Legal skills are needed at home and away. The intention was to practise for a limited period in a vastly different region away from the rigours of billing, time sheets and profit centres. Of course, there was also genuine interest in the developing world, commitment to the precepts of VSO, and some altruism - there had to be. Most postings last a minimum of two years. In return, the host country agrees to pay the volunteer the equivalent of a local salary or a fixed volunteer allowance.
Housing is provided and, in some cases, so is the cost of utilities.
The allowance is sufficient to live adequately, but not in luxury. Pacific posting Between October 1993 and December 1995, I was the People's Lawyer of Tuvalu, Central Pacific. It has a land mass of about 26 square kilometres and lies over 1,000km north of the nearest country, Fiji. It has a population of around 10,000, spread over 600 kilometres of sea. Its highest point is just over four metres above sea level.