Hello all, Please welcome our new members: @Bipasha Bhattacharjee @Adil Rasheed @Clarissa Bellon @Janice Ureta @Sophie Song @Abdul Rauf Memon @Macebo Vulisaka @Shirley Eubanks @Aisha Khan @António Pinho @Ziyan Baloch @B. Taylor We hope you love this community and help us build it up further 💪🔥 I had planned to upload a great module I have been working on about culture shock yesterday, but a nice Sunday afternoon with friends and a BBQ turned into a lovely evening watching the World Cup together until late 🫣. So stay tuned; it will be uploaded very soon in the classroom! This week I will be building up the Fundraising Channels here in the community and sharing about the fundraising I did when I was volunteering at my placements in Flores, Indonesia. And I will add a Google Doc that we can all access to share useful links to well-trusted volunteer organisations per country/region, and share where we have volunteered or wish to volunteer. Happy Monday, everybody!

Volunteering abroad can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. It can also bring unique challenges. Maybe you're excited about making a difference but worried about: ✈️ Leaving your routines behind 🌍 Adapting to a new culture 🧠 Managing overwhelm, anxiety, or sensory overload 💬 Making new connections 🏡 Being far from your support system The good news? You don't have to figure it all out alone. This is a space where neurodivergent volunteers can: ✅ Share experiences and practical tips ✅ Ask questions without judgment ✅ Celebrate wins, big and small ✅ Learn from others who understand ✅ Build confidence for volunteering, traveling, and living abroad To get started, introduce yourself below: 🌟 Your name 🌟 Where you're from 🌟 Where you're volunteering (or hope to volunteer) 🌟 How your neurodivergent brain shows up for you We're excited to get to know you and support you on your journey. 💚

Welcome @Ronda Carter @Timothy Idowu @Melissa O connell @Linda Ogundipe @Sara Aly @Muralitharan Dinushkanth @Princess Mina to this community! I am so happy you are here. Please introduce yourselves at the 📌 Pinned Welcome Post 📌 and follow along as this community is growing. New resources are added regularly, and please let me know if there is anything that I, or members of this community, can help you with.

I was walking with the dogs this morning and remembered the days when i was preparing for my 2-year volunteer placement abroad (Indonesia) in 2003. I was asking myself: - How did I know what kind of volunteer project fitted me as a person? - Did I contact enough organisations? - Did I ask the right questions? - Have I spoken to ex volunteers before i went? - Was I mostly thinking of what i could bring to the table or did i already have a good understanding of what the communities might need? In the classroom I invite you to do the VOLUNTEER ARCHETYPE QUIZ and THE VOLUNTEER READINESS QUIZ. (PS If you are a parent of a volunteer preparing to go abroad, this might give you good insights on project choices for your child) Happy Sunday everybody!

Last week i enjoyed a computer detox (not voluntary, my Mac wouldn't start up). The first few days i felt anxious. Then i just thought, 'hey.. it is not the end of the world, relax' It actually felt nice. It brought me back to the days abroad where we didn't have electricity, or the old laptop had errors (often!) which meant we could't watch DVD's with the other volunteers. We enjoyed many campfires those evenings. So i did the same here at home in The Netherlands. Staring at the fire, thinking what i would create for you this weekend. Something light, something fun. Coming up this weekend! Mac working again! Stay tuned 💚