February 7, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas
by Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega, Zahara Heckscher
How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas gives a broad overview of international volunteerism, analyzing its rewards and offering practical advice about the pursuit.
The book is laid out in thematic chapters offering a range of advice on topics such as how to choose the best program, how to finance a trip, and what to pack. Chapters also deal with such basic concerns as how to decide if volunteering overseas will be enjoyable, how to choose the best program, what to do before and after going abroad, and how to be an effective volunteer.
More-specific issues are also covered, such as the political and social contexts of Americans volunteering abroad, cultural immersion, and detailed suggestions about dealing with reverse culture shock when returning to the United States.
Information in the book was gleaned from a spectrum of global volunteers and in-country activists that included, for example, a high-school student helping a rural community in Mexico build latrines, a teacher assisting the restoration of a Mongolian monastery during summer vacation, and a retired businessman advising a bakery in Slovakia on generating revenue.
The book, half of which is devoted to detailed profiles of more than 100 volunteer organizations, also contains a chapter devoted solely to the Peace Corps. To conduct research for the book, the authors visited Peace Corps programs in 15 countries, and conducted interviews with more than 100 volunteers and staff members working overseas. Worksheets are also scattered throughout the publication to help assess interests and special needs.
Publisher: Penguin Putnam, 375 Hudson Street, New York, N.Y. 10014; (800) 788-6262, (212) 366-2272, fax (212) 366-2952; http://www.penguinputnam.com; 464 pages; $17; I.S.B.N. 0-14-200071-X.
