Career Breakers Volunteers
If you are thinking about taking a career break, then why not travel the world and volunteer on a conservation or community project with Kaya. Whatever your reasons for taking a career break we have plenty of options for you to choose from in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Your motives for taking a career break may be due to being bored at work, needing a break from your old life, being about to change in your career or even taking a sabbatical as a reward for long service by your company. Spend your career break finding out who you really are, where your interests truly lie or doing something you have always dreamt of by volunteering on a project abroad.
While you may still be considering your options, taking a career break doesn’t need to ruin your career and a sabbatical can actively enhance your skills and employability in the workplace when you return. After all, in those all important next interviews, which of the many candidates all with equally impressive work credentials, will be remembered? The one that worked with elephants in Namibia, that helped empower women in India, developed a microfinance programme in Ghana, and helped teach children of the market workers in Ecuador. That’s who!
Don’t let your successful career close doors for you. Whether you choose to work in your field of training, or want to do something entirely different to get away, there are projects out there where the help of a mature career breaker is invaluable. Kaya is here to offer you career break advice and help you kick start your new life today. You will be working with a local team and this will allow you to develop your cross-cultural team working skills, and in many locations your language and communications skills.
Career breakers are ideal for many projects as they bring a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience with them as well as a level of maturity that is essential for some of the projects focusing on quite hard hitting issues. As an established worker you will have skills such as planning, working in a team, budgeting, and career planning all of which can be very useful to help projects organize themselves or to train people in communities. If you have other skills and experiences in areas such as nutrition, fund-raising, training, teaching, health, physiotherapy and many others you will also be highly desirable.
If you’re unsure where to start with your travel ideas, we’ve hand-picked our top projects for volunteers who are taking a break from their careers. Alternatively, give one of our Kaya advisors a call and they will help you to narrow down your choices.
Join our 10 or 7-week environment conservation and community development gap year adventure program, and explore Costa Rica in an exciting and meaningful way!
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Join our 10 or 7-week environment conservation and community development gap year program, and explore South Africa in an exciting and meaningful way!
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Refine your photography skills, enhance your CV and help create impactful images for a local NGO in Cape Town
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Join the sustainability internship in South Africa and make an impact environmentally, economically or culturally depending on your field!
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Join the nursing and medical internship in South Africa, shadow professionals locally to develop your own skills and learn about healthcare.
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Intern in for a local social enterprise promoting financial independence through indigenous traditions in Peru
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Intern in a local school and gain some teaching experience in Peru
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Join our social work internship in South Africa and get involved in a local community while developing your professional skills in a different environment.
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Join our human rights internship in South Africa and get involved with a local community on a worthy cause.
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Join our public healthcare internship in South Africa and get involved in a local community while developing your professional skills and learning about healthcare in an African context.
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Develop your experience through an hospitality management internship in an African context working for an award winning backpacker lodge
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Intern on a political science internship in Belize and gain experience in politics with the aim of running a campaign while living in San Ignacio.
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Public Health Internship Ghana is based in a local community around Cape Coast and focuses on prevention.
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Join our occupational therapy internship in South Africa placement and get involved in a local community while learning about a different other than your own.
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Volunteer Coaching Sports in Ghana placement provides participants with the opportunity to learn about the local community while sharing their knowledge and providing brighter prospects to the local athletes
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Develop and share your business skills by participating in this microfinance internship in Africa.
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Intern in a special education centre in Peru that supports children age 3 to 20 by providing them special education geared to their specific needs
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Intern in a social centre that supports children and adolescents considered at-risk and help the NGO provide a safe and comfortable environment.
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Multimedia internship in Peru to develop your CV/resume and help while supporting biodiversity conservation
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Environmental conservation internship in Peru to develop your CV/resume and help with scientific research
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Girl and women empowerment volunteering in Zambia offers the opportunity to increase access to education, sport, livelihoods and more.
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Develop and share your knowledge of healthy eating, cooking methods and the impact of diet on childhood development and growth by joining this nutrition internship in Swaziland.
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Use your business and financial skills to empower local women and youth by doing this Microfinance Internship in Ghana and contribute to local economies.
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Share this small business development internship in Eswatini to extend your CV/Resume while developing the capacity of a social enterprise.
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Volunteer in Cusco and support young mothers and their children in Peru.
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Volunteer on a project that preserves and restoring New Zealand’s natural beauty through habitat monitoring, heritage restoration, planting and more
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Become a sports coaching and community work volunteer in the Bolivian Andes and help integrate boys and girls into sports, foster technical expertise, team work and gender equity.
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If you have a passion for, and can inspire others to express themselves through dance and movement, then volunteer on this wonderful dance therapy project in Belize.
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Volunteer in Peru on this Inca Jewellery-making cooperative marketing project and assist with promoting traditional cultural techniques and products.
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If you are interested in banking, accountancy or economics why not support poorer local people by joining this Microfinance volunteer placement in Peru.
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Come to Peru and participate in global health and nutrition volunteering in the Andes.
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Use your expertise and experience in education and become a volunteer and work on a teacher and curriculum development placement in Cambodia’s premier tourist destination, Siem Reap.
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Volunteer in the Philippines for a grassroots NGO and raise awareness through media and photography of the socioeconomic issues facing Filipino people.
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Become a classroom and child care assistant volunteer and work on rewarding educational placements in Cambodia’s premier tourist destination, Siem Reap.
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Volunteer in New Zealand and participate in vital environmental conservation work preserving and restoring South Island's unique, natural beauty and the habitat of its vulnerable seabird
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Volunteer on a Dolphin and Marine Conservation project on the island of Zanzibar and help preserve the habitats by monitoring tourist and wildlife interaction.
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Easy 4-step application process
APPLY ONLINE
Click here to apply online and pay your application fee to apply for your space on your chosen project. Our advisors will then contact you to guide you through the next steps.
TELEPHONE INTERVIEW
Once we’ve received your application, we’ll review your details and be in touch to arrange your informal telephone interview with your Kaya Placement Advisor.
CONFIRMATION
Following your interview, we will provide you a placement offer. Once you are ready to confirm your placement and dates, you can pay your confirmation fee to book and secure your space.
GET PREPARED
When you have confirmed your project dates we’ll send you your Welcome Pack and lots of other helpful information to assist you with preparing for your placement.