Volunteers

In addition to long-term staff and consultant experts, ACDI/VOCA utilizes high-quality, short-term U.S. volunteer specialists. From Albania to Zimbabwe, ACDI/VOCA has completed over 10,000 volunteer assignments in more than 130 countries since 1971, and ACDI/VOCA is the leading implementer of the respected Farmer-to-Farmer program. In recent years, approximately 300 volunteers have served each year on ACDI/VOCA assignments. ACDI/VOCA draws from a volunteer database containing more than 10,000 agriculture, business, finance, cooperative development and natural resource experts who are typically accomplished mid-career professionals. More and more, volunteers, who serve 2-4 weeks, are an integral component of long-term programming and complement macro-level initiatives. Many are part of teams or conduct repeat assignments.

Our volunteers, largely funded by USAID, undertake their assignments with expertise, energy and goodwill and are extremely cost-effective. Since 1997, volunteers have donated approximately $30 million worth of their time to ACDI/VOCA and its government sponsors.

Our citizen-volunteers provide more than technical assistance. They bring the democratic, free-enterprise values of Americans to our clients overseas: they demonstrate personal concern for the people they help and they inject a can-do spirit where there is much to be done.

They also bring back an appreciation for other cultures and plant seeds for long-term international cooperation. They develop an appreciation that foreign aid is both an honest effort to help and a win-win solution for the U.S. In many cases, their service results in an awareness of markets or even expanded business opportunities for their companies as well as for the people they assist overseas.

Learn more about ACDI/VOCA's volunteer opportunities.