No experience is necessary to serve on projects ranging from building community centers in Tanzania, teaching English in China or working with developmentally-disabled children in Ecuador. Volunteers must be qualified professionals in anesthesia and nurse anesthesia, dentistry, internal medicine, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthopedics, pediatrics, and physical therapy. They teach and train local health care providers. The LaFetra Web site includes an index of resources that help volunteers find and prepare for international volunteer opportunities. Most assignments require a four-year college degree or three to five years of work experience.
Volunteers receive a stipend.
Founded in the 1920s, SCI has 33 branches and groups in Europe and Asia, and approximately 5,000 volunteers active in 50 countries. SCI has links with many other organizations, worldwide, and holds consultative status with the United Nations. Every year, the program recruits around 250 Western volunteers, aged between 18 and 25, and partners them with local volunteers from other countries. Together, they receive intensive training before working in rural communities, raising awareness of important health, social and environmental issues, particularly amongst young people. The United Volunteers program was developed in conjunction with Kalibbala Rural Development Organization , a community based NGO in Kiwangala Village, Uganda.