Projects Abroad
Projects Abroad (formerly Teaching & Projects Abroad) is a volunteer travel travel agency based in the United Kingdom.
Projects Abroad was a founding member of the Year Out Group and is a member of the IVPA (International Volunteer Programs Association). The organization is also affiliated with the Reconstruction Project (later renamed the Projects Abroad Foundation) which was set up following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.[1] Funds from the Projects Abroad Foundation go to projects improving education, alleviation of poverty, human rights and the environment with no administration costs.[2]
History
Projects Abroad was founded in 1992 (then known as Teaching Abroad) by Dr. Peter Slowe.[3] After a few years sending volunteers to Eastern Europe teaching the organization expanded to sending volunteers around the world doing a wide range of projects. After becoming Teaching & Projects Abroad, it became simply Projects Abroad in 2007. Projects Abroad now has recruitment offices in a number of countries around the world.[4]
To date, Projects Abroad has over 20 years of experience on organizing volunteer and internship projects overseas.[5] They are situated in continents all around the world with programs in Argentina, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Samoa, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, and Vietnam. The organization has placed 60,000 volunteers all over the world and offers programs anywhere from child care and teaching, conservation, disaster relief building projects, to medical and dentistry missions. Projects Abroad places local staff in each destination as to provide constant support for international volunteers and organize all aspects of the journey. The volunteer is accommodated with a carefully-chosen host family in most programs which helps integrate an individual into the culture of their visited country.
The organization ensures security to their volunteers through placement in secure facilities.[6] No individual can be sent to a country that is not stable at the time of travel or that is estimated to become unstable during the duration of their trip.[7] All placement and accommodation details, including the location in which a volunteer will work, is provided before departure from one's country of origin to ensure that they are comfortable and prepared before arriving to their placement.[8] Local staff make arrangements for each volunteer to be picked up from orientation where after they are given a thorough orientation and background on anything from culture in the city to transportation.[9]