impovrished. W.T.F. would you do something like that? To get into medical school? It makes a great impression on ADCOMs for sure: it shows them that you will go to any ends, spend any money, to get into medical school. Very selfish.

There's nothing like learning firsthand. I spent some money to fly myself to two different medical missions over the past few years. The patients that came to our missions would NOT have received help if our group had not flown to their villages and catered to their needs. Yes, the medical mission could have gone on without me there, but by being there, I learned so many things that you simply cannot learn in school. This is not selfish. These are amazing educational and life learning experiences that will help me in developing to become a great doctor. We're paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to medical school - would you call that selfish? Do you ever go on vacation? Do you ever go out to a fancy dinner or buy fancy electronic gadgets? Why don't we just donate that money to help the impoverished? Rather than judging each other and our intentions, we should each just worry about what we individually are doing to help those in need.

 

[diosa428]

Why the hell would you want to SPEND money to volunteer? If you want to do good, there are plenty of needy children in this country that could use that money. Or you could donate that money to international organizations to help them bring relief to the impovrished. W.T.F. would you do something like that? To get into medical school? It makes a great impression on ADCOMs for sure: it shows them that you will go to any ends, spend any money, to get into medical school. Very selfish.

I'm going to Ecuador for a month this summer to volunteer, and I think it's a great opportunity to learn. In addition to working in different hospitals, I'll be taking Spanish classes to improve my Spanish and hopefully learn some medical Spanish. I'm also interested in international health and may pursue an MPH. In addition, many medical schools offer programs that allow students to volunteer in other countries. Having a first hand understanding of health care in other countries is important.

 

[Iquitos]

Iquitos Peru is awesome.

 

[every1blowz]

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[~~premed82~~]

Cool, I'm thinking about Tanzania for next summer, maybe.

I'm thinking about Zambia, Africa. Good luck whatever your decision is.

 

[VPDcurt]

Very selfish.

All forms of volunteering are selfish to you. So if someone finds "free" volunteering here in America just to impress medical schools, then it is all of a sudden not selfish? Oh please.

 

[mango6110]

So, this summer I have 5 weeks planned to volunteer internationally. I'm especially interested in Africa. If it takes less than that, fine, if it takes longer, that's fine too.

I have looked into two organizations. The first being http://crossculturalsolutions.com/ , and the second being Gesundheit! (http:///www.patchadams.org). The first is where I'll probably end up if no one recommends something better, but the second appeals mostly because of the man that leads it. I'm sure it'd be a great experience. Not too sure that it's what I'm looking for, though. The clown suit, their goal to spread happiness isn't exactly mine.

The way price factors into everything. For the 5 weeks at crossculture (I'm interested in their Tanzania location), it'd cost me around $3,000. Most of which I can get from support of relatives and friends, but I also have around $1,000 put behind myself. I'm also pretty sure (waiting for an e-mail back) that I could do my 5 weeks with a focus on health-care. Have I mentioned I'm also a photographer? I'm big into street photography, photojournalism, and wildlife. What better place could I pick? (ignoring they've arrested people in the past for photographing hospitals, churches, and other public places.)

For Patch's..it'd cost around $3,800 for the two weeks.

So, one of my questions would be -- would these 5 weeks count towards 'experience' in health-care, or apply whatsoever to the medical school application in the future? The answer to this won't really sway my goal to do it either way, but I'd still like to get an idea.

Second question -- has anyone volunteered through this program before? Or one similar? What was your experience like, and would you do it again?

And finally, to repeat an earlier question, can anyone recommend any other organizations? Or, if you've had a negative experience, share that, too.

Thanks.

Hey, two summers ago I went with Operations Crossroads Africa to kenya to do medical work. It was 3500 for 7 weeks, airfare included, so I felt that was a better price than most programs. I fundraised a large chunck of my money. They also have a few days orientation in New York City where you get to meet your group. The program is set up so they send about 150 volunteers into Africa to do all sorts of work. They send about 7-8 people to each country with a group leader. I lived with 7 other people that were all my age in a rural village in Kenya and worked at the hospital and did AIDS awareness. I can say single handedly this experience has changed my life. I really enjoyed the program and have met some really good friends through it.

http://operationcrossroadsafrica.org/05/mainmenu.html

As with any organization there were things I did not like, but my negative points were more specific to my group leader and not to the program itself. If you are interested in working in Africa, I suggest you look at this website. But, be aware.....most of the places are extremely rural and you may have to deal with no electricity and no running water (something that I really liked)

Also after the 6 weeks, you get one week to travel, our group went to a beach in Kenya called Mombassa and on a safari (AWESOME!!-as a photographer you can take cool pics)

PM me if you have any questions

Oh I wrote about my experience extensively on my personal statement and have spoken about it at every interview.......