Press release
February 20th, 2014
No volunteering in orphanages –
German online portal about volunteering abroad launches without orphan projects
www.wegweiser-freiwilligenarbeit.com is a new German online portal for flexible and responsible volunteering abroad. It already features more than 170 projects by 13 international volunteering organisations from 44 countries on its database. But none of these projects promotes problematic voluntary work in orphanages. Instead the portal strives to increase the visibility of responsible volunteering that benefits the local communities, the volunteers and society as a whole. “Wegweiser Freiwilligenarbeit” translates to “volunteering guide”.
Background information and project database open to international volunteer organisations
As an online portal, wegweiser-freiwilligenarbeit.com offers two things: Firstly, background information, analysis and news on volunteering abroad. Secondly, an online marketplace where prospective volunteers of all ages can search a comprehensive project database and contact the sending organisations. The database is open to international volunteering organisations that can publish their offers in English.
Promoting responsible volunteering, not orphanage projects
The portal’s ambition is to increase the online visibility of well-run and responsible volunteering projects. Thus, the founders have decided not to accept orphanage projects on their database. Volunteering with orphans can cause serious problems, as it may lead to behavioural disorders and even indirectly fuel child trafficking.
More background information:
Volunteering in orphanages: why we don’t offer orphanage projects (original blog post in German on wegweiser-freiwilligenarbeit.com) English translation available on the blog of Adieu-Ark-B Marketing.
orphanages.no – Campaign against orphanage tourism in Cambodia
About wegweiser-freiwilligenarbeit.com
wegweiser-freiwilligenarbeit.com (guide-volunteering.com in English)is the online portal for flexible and responsible volunteering abroad in the German language (targeting Germany, Austria and Switzerland). At the heart of the portal is an online marketplace with a comprehensive database of volunteering projects. The database is open to international volunteering organisations that can publish their offers in English.
The founder of wegweiser-freiwilligenarbeit.com is Frank Seidel, international volunteering expert with more than 20 years of experience. Frank Seidel is the author of a German guide book on eco-volunteering, and was the marketing director of one of the biggest international volunteering organisations until 2012.
For more information and interview requests please contact
Frank Seidel
press @ wegweiser-freiwilligenarbeit.com
Tel. +49 (0)2841 600 96 70
Skype: frankseidelgrenoble
http://plus.google.com/+FrankSeidel/
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