Volunteer work from 16, fsj abroad at 16, 17, under 18

Volunteering abroad from 16 or 17 is possible? Many young people and their parents regularly ask themselves this question when minors e.g. B. want to do volunteering after graduation. We explain the circumstances under which people under the age of 18 can volunteer abroad (not to be confused with an FSJ abroad) and what needs to be considered. Good news in advance: to get involved, you don’t need an adult or special skills.

There are answers to these questions here

Tl; dr * – short & just

Flexible volunteering abroad is possible from the age of 16 or 17, but not regulated voluntary services like weltwärts.
In our project search, the required minimum age is already visible in the search results.
Which tasks can be taken on also depends on the instructions in the project on site.
Those who value good care should prefer volunteer organizations with their own employees on site.

* Too long: didn’t read – Too long, not read

Is there a minimum age for volunteering in Africa, Asia or South America?

In general, flexible volunteering, as offered by our partner organizations here on wegweiser-freiwilligenarbeit.com, is already from 16 or 17 years old possible. This form of engagement differs from regulated voluntary services such as weltwärts or EVS, where the participants must be of legal age. The International Youth Voluntary Service IJFD is at least 16 years old, but in practice minors can rarely assert themselves against adult candidates in the application process. According to a study by the AKLHÜ, in 2016 just under 5% of all volunteers in regulated voluntary services were under the age of 18. An FSJ abroad from the age of 16 is almost impossible because this service has been almost completely replaced by other regulated foreign volunteer services.

Flexible volunteering differs from the regulated voluntary services in that it is accessible through a simple registration process and the volunteers can choose the destination country, duration and start date more or less flexibly.

Nonetheless, even with flexible volunteering, not every project is open to volunteers under 18. The minimum age depends on both the sending organization and the hosting project.

Insurance and liability-related reasons often play a role in determining the age limit. You are of legal age in most countries over the age of 18, but there are exceptions, which can then shift the age limit up or down. In Nepal one is B. at the age of 16, but only in Thailand at the age of 20.

Whether you have a project for volunteering from 16, from 17 or only from 18 or even 21 years old, you can see in our search results on wegweiser-freiwilligenarbeit.com. You can also find the minimum age in the project profile on the project pages.

Voluntary work under 16 only in the family

Even at 15, or generally under 16, volunteering is possible in some cases, if

a legal guardian also participates,
the specific volunteer project is generally suitable and
the recording project also agrees.

Our advice is therefore to contact the organization offering the desired project directly via the contact form at the end of a project description and to find out about volunteering in the family. Even before that, use common sense! For example, when working in a human rights office, there is no point in taking a child into the project.

And: Parents or legal guardians and children must both actually be involved in the project. So it is not possible that the respective legal guardian delivers the underage volunteer to the project in order to then go on a sightseeing tour. Volunteer organizations do not offer babysitting services, and the legal guardians are responsible for the care of minors. Everyone involved should be aware of this so that no misunderstandings arise.

What projects are open to minors aged 16 or 17? What is the minimum qualification required?

In general, all project categories are open to minors. If the project descriptions on wegweiser-freiwilligenarbiet.com show a minimum age of 16 or 17, our partner organizations have agreed with the admission projects that the cooperation of people under 18 without professional qualification is possible and useful. In addition, the project profile provides information on whether special qualifications are desirable.

Volunteering to get started

Volunteering and adventure

Volunteer projects with an internship character

However, underage volunteers mostly just come out of school or have not yet graduated. So what can they do in Africa, Asia or Latin America without specific knowledge??

The good news: You don’t need a professional qualification to show solidarity and want to tackle it. In addition, many 16- and 17-year-olds already have quite relevant experience, through volunteering in clubs or school working groups. B., or through part-time jobs.

In addition, it also depends on what tasks the volunteers expect in the project and especially what the instructions and support from the project staff looks like.

Because it makes a difference whether, for example, as an assistant to a professional English teacher, the volunteers are responsible for teaching children the language in a playful way and speaking a lot with them, or if they are to explain the associated grammar to them on their own. Many of the students, trainees or high school graduates are able to do the former, while the latter is probably more suitable for people with teaching experience. A simple question can serve as a basis for assessing future tasks: "Would I be able to do this at home?" If the answer is no, it is probably better to choose a project with other tasks that make you feel more confident.

Especially with volunteer work from 16, the volunteers should not have too high expectations of what they can really move in the host country. At 16 in two weeks saving the world is unfortunately not possible! Instead, the focus is on learning and understanding.

For us, the main purpose of volunteering is global learning and understanding of contexts. Ideally, based on their experience after their return, volunteers choose to continue to work for global justice, thereby contributing to long-term change.

Group work camp or individually organized volunteer work?

Depending on personal preference, volunteers can decide whether they want to do volunteer work alone or in a group. Especially for volunteer work from 16 or 17 years there are often programs that are designed as a group activity from the outset. In this way, the young people are in the project with other young volunteers, and there is often an organized program at the weekend too. They are accompanied by employees of the volunteer organization who are available as supervisors. These so-called work camps take place on certain dates, usually during the summer holidays, as they are particularly geared towards pupils and students aged 16-25.

But, in spite of group work and a weekend program: round-the-clock support cannot be provided in a work camp. Parents should therefore have confidence in their children that they can find their way around on their own.

Even in projects with an individual arrival date that are not organized as work camps, young volunteers are usually not completely on their own. The various projects of a volunteer organization are often concentrated in a city or region in the country of assignment, so that the volunteers can simply network with each other and form a volunteer community. It is not uncommon for several volunteers to be involved in the same admission project, which makes contact even easier.

But how exactly does the dream project look like? How many other volunteers are there in Africa, Asia, Latin America? Is there a volunteer community in the host city, and do other volunteers work directly in the project? In order to clarify these questions in advance, we recommend contacting the volunteer organization using our contact form at the end of each project description.

What kind of support do young volunteers get on site??

Especially for the parents of young volunteers aged 16 and over, a decision criterion for the choice of the project is of particular importance: Does the organizing volunteer organization have its own employees on site who can help with problems if necessary?

Probably nothing happens, but what if something does happen? That doesn’t have to be a danger to life and limb, but a wallet can be stolen quickly, a smaller wound may need to be sewn in the hospital. Volunteering abroad is no different from a trip to a European tourism destination.

The staffing of the volunteer organization on site is quite different. Some sending organizations rely on the staff of the hosting project, others work with local hosting organizations, and still others have their own staff on site.

Host families can support young volunteers

It is definitely worth taking a closer look and, if necessary, specifically asking the organization. Our guide with his checklist helps.

We recommend giving preference to organizations with their own employees from the sending organization on site. The flow of communication between the country of deployment and the home country is then optimal and the employees do not have to fulfill other obligations when making an emergency call, as is the case, for example. B. Employees of the recording project have to do.

For the moral support of equals, it can be good if the above-mentioned volunteer community is on site. Volunteers of the same age can often understand each other better and thus support each other in case of problems.

In some projects, volunteers can also live with a host family. They often feel responsible for their temporary addition to the family, especially when the volunteers are younger, and can also help with problems.

How much does volunteering abroad cost at 16 or 17?

Flexible volunteering abroad is unfortunately not free of charge even at 16 or 17. In our blog article "Why pay money for volunteering abroad", we explain in detail what costs are incurred and why unfortunately the volunteers usually have to pay for them. Not only accommodation and meals have to be paid, but also preparation and follow-up, project monitoring, salaries and general administrative expenses of the implementing organization.

The financial framework for regulated voluntary services such as weltwärts or the IJFD is considerably cheaper. However, these hardly accept minors (see above) and also usually have a long application period.

But also in the field of flexible volunteering there are offers that are cheap and others that are less cheap. The more services volunteers want to claim on site, the more expensive their stay will be. The checklist in our guide "How to choose the right volunteer organization" helps to check exactly what is included in the respective price in it and compare the individual projects. A significant cost factor is often the presence or absence of employees on site.

The good news: every year, thousands of young people manage to fund their volunteer project. If you’re short on cash, our blog article will give you tips on how to finance a volunteer project.

An alternative in reducing costs is u. a. Shorten the duration of your engagement abroad (e.g. not a real year abroad in the true sense of the word) and use the time that is available to work or earn money.