Access and Accommodations at Volunteer Sites Abroad

Anyone preparing to leave home for an international volunteer experience will have all kinds of questions: What is the food like? Will I make friends? How will I communicate in a foreign language? How will I find my way around a new place?

People with disabilities may have additional concerns such as:

• If I feel overwhelmed with anxiety, will I be able to find a counselor or other person I feel safe talking with?
• How will I communicate using a different sign language?
• How will a completely different diet and schedule affect my medication and health?
• How will I access public transportation or inaccessible bathrooms in my wheelchair?
• How will I learn my way around a village with only a dirt road and foot paths running through it? 

Janie Mejias asked these questions and more in the weeks leading up to her volunteer experience at the Tokyo Wild Bird Park in Japan.

“The night I learned I would be traveling to Japan my mind was racing a thousand miles a minute. Where would we be staying? What types of food would we be eating? How would we overcome the language barrier? But, the biggest question on my mind was ‘Would I be able to access all of the accommodations I needed to travel and live comfortably in Japan for two and a half weeks?’”

Mejias, who has cerebral palsy, uses a power wheelchair for mobility and needs assistance with activities of daily living such as dressing, showering, and doing laundry. Access means something different to each person with a disability. If you are going abroad with a volunteer-sending organization:

• Enlist the organization staff in your home country and abroad to identify potential barriers and disability-related resources in the destination country;
  
• Find out more about the different tasks involved in the volunteer project. What do the activities of daily life entail (hauling water, walking long distances, sitting for extended periods of time) and what creative options are available at the project site?
  
• Identify adaptations or alternatives for tasks that are not independently manageable;
  
• Approach disability organizations in the host country about local resources, such as refrigeration for medications, bicycle repair shops for wheelchair repair or counselors;
  
• Consider your strategies for managing disability concerns, and then make an informed choice about a program’s suitability;
  
• Contact the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE) for resources, such as disability-related accommodation forms and contact information for disability organizations worldwide.

Christa Bucks Camacho, a Peace Corps volunteer to Paraguay who has muscular dystrophy, knew from her study abroad and internship experience in Costa Rica that she could succeed in Paraguay. Through self-advocacy and determination, she convinced Peace Corps of her readiness to volunteer abroad.

“During the placement process, I was confident inside that I was going to succeed and I was going to be a volunteer. One of the things I did was prepare a video I titled, ‘A Day in the Life of Christa Bucks.’ The video helped Peace Corps get to know me in terms of my interests and abilities as well as how I live on a daily basis. One of the things that is debated in the development field is whether or not people with disabilities can decide to put themselves or their health at risk. I believe that’s a personal decision. I have the right to decide that I want to be in a remote village that has only dirt roads. I also need to be responsible for preparing myself for the physical and psychological challenges in order to be an effective volunteer.” Read more about Christa Bucks Camacho’s Peace Corps experience in an interview with the NCDE online.

“Each person is going to come in with a unique perspective on what they’re capable of doing and the type of challenge they are willing to take on,” says Kam Santos, Director of Communications at Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS). Although CCS is committed to making their project home bases wheelchair accessible, she adds, “Even in some of the less accessible places, it might work just fine for people who are willing to ‘rough it.’”

Jade Marshall, who volunteered with CCS in Lima, Peru, wondered how she would navigate in a developing country as a wheelchair user.

“That was probably one of the only things that I did have worries about – accessibility. Because I knew that non-westernized countries often have very little accessibility. But I think you just have to be brave and rely a little more on other people.” 

Marshall also prepared ahead by communicating her accessibility needs to CCS. “I chose Peru, and then I had to talk with them about what I would need in the home base in order for it to be accessible to me. I needed a ramp into the house, hand rails in the bathroom and a seat in the shower. This was all done for me when I got out there. The in-country staff was extremely nice and they had been briefed to my needs, but most importantly they were also very approachable and kind so I could ask if I needed anything.” 

For her volunteer experience in Peru, Marshall decided to take only her manual wheelchair “because it is lighter in weight, less expensive and has fewer parts.” Marshall also found that using a manual wheelchair was convenient when taking taxis, since it can fold up and is relatively tough.“I am able to transfer myself into seats and can take one or two steps as long as there is something to hold onto - if there isn’t, someone’s arm is always useful.”

Marshall adds that there was a trade off to not having her power wheelchair. “The fact that I only had a manual wheelchair meant that I had to be pushed most places. I can only really wheel myself short distances. And because the pavements aren't always very accessible (or sometimes there wasn't any pavement outside the city!) pushing me wasn’t always very easy (even though I am quite light). But there were lots of people around most of the time. Also people who volunteer tend to be caring people, the sort that don't mind lending a hand.”

Elyse Rolino also requested accommodations from CCS for her volunteer experience in Costa Rica. “I had some concerns before and during my volunteer experience but I am a very optimistic and patient person.”

Although Rolino felt that she could manage without an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter at the Deaf school where she was assigned, she did request one for meetings and sight-seeing tours. “I wasn’t expecting it but was very lucky that CCS found a Costa Rican interpreter who knew a little bit of ASL. We worked together extensively, teaching each other our languages, and it worked out very well. Even the director of the program greeted me using Costa Rican sign language on my first day in Costa Rica. From then on, I knew I’d made the right decision.”

The Benefits of an Organized Program

Many volunteer-sending organizations have experience placing people of all ages, including families, and offer significant in-country support to accommodate volunteers with diverse needs. For example, CCS employs in-country staff at each of their volunteer home bases to prepare meals and assist volunteers with transportation and medical emergencies.

“We have our own cooks, so we can work with volunteers with dietary concerns, including people with diabetes. We also had a volunteer with a serious peanut allergy and we were able to accommodate for that,” says Kam Santos, Director of Communications at CCS. Refrigeration for medication is also available at CCS home bases. “The great thing about having a dedicated in-country staff,” adds Santos, “is they know where the doctors and specialists are. In any emergency, our staff stays with [the volunteer].”'

The Cultural Restoration Tourism Project (CRTP) also works closely with volunteers in the planning stages and in-country. Melissa Jensen, who volunteered with CRTP in Mongolia, disclosed her head injury on the program’s medical form, and since humidity exacerbates her headaches, she asked about temperatures in Mongolia to choose when to go. Although CRTP hasn’t had many volunteers with disabilities, they have sent people ages 12 to 75 on their programs, including volunteers with diabetes and those who participated as families, says Jennifer Weiser, a CRTP director. CRTP can connect volunteers with people to hire as extra assistants if needed. Like many other volunteer-sending programs, CRTP has onsite staff to provide orientation, facilitate safety and answer questions for all volunteers.

At the project site, Jensen met volunteers who were familiar with the routine and CRTP staff who helped her settle in. When the group suggested a hike during free time, a staff member explained the steep terrain and current rainy conditions and then left the decision to participate up to Jensen.

“With breaking my head twice, not having the greatest balance in the world, and knowing that it might be a little more slippery than usual, I just decided to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground,” says Jensen. She participated in all other activities from planing boards and sawing rods for a new yurt to cleaning a temporary monastery for monks arriving during her second week.

To prepare for her volunteer experience in Guatemala City, Guatemala, as a Alexander Hamilton Friends Association (AHFA) scholar, Martha Harris downloaded the information packet she received by email to her BrailleNote, a device like a personal organizer for people who are blind. “When I was there, the AHFA had leadership and journaling exercises for us to do, so I used my BrailleNote for that as well,” adds Harris.

During her week in Guatemala, Harris volunteered at El Centro de Formación Professional Don Bosco, a school run by Salesian priests for at-risk young men. On alternating days, Harris and other U.S. youth volunteers spent time with the Guatemalan students and worked on school improvement projects. “I spent most of my time painting the wall around the basketball court and the ceiling in their clinic. I had never painted before, so it was a new experience and good learning opportunity. I made most of my lines straight, but if they weren’t, another volunteer helped me fix them.”

In fact, Harris’ peers fully supported her participation in the project. Harris brought her white cane to Guatemala and oriented quickly to the house where she and other volunteers stayed in Guatemala City. During excursions to the market or museums, Harris followed others with her cane or used the assistance of a sighted guide. She also found it helpful to follow sighted volunteers at the project site when she was holding paint brushes or other tools. “All of the volunteers were wonderful,” she says. “Sometimes, it’s awkward because people without disabilities are uncomfortable or are not sure how to act or what to do. There was none of that during this trip. I was treated like everyone else and participated in all of the activities, including painting, visiting a volcano, and more.”

Lessons in Adapting to the Local Communities

Although it was her first international travel experience, Martha Harris didn’t have many concerns about going abroad. She was excited about the opportunity to meet people from another culture and to put her four years of high school Spanish to work. The trip also challenged her assumptions about people living in a developing country. “They are so poor, yet they have so much to offer in terms of ideas, personality, and talent. They have hopes and dreams, just like we do, so it was meaningful to see that we are more similar, as well as more different, than I first thought.”

AHFA identifies young Americans with a strong sense of integrity and a passion for service. Through practical training programs, internship experiences and financial assistance, AHFA aims to help them develop their goals to become the leaders of tomorrow. AHFA selects a group of students each year to travel and volunteer in Guatemala. The program is intended to expand students' worldview and expose them to a global perspective.

Alexandra McArthur didn’t hesitate to volunteer – not once but twice – with Honduras Outreach Inc., a faith-based organization that pairs North American volunteers with local Hondurans on community projects.

“Having muscular dystrophy, I was unable to do a lot of the physical work so the organizers suggested – and I also offered – to teach in the school so the teacher could be more involved in construction projects. My second trip was quite different. My mom and aunt joined us as adult chaperones, so that time I did some things in the school, but as my mom was working on a wall with another family, she helped me pack the mud, so I got to be a part of that too. It was actually more exhausting trying to come up with things to teach the children than to do the physical labor, so it was great to have both experiences! It also made me realize that even though I couldn’t do some of the physical labor, it was just as difficult and valuable to do these other things.”

Alan Shain also discovered his strengths as a volunteer in a remote coastal community in Costa Rica. “Our first community project was to construct a dormitory out of prefabricated material. Much of the work involved physical labor. However, I found I could do much of the light physical labor, such as clearing the land-site and laying down rocks for the floor,” shares Shain who uses a walker for mobility.

“I also took care of much of the administrative duties, such as accounting for all the tools at the end of each day and doing the books for our finances. The more outgoing I was in taking on different duties, the more the group accepted me as a co-worker, and with that came less of a focus on the assistance I needed to get around. As someone with a disability, I had to learn how to accept more assistance than I was used to because of the climate and terrain; yet I had to maintain my own sense of independence and self-worth. To do this, I learned how to offer organizational support, as well as moral and emotional support. In this way we all learned how to accept my disability as being just another part of group-life.”

Shannon Coe was the only person with a disability among a group of volunteers to India with Wheels for the World. For two weeks, Coe and her fellow volunteers traveled an hour each direction by Jeep to distribute wheelchairs in a rural area. There, volunteers worked 10-hour days in 100-degree heat before heading back to their hotel in the town of Ongole each evening. “I had heard a lot of stories about sanitation in India. It was the one country I was actually nervous about traveling to, particularly as I didn’t know what our distribution site would look like.”

With that in mind, Coe devised an inexpensive way to accommodate for inaccessible or even nonexistent bathroom facilities before she boarded the plane to India. “I packed really light but I took something like a small bedpan, bought at a local drugstore, with me and put it on a regular plastic chair at the volunteer site.” Coe was able to transfer independently from her wheelchair to the plastic chair without difficulty.

In fact, her trip to India was not the first time Coe called upon creativity and resourcefulness to travel and volunteer abroad. As a student, Coe traveled throughout Southeast Asia, creatively addressing inaccessible infrastructure and health concerns related to air quality along the way. She also volunteered with Wheels for the World in Vietnam. As a result, when Coe applied to the Peace Corps, she had plenty of examples of how she adapted in diverse environments at her fingertips to prove she could succeed as a long-term volunteer in Paraguay.

“The Peace Corps recruiter asked, ‘What if the area is not accessible?’ I told them all of my creative ways to get around: how it gave me ways to connect with local people; how if I ever got stuck, I would ask for help; how I would use the bathroom. Each time they came back with a potential barrier, I would come back with a concrete example of how I approached that barrier abroad. I actually have one lung, and they say that someone with one lung can’t possibly live in a foreign country with poor air quality.”

In truth, Coe experienced a minor respiratory illness only once during her entire time in Paraguay, and that was the result of a gas leak in her home. “Many people will tell you that you can’t do something but only you know what you can do. I think it’s really important for people with disabilities in other countries to see people with disabilities with a positive self-image.”

Although accessibility features may not be as widespread abroad as in the United States, some volunteers have been surprised to find that the same tools they use to be independent at home are equally as effective abroad.

“My confidence grew as I found that I could get around Rabat without too much difficulty,” says Sarah Presley, a returned Peace Corps volunteer to Morocco who is blind. “I found that the same method that I used in unfamiliar settings in the United States – that is, becoming very familiar with the areas around my house and job and then branching out – worked just as well in Morocco. In some ways, getting from one place to another was easier for me in Rabat than it is in most cities in the United States. Since fewer people have cars, there is more public transportation. Shopping was also easier for me in Rabat because shops were small and plentiful; and all customers, sighted and blind, had to ask the clerks for what they wanted.”

H’Sien Hayward, a wheelchair user who volunteered with United Cerebral Palsy Wheels for Humanity in Mongolia, was pleasantly surprised by the level of accessibility she encountered in Ulan Bator.

“The city of Ulan Bator was pretty flat and the buildings had few levels. We stayed at a hotel that worked quite well. It had an elevator and the bathroom was just wide enough for me to squeeze into (I made my chair as narrow as possible – took out all wheel camber),” says Hayward.

Although access was more challenging outside of the capital, Hayward says it was still possible with help. “I was traveling with a group of volunteers, so was constantly being lifted up several steps. When they were not around, however, it was not difficult to recruit local helpers. I think the handiest item that I found and took was a travel shower bench; it folded up very small so was easy to transport, yet still very durable.”

Communication when Volunteering Abroad

For Deaf and hard of hearing volunteers, traveling abroad can be a unique opportunity to learn a new sign language and/or test skills at communicating in another spoken language.

“Sign language is actually quite universal on some level,” says Tamer Mahmoud who traveled to Japan on a Mobility International USA (MIUSA) youth leadership program and volunteered in India and Thailand with Global Reach Out Initiative Inc. “When I went to Japan, I knew nothing about Japanese Sign Language, but I was able to communicate with my host family through gesture. India was a lot more challenging. There are more than twenty official languages in India and at least five or ten different sign languages. Communication was challenging but in my experience sign languages in other countries share some fundamental basic principles.”

Erikson Young also discovered similarities between American Sign Language (ASL) and Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya. “During my three months of [KSL] training, I stayed with a host family. The host family was hearing and we communicated chiefly through note writing and with gestures. ASL is my first language so Kenyan Sign Language was easy for me to pick up; they are both still sign languages, both visual languages.”

After he completed his training, Young moved to a village near Mombasa where he rented a house and taught in a Deaf school for two years. “It was wonderful. The children were very curious, like sponges, they just wanted to learn everything. We taught math, science…they ate everything up and had so many questions. Our lessons would go on forever. We were constantly sharing information. They wanted to know everything about my life in America and I wanted to know everything about their life in Kenya.”

Reflecting back on his Peace Corps experience, Young says, “I wasn’t expecting everything to go perfectly, but I was ready to embrace the challenge. Being Deaf, I feel like I can do everything but hear, so I was ready to face anything just like everyone else was.”

Elyse Rolino also embraced the challenge of communicating in a different sign language as a volunteer in Costa Rica. “The biggest challenge I faced was the language and communication. Despite the fact that I stayed there for only two weeks, I opened my mind and put myself completely into the zone by studying the local languages. During my first week, I learned how to observe and scan every sign they used. I took out my notebook and wrote as many words as possible – Spanish, English, description, and then some comparison to American Sign Language to help me to understand and remember it. By the second week, I was able to have a normal conversation with them. It was absolutely amazing to discover my ability and that I could do it! I even went out to a social event to meet up with the Deaf adults.”

Although Rolino was able to pick up enough Costa Rican Sign Language (LESCO) to communicate with students at the Deaf school in Cartago, Costa Rica, she had to think creatively about how to communicate with hearing children at a local orphanage.

“There was a national holiday during my stay. The Deaf school was closed for the day, so CCS sent me to an orphanage to spend time with the children. I was thinking, ‘The children are hearing. How do I communicate with them?’ There was almost no way I could read their lips in Spanish. So, I decided to watch them play and find out what they liked, and then play along. I was so excited when I noticed one girl doing a cartwheel, because I know how to do them too. I started cartwheeling with her and then showed her some tricks such as one-handed cartwheel.”

Summary

People with disabilities have traveled to every corner of the world as students, teachers, interns and volunteers.  In each community and country, they have called upon creativity, resourcefulness, flexibility, self-advocacy and, sometimes, a willingness to accept help from others in order to contribute fully in less accessible environments.

“The main thing I would say to people with disabilities who are thinking of volunteering abroad is that you need to have the right frame of mind – positive and determined,” says Jade Marshall, a wheelchair user who volunteered for six weeks in Peru. “If you have the right frame of mind you can get over most obstacles. Something else I learned was that in order to succeed, sometimes you have to ask for help.”

Every year, more volunteers with disabilities are returning to their home countries having demonstrated that people with disabilities are integral contributors in the global community.

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