Coming Home: Creating a Post-Trip Project

Your overseas volunteer project is the first step in a journey that can last a lifetime. One of the most important parts of your experience may actually occur after your trip when you find new and creative ways to share your stories and experiences. You may have discovered a worthy project in your host country that you'd like to help raise money for. Or you may have found a worthy cause or issue to which you would like to draw attention or raise awareness. Sometimes it is helpful to plan a post-trip project even before you depart on your overseas journey so that you'll be ready to begin implementation as soon as you return home.

Here are a few examples of projects previous volunteers have pursued:

Speaking Engagements You may find that an effective way to raise awareness about the region you visited is by speaking directly to small groups of people, whether it's to a club or group of friends at your college campus, to your church or to a community organization.

Working with the Media Some people are convinced that the media will never be interested in them, no matter what they do. But this simply isn't true--especially for smaller, local radio talk shows and newspapers (including college newspapers). Most small newspapers can't afford to send a correspondent to the Middle East. Offering essays or articles from the perspective of someone who has been "on-the-ground" can be a great service to them.

Creative Arts There are plenty of creative ways to communicate your experiences in the Middle East, depending on your talents and interests. You might collect a number of the best photos you took from your trip and ask a local school or coffee shop to "host" your exhibit. You may have thought to shoot video on your journey and could edit it into a documentary film. There may be other mediums--writing, theater, painting, music--through which you feel you can communicate something about your experiences.

Fundraising for a Cause While you were living within a Middle Eastern community, you may have identified a specific cause or needs that are being addressed by local NGOs and organizations. A great way to continue to make a difference for the community that you served is by helping to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes in the Middle East. Such as: raising money for the rebuilding of demolished homes, for a children's hospital, or for other community development projects or programs.