The Underground Guide to International Volunteering is an e-book by Kirsty Henderson which serves as an introduction to international volunteering. Kirsty is a Canadian who has lived abroad since 2001 and done extensive backpacking and volunteering around the world. The content ranges from snippets taken from Kirsty’s personal experiences during her various volunteering placements, to interviews with fellow volunteers whom she have met along the way, to lists of organisations (both free and paid), practical information and more.

The e-book costs $14 to buy and half of that money goes to Kirsty’s charity of choice – Hands On Disaster Response (HODR), for which she is hoping to raise US$10,000 for this disaster relief organisation which works with communities destroyed by disasters, helping to clear the rubble, salvage materials and rebuild homes.

Okay guys, strap yourselves in for a long one. This is going to be a review in two parts, by two people. First up is Martin’s review, which aims to cover the basics and deliver a verdict, but doesn’t go in to any great depth. Second is Alexandra’s, and she has gone into rather more detail and set out a list of expectations that she had before reading the book, and how well it fulfilled them.

Martin’s thoughts:

The aim of the book is, in fact, quite similar to that of our own website – so it’s a perfect fit for our first book review. The range of topics covered in its 60-odd pages is quite impressive, and includes debates on the nature and consequences of volunteering as well as inspirational interviews and organisation suggestions- as mentioned earlier.

One of the chapters which will be particularly valuable to an uncertain prospect volunteer is chapter 3,  titled “Is Volunteering Right for You?”, which gives a realistic idea of the common traits and motivators shared by volunteers. It is also a perfect example of the down-to-earth nature of the book which, far from being as “goody two shoes” as you might expect a book on the “selfless” act of volunteering to be, as she includes common selfish motivators alongside their obvious selfless counterparts – and even stresses their importance.

I got into it in the first place because it looked like fun, I continued because it was far more fun than I expected, and now I look forward to projects so I can see my friends (fellow volunteers) and get involved in a local community on a level I can't as a traveller. For me, helping people is an added (and awesome) bonus.

The many interviews included in the book cover a wide range of people and job types, and the practical information encompasses visa applications, fundraising, health, packing and several other topics that anyone considering to volunteer will likely have questions about.

In short, it’s a near-perfect book for anyone who is considering volunteering and wants a portable pocket guide to take with, or to read through for inspiration and advice before setting off.

Alexandra’s thoughts:

Honest writing

In a volunteering guide I want the writer to be honest about reasons for volunteering, what they got out of it and what effect they think they made on the community they were working in. Well, this book certainly fulfils that wish.  I particularly like the “Why Volunteer” section, which speaks honestly about reasons people have for volunteering and, refreshingly, the reasons go beyond the cliché “to change the world”. It also describes the many benefits of volunteering for the volunteer which really do make you want to get on a plane and start volunteering straight away.

Experience of the writer

To me, the really useful information on what it’s like to volunteer can only come from somebody with a lot of experience volunteering in different countries and with different organisations.  Somebody who has volunteered once will, of course, have some good stories to tell and I’m sure they will have advice to give regarding their specific placement.  However, only by volunteering many times and meeting other well-travelled volunteers can you put all your experiences together to come up with advice that will help people with whatever volunteering placement they are seeking.  Unfortunately, it looked as though this ebook would disappoint here.

Although Kirsty is very well travelled, her volunteer work seems to be confined to “just” Spain, Asia and Haiti.  Whilst this is still very impressive it still misses out one big area of interest for volunteers – Africa.  Her type of work, along with the list of organisations with which she has worked, also appears to be lacking in variety.  She has taught English in two countries and after that she has spent her time travelling the world doing disaster relief work with HODR.  I started to worry that the advice in this ebook would be heavily skewed towards HODR and disaster relief work.  Fortunately that wasn’t the case. Kirsty does admit that she is addicted to the disaster relief work and obviously thinks that HODR is an excellent organisation worthy of endorsement, but what she lacks from personal experience she makes up for in buckets by interviewing other volunteers.  By interviewing other volunteers of varied experience, she has successfully managed to provide first hand experience from most types of volunteer jobs as well as a range of organisations, both free and fee-based.   This leads me onto my next two bullet points in the list.

Range of jobs available

As expected there is a very well detailed insight into the work that goes into disaster relief volunteering as well as the experiences of several different people who all volunteered with HODR.  There are also interviews from people who have volunteered in different types of job, including a very insightful interview from an experienced volunteer nurse.  The comprehensive list of types of work available covers all the usual jobs that people know about, but also contains some that you may not have considered.  Each type of work comes with a description of the work involved and some links to related organisations.

Finding organisations

Choosing the right organisation for you is a daunting and difficult task and if you only have Google to help you then your search could only turn up the big, fee-based organisations.  Again, Kirsty does not disappoint here.  As well as interviewing volunteers from different organisations, she has also provided a list of things to think about when looking for an organisation and also what you should ask the organisations you’re interested in. This list covers some questions that you may not have thought about asking.  Kirsty not only gives great tips on innovative ways of finding volunteering opportunities but she also provides lists of free and cheap volunteering opportunities, fee-based organisations and an excellent list of volunteering websites where you can search for your perfect opportunity. You could spend ages searching the web on your own before you come up with anything useful but here you are given a fantastic list of useful websites with all the information you will need.  Thank you Kirsty!

Information on responsible volunteering

Every volunteer wants to go out to a country believing that they are helping the community in some small way. This is, afterall, what volunteering is all about.  It is therefore important to be aware of the effects of your work on the area in which you are working.  This ebook has a nice little section on this topic, making you aware of the worries surrounding volunteer work and pointing readers to websites for further reading.  It makes you think about the type of work you will be doing and if you really will be a benefit, rather than a hindrance, to the country/area in which you will be working.

Practical information

Of course any budding volunteer will need to think about practicalities, like preparations, health and hygiene, packing and visas etc.  This ebook covers all of these and even gives some very useful insider tips. The one thing lacking from this book is advice on the dangers of certain countries and volunteer work.  Kirsty does, however, give some links to websites where you can find out more information but I would have liked to get a feel for how safe it really is in these countries when travelling alone and whether there is anything that you should take extra care over.

Recommendations of small/lesser known organisations and blogs

From an ebook entitled “The Underground Guide to International Volunteering” I am expecting a few well-kept secrets of organisations and blogs known only to those who have spent months travelling to the remotest parts of the world, helping people as they go.  Well, this ebook does indeed have a wealth of blogs and websites from a number of very well informed and experienced volunteers, some who have volunteered for very small organisations which you wouldn’t have a hope of finding through your normal Google search.

Get me excited about volunteering

The last bullet point on my list was simple – I wanted to be filled with enthusiasm and excitement about volunteering abroad. The ebook is full of uplifting little stories, both from Kirsty herself and her interviewees, which really encapsulate the spirit of volunteering.

As well as satisfying most of my criteria for a good guide to volunteering, the ebook also has some great additions.  One interesting section was on paid volunteering.  By emailing one of the big fee-based volunteer companies the ebook was able to clarify exactly where your fees go and it also discusses if paying for volunteering is the right choice for you.

Final Verdict

This ebook is full of valuable web resources and first hand experience.  It is honestly written and provides an insight into volunteering work.  It doesn’t give you all the answers you will be looking for but it makes you think about the questions themselves and points you to where you can find good information.  The good thing about this ebook is that Kirsty plans for it to evolve.  The aim is to add new volunteering opportunities, websites, stories etc as she comes across the so it can only get better.  At the moment, though, it is already a great resource for budding volunteers and I would recommend it to anyone considering volunteer work.  It will open your mind to opportunities you may not have considered and will help you prepare for your trip and with half the money going to charity, you know you are helping a good cause.

And that's it!

While it may sound like we're blowing Kirsty's trumpet a bit, rest assured that we haven't been paid a penny to write this review nor do we earn commission on any sales. We genuinely believe that this is a good e-book well worth its cost, especially since half of it goes to HODR (and the other half to support an ambitious volunteer).

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