Center for International Disaster Information

What You Need to Know

CIDI appreciates your interest in learning more about helping others in times of crisis and disaster. We receive thousands of calls each year expressing the desire to volunteer for international disaster relief assignments. The following will help clarify some common misconceptions about such opportunities and provides links to additional resources and information.

Volunteer Opportunities for Disaster Relief are Extremely Limited

The reality is that volunteer opportunities for international disaster relief are extremely limited, and people without disaster relief experience are generally not selected for relief assignments. Candidates with the greatest chance of being selected have fluency in the language of the disaster-stricken area, prior disaster relief experience, and expertise in technical fields such as medicine, communications, logistics, or water/sanitation engineering. In many cases, these professionals are already available in-country.

Most agencies require at least ten years of prior experience, as well as several years of experience working overseas. It is not unusual to request that volunteers make a commitment to spend at least three months working on a particular disaster. While offers by individuals, college service clubs, church groups and others to drive trucks, set up tents, and feed children are well-intentioned, they are typically not accepted. Local volunteers and even disaster victims themselves are often available for such assignments, and those impacted by a disaster benefit from being actively involved in their own relief activities.

It’s important to know that once a relief agency accepts a volunteer, they are responsible for that volunteer's well-being, including food, shelter, health and security. Untrained volunteers can actually do more harm than good. Resources are particularly strained during a disaster, and another person without the necessary technical skills and experience can be a considerable burden to an ongoing relief effort.

Potential volunteers should also keep in mind that relief work is a profession, and that it takes a unique individual who can work effectively in incredibly difficult conditions.

Gaining the Necessary Experience

CIDI recommends that if you truly are interested in becoming a qualified volunteer that you start small – and start locally. Volunteering in your own community through a variety of programs will lend you experience in dealing with and helping people in need. Your local Red Cross can provide you with information on their disaster management training courses, which are held throughout the year. To find your local Red Cross, please visit the Red Cross Web site at: www.redcross.org.

Medical and Healthcare Professionals

In most international emergencies doctors are still available locally, within the country and within the region. In most cases, the affected government will rely upon these resources first, before requesting outside assistance, since these doctors are most familiar with local medical systems, the language and treatments required. Please do not go to the disaster site on your own. If you are interested in offering your services as a volunteer, be sure to contact an agency or organization that is working on the ground and which has authorization from the government of the affected country to bring in personnel and medications. Keep in mind that most medically oriented relief agencies have volunteer personnel that they have worked with for many years, and whom they can call upon at a moment's notice. Many of these organizations will also require that you have registered with them before a disaster, so that they can review your qualifications and experience.

A Career in International Disaster Relief

If you are serious about a career in international disaster relief, there are an increasing number of colleges and universities offering degrees in the wide variety of aspects of humanitarian assistance. From degrees in Public Health and International Affairs to Economics and International Humanitarian Assistance Law, there are a host of specialties from which to choose. A quick search on the Internet will provide you with a wealth of information.

Registering Your Skills and Interest with CIDI

If you feel you meet the criteria for being an international disaster relief volunteer, we invite you to register your skills with CIDI's Registration Database. Registering does not guarantee that a relief agency will send you on a relief assignment, but it will serve as a resource to make useful information about your skills and experience accessible to relief agencies when they need to find personnel to meet specific emergency needs. Registrants with CIDI have been selected by a variety of agencies to assist with many large-scale emergencies such as those in Rwanda, Honduras and Kosovo.

Registrants should keep in mind that if an agency can use their skills, that agency will contact the volunteer directly to verify references and finalize the details of the assignment. The information contained in this database is shared only with international relief agencies that have been registered with the U.S. government, and members of InterAction.