I have wanted to volunteer since I was 14 years old.  In my 20s I applied to the Peace Corp (I am American) and by the time I was accepted, many months later, i had planned a big trip of many months to Europe.  I never did volunteer.  Life happens, career, home etc.  Finally I realized I was healthy, still wanting to volunteer, willing to give up all my work and go.  My blog is called "When I'm Sixty Four" if that tells you anything!  The actual name is: whenimsixtfour.blogspot.com..(it was a typing error)  Anyway, I figured if I was going to give up all my work which included  a private psychotherapy practice, teaching psychiatric nursing students and some consulting with Visiting Nurse Service around patients with emotional as well as physical problems, I needed to get a placement for at least 2 years.   Also, since I would be giving up my income I wanted them to pay me, not me to pay them!  I, like you did a lot of research and really only found the Peace Corp in the US and CUSO-VSO in Canada which now is really part of VSO in the UK and other locations.  VSO only uses professional volunteers.  People with a skill set, mine is Mental Health.  I did not know at the time that VSO only has a Mental Health program in Sri Lanka and just started one in Tajikistan.  My fantasy was going to Africa and helping in various ways.  In hindsight, I might have tried harder to find a way to go to Africa and do non mental health things but I still don't think there are other agencies that don't charge.   So I had no choice of what country I went to.

They prepared me for the work I am doing.  I am working in a Provincial mental health service, part of the hospital.  I am in a small rural town.  I am rather alone but am here to do a particular job.  I am glad to be volunteering.  I have some ambivalence about whether we should be in Sri Lanka doing this work.   People here are not primitive but they are not sophisticated either.  I would say, except for the capital of Colombo, Sri Lanka is 50 years behind the times in terms of mental health services, equipment, ideas and even the way the population lives, thinks, dresses  and products available.

I do without many things; I wash all my clothes, sheets, towels and iron everything, clean my house, cook if I care to.  I have wonderful friends who send me coffee.  If I realized I couldn't get real coffee here I might have shipped a lot of it to myself before I left!

I decided to do this in December of 2008, I left for my assignment in December of 2009.  I was ready by September but VSO put it off.

The entire thing takes patience.  Working in a developing country takes patience.  Change happens in the smallest increments if at all.  I wonder if I still believe that volunteering really helps.  We are supposed to be capacity building.  I would say to do it with a little expectation as possible.  Also, if you have a dream of what you want to do, find a way to do it if possible.  When I am finished my commitment here which I shall do for 1 1/2 years, I probably will find an independent volunteer opportunity in Africa (thanks to your web site) and spend a few months changing diapers or helping out in some way. 

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