JAB / 126 / April 2024: Volunteering With Refugees
Vacancies, Leads, Links, Inspiration & Ideas For Working Abroad, Volunteering & Taking A Gap Year
Not everyone advertises their vacancies in the Jobs Abroad Bulletin, but rather than be sore about it we share vacancies we find in other publications here every month. We have an international readership but please be aware that not every job is open to everyone and official pieces of paper may be required.
| Beirut, Lebanon |
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Amazing jobs, ski boot fitting, cat cash, hobbits, miserable freaks, Japanese ski resort pizza, Claire & more…
⭐️Ski Season 24/25 Recruitment Has Already Begun
EUROPE > The HR people at Ski Miquel have already begun their search for staff to work their 24/25 ski season. They have advertised for chalet hosts and chalet hotel chefs with EU passports or appropriate paperwork to work in France and Austria. The right to work in the UK provides a chance to be seconded to Switzerland.
⭐️Discover Poland But Not As A Tourist
POLAND > Volunteers are needed for an English language camp in Brzesko from August 5 to 14. Food and accommodation provided. Further details via this graphic (private group).
⭐️Party Hostel Volunteering In Bratislava
SLOVAKIA > Wild Elephants/Urban Elephants, a small hostel group in Bratislava, featured in our Cheap Gap Year Ideas For 23/24 issue last August. We saw them advertising for volunteers again a few days ago in this private Facebook group but the details are much the same in our old post.
⭐️Join The SerVivo ESC Volunteer Team
PORTUGAL > Are you ready to embark on a transformative journey dedicated to sustainable living and holistic development? SerVivo is seeking four vibrant individuals, aged 18 to 30 and residents or citizens of the EU, to join their seven month long European Solidarity Corps volunteer programme.
⭐️Surf Camp Staff
PORTUGAL > Sagres Sun Stay surf camp and hostel in Sagres, Algarve, is recruiting for reception and bar staff. It is a plus if you have been in the area before. For more info send your CV to booking@sagressunstay.com.
⭐️100 Publications That Pay Freelance Writers
REMOTE > Jacob Jans makes a habit of publishing paid writing opportunities in his
newsletter, usually grouping them into categories such as these 45 travel publications that work with freelance writers. He recently put together a list of 100 publications that pay freelance writers, each with detailed research on payment rates and editorial contact information.⭐️These Boots Are Made For Skiing
FRANCE > Do you fancy working in Val d’Isère for the season as a ski and boot technician? Snowberry have full and part time positions coming up next winter for keen skiers and boarders with good customer service skills and fluent in English. UK passports and other work permits and visas are accepted.
| Snowberry |
⭐️Three Animal Shelters In Asia
SRI LANKA, INDIA & INDONESIA > A room and two meals a day are provided to volunteers helping with the efforts of Lokku's Dogs and Catscare. Started in part by a German animal lover who worked for three months with Goa’s Dog Temple before opening her own dog and cat charity in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Lokku’s is named after an injured beach dog.
⭐️TUI Still Has Overseas Vacancies
WORLDWIDE > TUI’s summer season is officially here. Their overseas teams are diving into new destinations and meeting their new colleagues, but they still have some open positions to fill. High season Dutch and French speaking Kids Club hosts is one that recently popped up in our inbox.
⭐️Japanese Ski Resort Pizza
JAPAN > Hakuba Pizza, a busy restaurant in the heart of Happo, in Hakuba Valley, Nagano prefecture, is looking for new talents for the 24/25 winter season. The restaurant is open from early December until late March, leaving plenty of time to apply for a working holiday visa for Japan.
⭐️Claire Is Leaving
FRANCE > St Jean d'Aulps’ Bar Le National’s Claire is leaving her job. Sofia is taking over her role but she needs a team. Consequently, St Jean d'Aulps’ Bar Le National’s Sofia has two full time year round bartender/server positions to fill. Your nationality is unimportant, but the right to work in France and the ability to converse in French and English very much are.
⭐️English Summer Camps In Florence And Tuscany
ITALY > Counsellors aged 19 to 28 are sought for English summer camps in Florence and Tuscany for two to six weeks in June and July. The work is paid and includes accommodation and food.
⭐️English Teaching Jobs For Miserable Freaks
THAILAND > Some foreigners teaching English in Thailand are miserable freaks says Bruce Veldhuisen, an American who's been an entrepreneur in Thailand and Asia for over 25 years. There are plenty of interesting comments on the realities of teaching in Thailand on this Thairish Times YouTube interview too.
⭐️Tolkein Tourism
NEW ZEALAND > Tour guides and bilingual Mandarin speaking tour guides are required at the Hobbiton Movie Set in Waikato.
⭐️Job Opportunity On The Isle Of Tiree
UK > Alan Stevenson House Inn Hynish is looking for a happy hard working person with a love for life to join their team as a chef de partie.
⭐️Surf Instructor
GUATEMALA > Green Belly Surf Lodge is on the lookout for a dynamic and passionate surf instructor to ride the waves with them. A minimum of one year of surf instructing experience is required for this paid position in El Paredon. An ISA certificate is preferred, and basic knowledge of Spanish is a bonus.
⭐️Adventure Reps
FRANCE > BeVenturesome is recruiting their team of adventure reps for this summer. If you're looking for work in May, June and July in Morzine and love working with young people outdoors then check out this link and get in touch. They can also offer evening work doing fun activities with kids.
⭐️French Hostel Group Offers Work Exchanges
FRANCE > The Lyon hostel of a French hostel group has a simple offer for backpackers: 20 hours of work per week, spread over three to four days, for accommodation and meals. Contact details for the other hostels - in Rennes, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Bayonne - can be found here.
⭐️Help Refugees Through These NGOs And Work Exchanges
WORLDWIDE > Our initial idea for this post was to list a small number of Workaway hosts that focus their attention on helping refugees, migrants and displaced people, but we have also rounded up some of the NGOs we have already featured in back issues of JAB, and added a few more we have since discovered.
Obviously and reasonably, any donations received by these NGOs are spent on helping refugees so all the costs related to living expenses, transport, and accommodation are usually borne by volunteers. Discounted housing may sometimes be available or help is often given with finding somewhere to live nearby.
If not stated otherwise, an asterisk beside a link indicates membership of a work exchange network is required to apply. Though there is an upfront membership fee, volunteers on a budget may prefer to offer their help through a work exchange platform. Hosts usually provide accommodation and more often than not food at no cost to those offering a helping hand.
FRANCE
We have featured Refugee Community Kitchen more than once in JAB. They serve thousands of meals in Northern France to people from over 20 nationalities fleeing war, poverty, persecution and climate change. See their website for more information or get the gist of what they do here. Care4Calais, Auberge des Migrants and Refugee Crisis Foundation are three more organisations in the area. Andrew Jones recounts his experience volunteering with Care4Calais.
The all female volunteer run Refugee Women’s Centre is a mobile service committed to supporting displaced women and families in and around Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk and Calais. Their activities vary each day but volunteers may find themselves distributing material aid, connecting people with professional services, or supporting women who have experienced sexual or gender based violence.
If you come to L'Auberge des Migrants as a short or medium term volunteer, you will be helping with their warehouse work before joining their teams on the ground for distribution in Calais and the surrounding area. In winter they need help with their Woodyard project in Calais and Grand-Synthe. More ways to help in northern France are listed at https://www.calaisappeal.org/how-you-can-help.
We also found these two Workaway hosts working in Calais and Dunkirk, though we suspect they may be one or more of the organisations already mentioned above. Both listings request €8 a day towards food and accommodation costs. Skilled medical volunteers can volunteer a minimum of two days with MARDi. Otherwise, try FAST (First Aid Support Team). Liftshare is a Facebook group for volunteers looking to split the costs of getting to the camps.
AUSTRIA
Volunteers with this multi cultural coliving project* near Lake Faak live in an old hostel, enjoying as much food as they can eat. At the moment a lot of the work involves housekeeping tasks, such as helping out at the non alcoholic bar and cooking for the community and the refugees they host.
POLAND
This Workaway host from the USA assists refugees from Ukraine and other parts of the world living in Poland. Volunteers here are free to create their own projects teaching art, sport and fitness.
Anna Kaminski volunteered on the Polish Ukrainian border with World Central Kitchen. More places to volunteer your services in Poland are listed here.
MOLDOVA
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Refugee Support set up a Dignity Centre in Chisinau, Moldova (they also have them in Nicosia, Cyprus and Bournemouth, UK) to provide practical help to Ukrainian refugees living in Moldovan households. In Floreni, this Workaway host provides free toys to refugee children. They accept help making the toys, taking care of kids, social media activity, website improvements, old house improvements, cooking, cleaning, with the daily routine, fundraising, and having fun.
UKRAINE
It is possible to volunteer in Ukraine. Scott Richardson did so last year, writing about his experiences on his blog. VolunteeringUkraine connects volunteers worldwide with meaningful opportunities in the country. These include cooking frozen pizza in mobile trucks for internally displaced people and providing child refugees with English lessons. The website also shares visa advice and information for getting into Ukraine.
GREECE
Several NGOs that we’ve mentioned before in this newsletter have closed their operations or shifted their focus elsewhere, but Starfish, Second Tree, and METAdrasi are all still in the business of helping new arrivals to Greece.
Dråpen i Havet appear to have moved out of Samos but are still active in Lesvos, Athens and northern Greece. Anyone interested in joining them in the field should be at least 23 and able to commit to a minimum of four to six weeks. Coordinators are also needed. Better Days is also based in Athens. They are currently seeking English teachers and admissions support.
Eurorelief places volunteers in camps in Lesvos and Samos. They charge a €100 admin fee plus €12 per night for housing and transportation to/from work. Movement On The Ground is also present on both islands. They take on volunteers with an art background, technical volunteers to support construction and electrical work, and English speakers to support their newly implemented language classes in their vocational training space (Lesvos only).
Rad Music International Cultural Club, founded by an asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a collective of refugees and locals that provides food and clothes to the community and brings together refugees, locals, and international volunteers through the universal languages of music and dance. Lesvos Solidarity seeks long term volunteers.
Further options in Greece are available to Workaway members. You can join a social experiment and help to organise seminars and workshops for refugees and other minority groups in Athens, support female refugees in Attica, volunteer with NGOs in Katsikas or Kos, or help at a community centre in Serres. This last one looks to be Lifting Hands International, so non members of the work exchange platform can email volunteers@lhi.org for more information.
THE BALKANS
Collective Aid is active in both Bosnia and Serbia (and in Calais, France). Their shorter term volunteers have, among other things, cooked, driven, written, cleaned, taught, packed, organised, fundraised, posted, built, played, painted, emailed, designed, translated, and collected border violence testimonies. They ask for a financial contribution of a few Euros per night (€5 to be specific, according to their Workaway page) towards their projects but strongly encourage people who may be concerned about the financial costs of volunteering to apply anyway.
No Name Kitchen also work in Serbia and along other migrant routes in the Balkans and the Mediterranean. They provide humanitarian aid and political action for those who suffer the difficulties of extreme journeys and violent push backs.
ITALY
We have seen Associazione I Girasoli recruit European Solidarity Corps funded volunteers to support afternoon activities for refugees, young migrants and minors in Mazzarino, Sicily, but at the moment their translated volunteer page suggests little more than contacting them should you wish to become part of their reality.
SPAIN
A good level of Spanish is required to join this volunteer run community foundation close to Granada* that helps people coming from a situation of social exclusion: mainly mothers with children in emergency situations or young immigrants, refugees, people with disabilities without family, teenagers in risk situations or people needing a home.
TURKEY
The next intake of volunteers to help this growing non profit in Izmir* starts April 15. Volunteers stay a minimum two to three months helping their activities focused on disadvantaged refugees and Turkish women. They need assistance in fundraising, maintaining their house and garden, and warehouse support. You will be a great asset to their team if you are adaptable, enthusiastic and creative.
JORDAN
We featured Squash Dreamers, which trains refugee girls from Syria to become competitive squash players while also providing English language education, in our gap year issue last year. They require volunteers living or studying in Jordan, or just in the country for a short while, to get involved with one to one tutoring in English, squash, and other sports both in person and online. Volunteers should be self funding but they can offer advice to volunteers on finding somewhere to stay.
LEBANON
Nearly 20% of people living in Lebanon are refugees, mostly from neighbouring Syria. We found two Workaway hosts based in the Bekaa Valley helping to support them. The first is a charity needing volunteers aged over 23 to run their English, French, art, sport and dance classes, as well as their cinema club and early childhood education programme. They ask for US$140 per month towards accommodation expenses. The second host, a school for Syrian refugees and local Lebanese children, also asks for a contribution of US$150 per month towards expenses. They need help with teaching English and other subjects and sports. A gardening expert/lover is welcome too.
COLOMBIA
Colombia lies on the route leading to the inhospitable Darian Gap, taken both by Venezuelans leaving their country and increasing numbers of Chinese taking advantage of visa free travel to neighbouring Ecuador before getting a bus north. Travellers can get to know the Eastern Plains region when teaching English and Mandarin* in the small town of Villanueva, or head to Pamplona to help in providing critical aid to Venezuelan refugees* walking across Colombia.
THAILAND
A community based organisation in the countryside near Mae Hong Son on the Thai-Myanmar border is looking for a volunteer English teacher*, preferably with a TEFL certificate and one year of teaching experience, to teach Karenni young people who live in the nearby refugee camp and Karenni State.
MALAYSIA
After a three year hiatus, Yellow House recently welcomed back volunteers to help them with their work with refugees, homeless communities and other marginalised groups in Kuala Lumpur. While much of what they do is still on hold they are still welcoming enquiries via their Workaway profile from those interested to volunteer for two months or more in managerial roles.
⭐️Guides To Teaching in Australia, New Zealand, And The UK
WORLDWIDE > Prospero Teaching International invites adventurous educators to explore a teaching adventure abroad with them. Whether you fancy the rich history and multicultural vibes of the UK, the tranquil beauty of New Zealand, or Australia’s diverse landscapes and vibrant cities of Australia, they have several downloadable guides to help with the move.
They also have an active blog covering topics such as finding work as an unqualified teaching assistant, positive behaviour management strategies in primary schools, and the NZ Overseas Relocation Grant of up to NZD$10,000 available until June 30 to overseas trained teachers coming to New Zealand to fill a teaching vacancy.
⭐️Join The Nauti Crew
USA > A few spots are still open to join the NautiFish Rum Bar’s Nauti Crew beside the Lake of the Ozarks, which it says on Wikipedia is a man made reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in the northern part of the Ozarks in central Missouri.
⭐️Gig Hustles For Making Travel Money
UK > Jayesh Chhaya recently returned to the UK after travelling in Asia. He helped save up for his trip by working as a delivery rider on his ebike for Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats. He shares his working life and how much he earns per shift on his Gig Hustle YouTube channel, including step by step guides to delivering your first Deliveroo and Uber Eats orders. When food deliveries go quiet, consider parcel deliveries with Gophr. London Eats demonstrates.
⭐️Cash For Cat Care
WORLDWIDE > Cat lovers can get cash for kitty cuddling through Cat in a Flat, a cat sitting matching service active in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the USA. Register your profile for free and once approved your cat sitting service will be matched to cat owners searching for a cat carer in your area.
⭐️Chainsaw User Required
SPAIN > A week or two in a house on the coast of northwest Spain is offered to someone who can use a chainsaw to cut down some small trees, perform other wood related tasks and do some gardening.
⭐️Plant Care Work Exchange
MALTA > A green fingered woman can enjoy a few days’ accommodation in Malta in return for taking care of some balcony plants.
⭐️Volunteer In A Monastery
VIETNAM > Truc Lam Zen Monastery in the Central Highlands of Vietnam needs volunteers to help with gardening and some chores (private group). The managing monk also wants to learn some English. Vegetarian meals and private accommodation are offered in return for around five hours a day.
⭐️40+ Hiking Season Jobs In The Swiss Alps
SWITZERLAND > Servers, bar staff, cashiers, side cooks, cooks and housekeeping all-rounders are needed right now by ASVN Alpine Club, founded by four enthusiastic women from southern Germany who help others find exciting job opportunities in their favourite part of the world. They want motivated applicants with extensive catering experience or training, preferably over 40 years old.
⭐️Wildlife And Environmental Job Boards
USA > Kiley Cruse is making an Excel sheet of different job boards and agencies to work for in the wildlife/environmental sector. She is still asking for suggestions so it’s not done yet, but scroll down the comments to Natasha Murphy’s contribution for some useful resources.
⭐️Ornithologist Wanted
ICELAND > The Natural Science Institute of the Westfjords (NAVE) is looking for a highly motivated and qualified ornithologist. The job involves various projects related to environmental impact assessments, routine monitoring, and/or independent research in the chosen applicant’s specific field of study within ornithology.
⭐️Tall Ship Sailing Advice For Older People
AT SEA > An anonymous participant in the Tall Ships Opportunities Facebook group was recently enquiring about apprentice opportunities for middle aged adults. If you’re in the same boat situation there is plenty of advice, inspiration and leads in the comment thread.
⭐️Summer In Les Deau Alpes
FRANCE > The Polar Bear Pub has a summer job opportunity from June 15 to the end of August in Les Deux Alpes. Applicants must have the right to work in EU. Email thepolarbearpub.niall@gmail.com.
⭐️Want To Ski In Bulgaria Next Winter?
BULGARIA > Laura Miller, owner and director of Total Chalets in Bansko, says they usually start advertising and holding interviews in May and June for winter chalet staff. If you have an EU passport or existing Bulgarian residency, keep an eye on their Facebook page. They often recruit there.
⭐️Totally Total Chalet
FRANCE > Total Chalet Services Morzine is looking for a couple or two friends to join their small but busy family run business as part of their changeover cleaning and laundry team for the summer season.
Also in Morzine, also looking for changeover assistants - but sadly not also called Total Chalets - is Alptitude Chalets. They do have some French contract options available for British Passport holders though.
⭐️Amazing Jobs
UK > York Maze recently posted a pun filled post to their Facebook that was so terrible even we couldn’t repeat it here. It’s not quite so bad on the work for us page on their website where the gist of it is that they are looking for fun loving people to join their seasonal teams for summer and Halloween. They were also recently looking for a new visitor operations manager, a summer job opportunity that they feel would suit a ski team leader/instructor with experience in managing a team.
| York Maze |
⭐️Common Digital Nomad Careers
REMOTE > Lauren Zehara Haas started her nomad life was working as a content creator. Over the years, her income shifted to a balance of writing, fundraising for an orphanage in Peru, and managing social media for clients. She shares her experience on her website, including covering some of the most common nomad careers.
⭐️Earn A Cottage In The Dordogne
FRANCE > A small French cottage in the Dordogne and the use of a pool is the reward for a couple of hours per day helping with maintenance and gardening plus some housekeeping and cleaning. Only those who have the necessary experience and attention to detail need apply.
⭐️Holiday Representative
FRANCE > European Camping Group has a vacancy for Irish nationals welcoming their guests to Southwest France with a smile and keeping their accommodation clean.
⭐️Remaining Campsite Rep Roles
FRANCE, ITALY & SPAIN > Though Venue Holidays began their 2024 season just a few days ago, the adverts we spotted around the same time for campsite representatives suggest they still have some last minute vacancies for EU passport holders.
⭐️Work For Beer in Australia & New Zealand
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND > Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane each host a GABS Craft Beer Festival in May and June. Volunteers celebrate the end of each weekend event with pizza and beer. In New Zealand, over 100 volunteer pourers are assigned to tables at the Mt Pleasant Craft Beer Festival, held this year on June 8. A sampling glass is one of the perks.
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JAB is thrown together quickly on a shoestring and contains information and advertising that we believe is authentic and currently available. However, we recommend checking things out for yourselves as we could be wrong about everything. We remind our readers that there are many scams on the internet aimed at people looking for work abroad and suggest reading our Warnings, Safety and Spotting Scams pages.