Volunteering for International Disaster Relief
What You Need to Know
The primary goal of relief work is to help the greatest number of people as effectively as possible. Volunteers can be an asset to this end, but they can also be a hindrance – the difference depends on a few factors described below. The following will help clarify some common misunderstandings about volunteering and provide links to additional resources and information.
Volunteers are Limited
Prospective volunteers with the best chance of being selected have fluency in the language of the disaster-stricken area, prior disaster relief experience, and expertise in technical fields such as medicine, communications, logistics or water/sanitation engineering. In most cases, professionals who fit this description are available in-country, which decreases the need for foreign volunteers. While offers from individuals, college service clubs, church groups and others to drive trucks, set up tents, and feed children are well-intentioned, they are typically not accepted by relief organizations. Local volunteers and even disaster survivors themselves are often available for these tasks, and people impacted by a disaster benefit from being actively involved in the restoration of their communities.
From an administrative perspective, once a relief agency accepts a volunteer, they are responsible for that person’s well-being, including food, shelter, health and security. Untrained volunteers are expensive, and a lack of sectoral, cultural and language training can actually result in more harm than good to survivors. Resources are particularly strained during a disaster, and people without required technical skills and experience can be a financial and practical burden to an ongoing relief effort. Relief work is a profession, and requires individuals who are trained to work effectively under sustained difficult conditions.
Gaining Necessary Experience
People who are interested in becoming qualified volunteers can begin by starting small and starting locally. Volunteering in one’s own community will yield useful experience in helping people in need. For additional skills, local colleges and Red Cross chapters may offer disaster management training courses throughout the year. To find a local Red Cross chapter, please visit the Red Cross web site at: www.redcross.org.
Medical and Healthcare Professionals
In most international emergencies doctors are available locally, within the country and within the region. In most cases, the affected country government will rely upon these resources first, before requesting outside assistance, since these doctors are most familiar with local medical systems, the language, the culture and treatments required. Prospective volunteers with medical training are strongly encouraged not to go to disaster sites on their own, but to contact an agency or organization that is working on the ground and has authorization from the government to bring in personnel. Many of these organizations will also require that volunteers have registered with them before a disaster, so that they have sufficient time to review their qualifications and experience.
Registering Your Skills and Interest with
Those who feel that they meet the criteria for being an international disaster relief volunteer are invited to register in USAID CIDI’s Volunteer Database. Registrants from the database have been selected by a variety of agencies to assist with large-scale emergencies, including in Rwanda, Haiti, Honduras and Kosovo. Registering does not guarantee that the registrant will be sent on an assignment, but it will make key information accessible to relief agencies that may need to find additional personnel. If an agency is interested in a volunteer from the database, that agency will contact the volunteer directly to verify references and finalize details of the assignment. The information contained in this database is shared only with international relief agencies that are registered with the U.S. government and are members of InterAction.
More resources for informed giving
Demonstrating Smart Compassion: What You Can Do
You can help to save lives and reduce human suffering after disasters by providing proven guidance within your community, schools, parishes, sororities and fraternities. Sound good? It is enormously good.
Help Where It's
Needed Most Toolkit
This toolkit was developed by the AdCouncil to help organizations effectively communcate the benefits of monetary doantions in support of disaster relief efforts.
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