Volunteer Abroad Bloggers

Meet Verge Magazine's bloggers who are volunteering abroad on projects in different parts of the world, and sharing their journeys.

Alana Jenkins

Alana Jenkins quit her job as an Office Manager for a mental health agency in Saint Paul, Minnesota to travel and volunteer in Southeast Asia and Europe. She is volunteering through Workaway and seeking immersive local experiences.
Alicia Williams

Alicia Williams is an English Teaching Fellow with Heart for Change in Colombia. Living in the Eje Cafetero, she has learned to take time for coffee, rather than getting coffee to go. She plans to live abroad for awhile.
Alyssa McDonald

Alyssa McDonald is a digital journalist who has worked in newsrooms around the world; from the Canadian prairies to coastal Ghana to the bustling streets of Delhi. She is currently volunteering as a multimedia innovator with Youth Challenge International and 4H Tanzania in Ghana.
Amelia McKinlay

Amelia McKinlay is a master's student based in London, passionate about conservation and the environment. She has lived in five countries around the world. Previously, she blogged for Verge about volunteering at DAKTARI Bush School and Wildlife Orphanage in Limpopo, South Africa. Currently, she's researching tropical forest ecology in Borneo, Malaysia.
Andrew O'Dea

Andrew O’Dea is a 20-year-old from St. John’s, Newfoundland. He's currently studying at Memorial University, working towards an honours in Biochemistry. He loves getting to know the world through travel, which is why he’s volunteering in Guyana with Youth Challenge International.
Anna Sawchuk

Originally from Vancouver, Anna Sawchuk now lives in Toronto but is moving once again to experience life in Holland at Tilburg University. She gets slightly claustrophobic staying in the same city for an extended period of time. Cure your travel itches with Anna’s stories about travelling and volunteering in Southeast Asia with Operation Groundswell.
Camaro West

Born on the island of St. Kitts and raised in the suburbs of Toronto, Camaro West is a self-described traveller, sometimes documentary filmmaker, published author and dreamer with a Masters in International Development. She is currently on a seven-month internship in Ghana, where she is working as a Gender Advisor with the Ghana YMCA and Youth Challenge International through CIDA’s International Youth Internship Program.
Charity Yoro

Charity left her home in Hawaii to spend a semester in Thailand; a summer in the Philippines; a year teaching in South Korea; and now a two-year stint volunteering in the remote country of Madagascar. This 25-year-old is working on spreading the gospel of Village Savings and Loans to the Malagasy masses, and keeping her taste for exotic foods satisfied (the latter being the real work).
Charmaine Kong

A Canadian girl currently volunteering in Lima, Peru with the EQWIP HUBs project, Charmaine Kong is happy to call anywhere with a beautiful view and a soothing cup of tea home.
Clare Esler
Clare Esler has an undergraduate and post-graduate degree in International Development. She is currently on a seven-month internship with Youth Challenge International through CIDA’s International Youth Internship Program in Nicaragua, working as an Environment Project Officer with ANIDES (The Nicaraguan Association for Sustainable Development). When not working internationally, Clare lives in Toronto.
Crystal Collins
When she knew she had a greater purpose, Crystal decided to upgrade her unfulfilling life by following her dreams and moving to India. Crystal spends time travelling, plotting to save the world and sharing her adventures through writing.
Daniel B. Sarvestani

Daniel Bagheri Sarvestani, is a Canadian human rights advocate and advisor. He has been volunteering and working internationally for the better part of the past five years. Currently, he is assigned by Cuso International (a Canadian development organization) to work in Honduras as an Indigenous Peoples rights consultant.
Daniel Baylis
Daniel Baylis is a writer, adventurer and wine-soaked yogi. He has journeyed to all six inhabited continents, and has subsequently becoming a reluctant poster boy for volunteer travel.
Emily Kennedy
Emily Kennedy is an enthusiastic traveller from Nova Scotia, Canada. Upon graduating from Acadia University in May 2014, Emily is embarking on multiple adventures, including a 12-week volunteer position in Koforidua, Ghana with Youth Challenge International. Read up on Emily’s adventures here!
Izabela Wlodarczyk

After obtaining degrees in human rights and international project management, Izabela Wlodarczyk has worked in Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico and Bolivia in various roles, including as a consultant and editor.
Kaelyn Lynch

After studying abroad in South Africa, Kaelyn Lynch was inspired to continue a life of meaningful travel. She has since lived in Indonesia and Australia, pursuing her passions of conservation, community development, and writing. She is now volunteering at a monastic school in Burma and researching the relationship between religion and the environment.
Kayla Kozan
A Prairie girl from Western Canada, Kayla completed her HBA at the Richard Ivey School of Business. Fresh out of an exchange semester in New Zealand, Kayla is working alongside Youth Challenge International in Ghana with a focus on young entrepreneurs.
Kendra Borutski
Kendra Borutski is a recent graduate of International Business and Global Development from Niagara College. Presently, she is interning in Georgetown, Guyana with Youth Challenge International through CIDA’s International Youth Internship Program. Thinking about volunteering? Read up on Kendra’s adventures.
Leah Davidson
Leah Davidson was born in Shaoyang, China and grew up in Quebec, Canada. Currently, she's a student at the Wharton School of Business volunteering with an organization called Expand Peru in Huancayo. Leah has travelled to Antarctica, Sweden, Finland, England, France, Spain, Argentina and Mexico, mostly on research or volunteer trips. Passionate about volunteer travel? Sift through Leah’s stories!
Leigh Matassa
A small town girl from Kingston Ontario, Leigh has had a passion for travel for as long as she can remember. Her involvement in Social Justice led her to complete an undergrad in International Development and a post-grad in project management. Now, Leigh is in Ghana with Youth Challenge International working on entrepreneurship, sexual reproductive health and substance abuse with the Ghanaian youth.
Lillian Berggoetz

Lillian is a recent high school graduate. She has been a part of Indiana’s Deaf community for four years. She is volunteering in Rwanda and volunteering at a local Deaf school in Ruhengeri for three months.
Mauricio Rubio

Mauricio Rubio is an IT professional, husband and the father of three from New York City. The whole family is spending 12 months in Ecuador, learning Spanish, immersing themselves in the culture and searching for volunteering opportunities. He writes about life on the road with kids, volunteering in local communities and economic development issues.
Megan Lee

Megan Lee is an international educator, traveler and writer. She is currently working in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda with nine American college students. Read her blog as she makes new rafikis and learn more about Africa this spring.
Meghan Carron

Meghan Carron is a 22-year-old college graduate trying to understand herself and the world around her. In September 2017 she will be volunteering in China through WWOOF.
Mike Land
A former newspaper reporter who now directs the Community Service Learning Program at Assumption College in Worcester, MA, Mike Land has written about service and other topics in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Follow Mike’s adventures as he travels and volunteers across the United States.
Nick Benson

Nick Benson studies languages in the UK and feels “the world of work” looming on the horizon. On a summer placement in Ghana with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) he’s writing about pushing borders, making friends and keeping the mosquitos at bay.
Noa Glow
Noa Glow, a regular contributor to various Canadian publications, looks forward to doing more travelling with purpose. When at home in Vancouver, she enjoys practicing yoga daily and walking the city with her dog, Wally. Read her blog about volunteering abroad with Habitat for Humanity.
Rebecca Chant

Rebecca Chant’s 12-month round-the-world solo trip led her to take action against gender inequality. She currently volunteers at Sambhali Trust women’s empowerment centre in Jodhpur, India.
Roberta Fregolent

Roberta Fregolent is volunteering with the NGO Helping Overcome Obstacles in Peru, in the city of Arequipa. As a Programme Assistant she helps develop their Educational, Health and Social Development projects for disadvantaged children and women.
Rudayna Bahubeshi
Rudayna Bahubeshi has lived in Ecuador, Egypt, India, Costa Rica and travelled to over a dozen other countries. While abroad, she has studied, volunteered, worked as a journalist, photographer and consultant. From this past May to November, she worked as a program consultant for Volunteer Abroad, helping pair volunteers to international charities and NGOs.
Saoirse Clohessy

After volunteering in Nepal documenting earthquake relief work, Saoirse Clohessy has set off into the rest of Asia, armed with her camera and a determination to be useful to more charities doing amazing work.
Shanna Sunley
Shanna Sunley holds a Masters in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). She has diverse non-profit, government and research experience in Canada, the UK and Ghana, and has visited over 30 countries. She is currently a Youth Challenge International volunteer in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Shantel Dickerson

Shantel Dickerson is a Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET) participant who is teaching English to high school students in Beppu, Japan. Shantel will join Peace Boat for four months as a volunteer English teacher and travel to 23 countries.
Sophie Thoms

Sophie Thoms is currently volunteering with a NGO called HOOP (Helping Overcome Obstacles Peru) in Arequipa, Peru. As a social work student, she is assisting the social worker of the organization in workshops, helping in individual cases and supporting the local community to break the circle of poverty.
Steph Dyson

Steph Dyson is a former teacher from the UK. She gave up her job to travel and volunteer in summer 2014, and has since volunteered for several Bolivian organizations. She currently lives in Cuzco, Peru, where she works work with the charity LAFF.
Stephanie Liauw
Stephanie Liauw recently graduated from the Richard Ivey School of Business and is currently spending six weeks in Ghana in through the Youth Challenge International’s Entrepreneurship and Sustainability project. Her life goal is to be a global citizen and to be able to call not just one city as her home, but to call the world her home.
Tom Collins

Tom Collins has always had Africa on his mind. To get there, he studied first French and then African Politics. Armed with these tools, at the age of 24 he set up his company Vodoun Creations, specializing in African travel and contemporary issues. He is currently somewhere in West Africa on a whirlwind bike ride to Lagos, blogging for Verge along the way.
Trina Moyles
Trina Moyles is a Canadian freelance writer and photographer living in Kabale, Uganda, and volunteering with the Kigezi Healthcare Foundation. She writes about the collision of culture, community development, politics and sustainable living.
Tyler Michalek

From financial consultant to volunteer farmer, Tyler Michalek has learned to invest in the experience over 401k. Currently travelling Asia through Workaway, Tyler is on a mission to prove that connections through cultural immersion are more satisfying than financial compensation.
Vanessa Nirode

Vanessa Nirode is a runner, cyclist, writer and pattern maker based in New York City, who is taking an adult "gap year" this summer. Through www.workaway.info, she is working on eco-projects in Spain, Italy and Croatia, including building an earthship in northern Spain. She is also taking part in a work study program hosted by City Travel Review in Barcelona, where she is assisting in writing a city travel guide.