Volunteer work with physical or mental disabilities
Unfortunately, traveling is still associated with many obstacles and difficulties for people with physical or mental disabilities. RGV believes that physical impairment should not be a reason to give up social commitment in the Volunteering or a Internship having to do without. Everyone has their own experiences and skills and you are welcome to bring them to our projects!
Just in the area accessible travel an open and honest dialogue with our volunteers and interns is very important to us. Before you register, let us know as precisely as possible the type and severity of your disability, what interests and skills you bring with you, and what help you needto cope with everyday life. We will then try to find a project position that is individually tailored to you and that meets both your interests and your specific needs.
Important NOTE: Both the infrastructure and public transport in many countries are not designed for people with disabilities or travelers with wheelchairs. Our task and responsibility is therefore to compensate for this impassability with the help of our on-site team.
Popular projects
Tanzania & Zanzibar | People with disabilities
from 4 - 52 weeks
from 18 years
The most important things about volunteering as a person with a disability
Many of our target countries are at a different level of development and are unfortunately poorly or not at all barrier-free. This means that if you are a wheelchair user, you will need help in many situations. Some of the doors are not wide enough, there are no elevators, no care beds and the sanitary facilities are not suitable for the disabled.
But don't worry, we work almost exclusively with our own RGV teams in your desired destination country, so that you always have a personal contact person on site. If possible, we will provide you with an assistant or supervisor who will accompany and support you as a person with disabilities throughout your stay in the host country.
Please note: This assistant or supervisor is often not a trained care worker.
Medical care is guaranteed on site within 30 minutes if required.
aids
Required tools can be rented locally in some cases. If you need a special tool, please ask when you sign up with us, if this can be made available at your desired location.
Accommodation during volunteering for people with disabilities
During your stay abroad, you will either live with a local host family or in one of our volunteer houses.
working hours
The working hours in the project are usually 5 - 8 hours on weekdays, but can be individually tailored to your strengths.
Flight
Required assistance at the airport and during the flight will be given directly at the flight booking. In individual cases, an airworthiness notification may be required.
Surcharge for barrier-free travel
A surcharge to our usual fees will be calculated individually and by arrangement. As a wheelchair user, you have to be lifted a lot due to the lack of disability-friendly adaptation. The climate and the change is an additional effort and you should have the physical resilience for such an adventure.
Prerequisite is the submission of a transportability certificate. Good knowledge of English (or French/Spanish) is also required for your stay.
In addition to volunteer work abroad as a person with disabilities, an internship abroad is of course also possible, we will be happy to advise you on the choice of project!
