If I were to buy a flight and just “show up” in Turks and Caicos, would I be able to find cleanup or rebuilding projects and whatnot that I could help out with for a week? I understand that they got smacked pretty good by Ike, and I figure this would be a lot more rewarding than spending another few nights at Coco Bongo in Cancun.
I suggest contacting Oxfam and the Red Cross instead.
Not sure if it’s the same deal, but I know people who went to Thailand years back to help clean up hurricane damage and got the picture pretty early on that their tourist dollars were needed, not their physical labor. That was covered by locals who knew the area, could speak the language, had a personal stake in rebuilding and needed jobs.
I don’t doubt that volunteers are useful, but I’m not sure you could just drop by, especially for such a short time.
Perhaps I can go and, should there be opportunity to help some people out then do so, and otherwise just spread my tourism dollars about.
In Thailand, I think English-teaching is pretty much the only form of short-term volunteerism one can indulge in just by showing up. I know there are organizations that will help place short-term teaching volunteers – we’re talking anywhere from a couple of weeks to a few months – but I’m afraid I am not up on most of those. A Google search should help.
However, I do see in my Lonely Planet guide that there’s a group in Pai district up in Mae Hong Son province in the North, an area that is drop-dead gorgeous, called Travel to Teach. They have a website here. Placements last from one week to six months, and they ask you to apply two months beforehand. Mae Hong Son province is one of my favorite places in Thailand and my old home. A wonderful area.