Volunteering in Colombia

Hi everyone! 

I've been living in Bogotá for more than a year now, volunteering with a couple of different organizations. Here are a couple of recommendations:

—If you're looking for volunteer work in your career field, reach out to professional organizations.  Sometimes their websites will explicitly list opportunities, or you can email someone in charge of social responsibility.

—Contact churches in the city to which you're moving.  Even if you're not a follower of a particular faith, churches are almost always involved in outreach in their communities and are happy to have volunteers no matter your beliefs.  In Bogotá, there are churches in English and French (and there are probably others of which I'm not aware) which is helpful if you'd rather speak to someone in your native language.

—Take advantage of expat groups.  In Bogotá, expat groups like Internations and the American Women's Club (you do not need to be an American, but you do have to be a woman!) have all kinds of opportunities to volunteer and are a great place to network if you're looking for something in particular. 

Once I told people I was looking to volunteer, I had all kinds of opportunities to choose from.  There is a lot of need in Colombia and a lot of fantastic people who want to point you in the right direction.  If you send out a couple of emails, I have no doubt you'll be on the right track in no time!

Danielle
nolongernative.com