Volunteering from 16 years
Are you 16 or 17 years old and would like to get to know another country from a completely new perspective during your summer holidays? Then how about volunteering abroad instead of an ordinary hotel vacation! We offer you numerous internships and Volunteer projects abroad, where you can gain practical experience or volunteer, even if you are not yet of legal age.
You have the opportunity to get to know the culture of the country from a completely different perspective, to broaden your horizons and to improve your language skills. Well-planned volunteer work abroad is therefore a sensible option for underage volunteers as well.
What do I get from volunteering from the age of 16?
You will have the opportunity to gain many new experiences. You get to know a new everyday life, new worlds and new people and improve yours at the same time linguistic proficiency in English or another language. Of course you can also learn a completely new language with one of the different local languages!
In addition to cultural skills, your stay abroad also promotes your basic skills and soft skills, such as flexibility, openness and independence.
These qualities will help you later when you leave home to study or do an apprenticeship and have to organize yourself. You often have better chances in job interviews if you show that you can work independently. The fact that you volunteered at a young age can also convince later employers of you.
The language skills you have gained, especially English, can be very important for your later work and the earlier you come into contact with the language, the easier it will be for you to use it. But this experience is not only useful for you, but also for the local people who you can support with your commitment!
First, you choose whether your volunteer assignment abroad is voluntary work from 16 or internship abroad from 16. Then the planning starts!
Popular projects
Sweden | dogs & cats
from 2 - 52 weeks
from 16 years
Ghana | childcare
from 4 - 52 weeks
from 16 years
Tanzania & Zanzibar | Teach
from 4 - 52 weeks
from 16 years
Greece | dogs & cats
from 2 - 52 weeks
from 16 years
Ghana | environmental Protection
from 4 - 52 weeks
from 18 years
Iceland | environmental Protection
from 2 - 52 weeks
from 16 years
Which foreign programs are possible from 16 years?
Volunteering abroad from 16 years
Volunteer work is particularly useful if you want to get involved in social work for a short period of time, for example during the school holidays or in the free time between leaving school and starting your studies or training. You support elementary schools, for example, where you help the children with reading, writing and arithmetic and encourage their talents.
Internship abroad under 18
An orientation internship abroad offers you the perfect opportunity to get to know a specific profession and to gain your first practical experience in this work. In the best case, it can help you with your career orientation. If you later want to work with people, you can, for example, teaching internship, a mentoring internship in a Day-care centre or even one Psychology internship choose. There are other possible uses, for example, in the following areas Nature Conservation, animal welfare and farm work.
Student internship abroad
Bist du noch Schüler:in und möchtest dich im Ausland beruflich orientieren? Wir bieten auch für unter 18-Jährige Auslandspraktika ab einer Länge von vier Wochen an. Unsere Praktikumsvermittlung deckt dabei viele verschiedene Bereiche ab. Ein Student internship abroad kannst du zum Bespiel in deinen Sommerferien machen. Damit du auch deine Fremdsprachenkenntnisse verbesserst, kannst du einen Sprachkurs dazu buchen – und die erlernten Kenntnisse gleich in deinem Auslandspraktikum einsetzen.
You can choose from social professions, such as a Teaching Internship from 17 years in Uganda; Medicine, how about a care Internship from 16 years in Tanzania; or from 17 for example Tourism Internship in Nepal. Other areas are journalism and media, business administration and economics, law or psychology. You can simply ask us and we will find you an individual internship for your stay abroad!
The travel preparation by RGV
We already look after you with yours Travel preparation. We would be happy to advise you on the individual countries and projects and can be reached by phone if you have any further questions. Of course, you are also welcome to visit our office in Munich personally after making an appointment and get advice. After registration, we will send you a travel ABC for your destination country, which contains everything you need to know about the preparation. Here you will find information about the country, vaccinations, rules of conduct, etc.
Care and security abroad
During your stay abroad, you always have a local contact who will help you with questions and problems. There is also an emergency number to Germany. Since we and our teams have been working together on site for several years, we have already been able to gain a lot of experience in dealing with younger participants.
A longer stay abroad is for you and yours Parents a challenge in which we are at your side with advice and action. Our support also includes the orientation program: This prepares you for the respective way of life and behavior in the country, gives you important rules of conduct and informs you about public transport, shopping possibilities, etc.
Important note: For an internship abroad or a volunteer work under 18 years, we need for legal reasons in any case, a consent of your parents!
Your accommodation
In the target country, too, we make sure that you are in good hands during your volunteer work. Most host families have some experience dealing with younger volunteers. You often live here with other volunteers, sharing a room. However, rooms are generally segregated by gender.
Requirements for volunteering under 18 years
Important for your volunteer work: You should bring commitment and a sense of responsibility! Of course, we do not expect you to have the same skills as our older and more experienced participants. But as long as you are motivated to make a difference, are willing to learn new things and actively help, nothing stands in the way of your internship abroad or volunteer work from the age of 16.
Guided tours with RGV
In addition to the projects, we offer various guided tours where you can explore the country even more closely with other volunteers. From round trips through the whole country to tent safaris to culinary tours, there are many options open to you.
