It's becoming increasingly popular to make volunteering a part of a trip abroad, but it's also becoming increasingly known that not all volunteer programs are created equal. It's sometimes hard to be sure if you're helping or hindering, and difficult to be sure you're helping to create lasting change. 

In Episode 145 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three travellers who've taken part in various volunteer programs in recent years. We talk about how to find a good volunteer program and their own examples are really worth hearing about.

First up, I talk to Ella who is currently volunteering in Malaysia at an organisation protecting endangered sea turtles. She has an ecology degree and describes the great work that is happening there, along with some thoughts on how to find a good way to volunteer abroad.

Next I chat with Meagan who lives in southern California. In the last few years she's become involved with regular volunteer work just a couple of hours' drive away in Mexico.

Finally, Eva explains the trip she took to the Philippines last year and how the money collected from travellers in the group was used to help a local community. 

Links:
Overview of the problems of orphanage tourism - https://www.savethechildren.org.au/Our-Stories/Orphanage-tourism 
Adopt a sea turtle nest program where Ella’s volunteering - Lang Tengah - http://www.langtengahturtlewatch.org/adoptions/ 
Meagan Hurst of Malas With a Mission - http://malaswithamission.com/ 
Eva’s blog Not Scared of the Jet Lag - http://www.notscaredofthejetlag.com
Giveback Giveaway which Eva mentioned - https://givebackgiveaway.com/ 
Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/145

It's becoming increasingly popular to make volunteering a part of a trip abroad, but it's also becoming increasingly known that not all volunteer programs are created equal. It's sometimes hard to be sure if you're helping or hindering, and difficult to be sure you're helping to create lasting change.&nbsp;
In Episode 145 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three travellers who've taken part in various volunteer programs in recent years. We talk about how to find a good volunteer program and their own examples are really worth hearing about.
First up, I talk to Ella who is currently volunteering in Malaysia at an organisation protecting endangered sea turtles. She has an ecology degree and describes the great work that is happening there, along with some thoughts on how to find a good way to volunteer abroad.
Next I chat with Meagan who lives in southern California. In the last few years she's become involved with regular volunteer work just a couple of hours' drive away in Mexico.
Finally, Eva explains the trip she took to the Philippines last year and how the money collected from travellers in the group was used to help a local community.&nbsp;
Links:
<ul>
<li>Overview of the problems of orphanage tourism - <a href="https://www.savethechildren.org.au/Our-Stories/Orphanage-tourism">https://www.savethechildren.org.au/Our-Stories/Orphanage-tourism</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Adopt a sea turtle nest program where Ella&rsquo;s volunteering - Lang Tengah - <a href="http://www.langtengahturtlewatch.org/adoptions/">http://www.langtengahturtlewatch.org/adoptions/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Meagan Hurst of Malas With a Mission - <a href="http://malaswithamission.com/">http://malaswithamission.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Eva&rsquo;s blog Not Scared of the Jet Lag - <a href="http://www.notscaredofthejetlag.com/">http://www.notscaredofthejetlag.com</a></li>
<li>Giveback Giveaway which Eva mentioned - <a href="https://givebackgiveaway.com/">https://givebackgiveaway.com/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Join our Facebook group&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/145">https://notaballerina.com/145</a></li>
</ul>

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle is a show for travel lovers. Each episode is packed with travel stories from fellow travel addicts on topics like using foreign languages, meeting the locals, getting lost and what we learn from our travels.

Tales from travel-lovers about why we travel and what we learn from it.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - is a weekly show which helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - is a weekly show which helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.