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NGOabroad
Custom-Fit International Service


Services                                                 
to help you make a difference!                                                more real.  more rewarding.  more frugal.

A Consult is a bridge
from where you are now to where you want to be.
Consults are helpful to people:
  • entering or advancing in humanitarian or international work.
  • in transition: recent graduates; mid-career shifts; preparing to retire.
  • starting or struggling with new enterprises or programs.

     "You have a gift for understanding what each of us is searching for."

Ann McLaughlin MSW brings 25 years counseling experience to help:

  • identify your strengths--your foundation
  • examine dreams & what excites you--your launching pad.
  • clarify goals & design strategies.
  • write powerful cover letters & resumes to "get your foot in the door."
    click here.

 

 

Partners' Volunteer Programs         

Unique! We engage skilled volunteers to tackle the grittiest challenges of our times:

When the people lead, the leaders will follow.
             ---building democracy and civil society
                strengthening the right to speak the truth
            ---transforming the role of women
            ---eradicating poverty, through education, micro-loans & policy shifts
            ---helping build sustainable organizations
                build capacity. "hand ups vs hand-outs."
            ---delivering health care in under-served areas
            ---improving the quality of life: water, sanitation & solar
            ---rebuilding the lives of refugees

Click on each regional name to see the current volunteer programs available.

If there is a region or expertise not covered by our volunteer programs, then commission a Roadmap to Resources.


 Personalized Guide: Roadmap to International Resources

What is a Guide: Roadmap to Resources?

  • ~50-150 page goldmine that will open up the world for you.

  • Has many files which reflect the many angles that you can approach your goal.
    E.g. A social worker said "I have experience in the ER & with children. I would like to do disaster work.
    My real strength is helping people reach their potential." "Oh, in international work, that is called Capacity Building."
    9 files for this social worker: e.g. Crisis, Capacity Building, Children, Health, Expenses Paid & more
    "Ann, you really opened my eyes to the possibilities!
    You looked at things from such different angles that entirely new options were opened up for my skills."

"I am overwhelmed by the breadth and depth of materials you have sent me."
A Guide: Roadmap to Resources is well suited to people:
  • who are want to know where to find paid international work
  • who have a special request
        "I need help finding  internships possibilities."
        "I left Vietnam with the Baby Lift....I want to go back."
        "I am an accountant. I want to find paid humanitarian work."
  • or special needs
        "I am blind. I have set up programs so I would like to help set up
             programs in other countries. I do fine with my cane."
        "We are a family of 4. Where would it be safe & fun for the kids?"
 Lebanese Boy with Peacekeeper - photo by: Fred Clarke
© Fred Clarke  Lebanese Boy with Peacekeeper

What a Roadmap of Resources does:

  • For people that want to enter international work, but do not know how.

  • the Roadmap sequences the opportunities from entry level to advanced,
    tailored to your skills & experience

  • it shows how international work is organized, "how the game is played"

  • the Roadmap can show the way to achieve a personal dream or goal.

  • identifies where your skills are needed & matches you to the proper level
      of experience so you can make a real contribution

  • integrates critical knowledge of host's needs; of world events and cultures

  • introduces exciting  organizations to work with and their contact information.

What you do:

  • You sort through reams of information & determine what appeals to you.

  • You send a resume & cover letter to the places that you like.
    This proactive approach is one way of "getting your foot in the door."  

  • The better that you know their needs and can help them with their dilemmas,
    the more appealing you will be. See What Color is your Parachute? by Dick Bolles.


Personalized Guide: Roadmap of Resources vs. Partners' Volunteer Programs
The Guide was our original service. The volunteer programs were developed due to popular request.
What is the difference between The Roadmap of International Resources and a Volunteer program?

  • A Roadmap is custom fit to your skills, desires and goals.
     e.g "I want to work with autistic children in Malta." "I want to find a political organization
     or conflict resolution organization to sponsor me in the Ukraine." See the Amazing! page to
     see the range of amazing requests that we have fielded.
     
  • A Roadmap is wrapped around your needs; a Partner's Program is wrapped around
     the needs of the organization that you Partner with.
     
  • A Roadmap is a wealth of information. It gives you  a broad "lay of the land":
     how and where your skills could be used internationally.
     
  • With a Roadmap, you get more options, but you must do the legwork & make contact.
     
  • With the Partners programs, more is certain & arranged for you.
    Busy people have said that they need the legwork done for them.
     
  • We are now building more certainty into Roadmaps:
    we include several organizations that there is a high likelihood of accepting you. (99%)
    This, of course, depends on your specialty & experience.
     
  • As in other volunteer programs, our Partners will host you, pick you up at the airport,
    and arrange home stays. We encourage home stays because the personal interactions are a
    precious part of your stay and because home stays give you an inside view of what life is like in that culture.


                      
    How does NGOabroad compare to most voluntary organizations?
     
NGOabroad most volunteer programs Discussion
for competent, confident people for people who want more structure NGOabroad links you to grassroots organizations that truly need your skills, so the playing field is The Real World with many opportunities.

This approach is more challenging... and more rewarding. It is closer to how The Real World works and how people get international work.

NGOabroad is for experienced, resourceful people who can “take the ball and run with it” in making their own arrangements and in the service work itself.

NGOabroad believes setting up your own program is a vital first step in acculturating and preparing to serve.

It's a natural selection process: "If you can't email Dushanbe, you'd probably get lost in Tajikistan."

(Though we discourage this for the above reasons, the NGOabroad  team will help you make your arrangements. Cost is $20/hour.)

NGOabroad helps strengthen your competence and confidence with support services.

Mentoring or a Cultural Consultation are often all that you need to shift from overwhelmed to “ready to go.”


Tsunami sadness.    c. flickr.com/slurpee  

requires considerable life,
    work & travel experience		 a good fit for those
     with less experience  
placement is custom-fit to your     
    skills, interests and goals 		tasks are more universal
independent experience group experience
services are offered in modules so you can buy them "a la carte" you buy entire package
$50- $400 $2,000- $3,000
is a service is a program  
you make contacts
   and set up your own "program" 		they make contacts
pre-packaged program