Are there any cheap volunteering abroad programs??

Are there actually free abroad volunteering programs?

• I'm not a u.s citizen, so UN, peacecorps,etc aren't possible. I'm 20, and a university student, and would like to go on a volunteering program for about 3-4 weeks. But i'm not going to pay 3000-5000 $ for the program itself, i mean, its just stupid, why would i pay for my own work?? I'm willing to pay for the airfare, food and accommodation. I'd like something to do with wildlife, or animals. So are there any programs that offer something like this?thanks

• Answer:

  You can still volunteer with the UN if you aren't American - it's a worldwide organization, NOT an American organization. But, that said you have to commit to 1-2 years, so you wouldn't qualify anyway. You won't find anyone willing to send you overseas for free unless you're committing over a year. Check out Global Volunteer Networks. There's less than 1/4 the cost that you're stating for 3-4 weeks. Your placement fee pays for the people locating the job for you, paying people to supervise your work, training and orientations, meals, accommodation, etc. The ones that charge $4,000 for a month are a rip off and I wouldn't go through them. GVN that I recommended above is excellent and much cheaper. There are animal-related positions in S.America and S.Africa.