Balancing personal comforts against a potential sense of achievement is an intrinsic element of voluntary work. As a country Greece offers a practically unparalleled array of opportunities for both adventure and achievement. "Greece's amazing history, stretching back to the roots of known civilisation and it's environmental diversity enables volunteers to participate in fascinating projects," explains Alexandros Deliyiannis, one of the organisers behind the Chrysospilia project.

Coming of Age

PEEP's (Voluntary Work Programmes for the Protection of the Environment) work on Folegandros turned up exciting discoveries about coming-of-age rituals enacted thousands of years ago. Deliyiannis believes that press reaction stemmed from journalists' inability to grasp that people enjoy adventurous work.

As the home of Europe's largest biotopes and wetlands with numerous eco-reserves, volunteers in Greece have a wealth of options on the kind of project they choose to work on.

Work with endangered species - including Caretta-Caretta (turtles), and Monachus-Monachus  (mediterranean monk seals) - is particularly popular. Volunteers may also choose to focus on protecting the natural habitat of threatened species such a wolves or bears. The contribution of voluntary fire patrollers in saving Greek forests has been highlighted during recent widespread blazes. Areas patrolled include Greece's magnificent Dadia eco-reserve, where participants can observe the magnificent Vulture-Eagles (Gypaetus Barbatus) nesting on trees. Dadia is one of few places in the world where these birds can be seen in the wild.

Voluntary veteran

30-year-old Giorgos, an IT teacher in Athens has participated in over ten voluntary projects. The veteran says that voluntary work has added meaning to his life. "It is not just about gaining new experiences. Providing a service for the general good is a conscious moral choice."

Through his participation in different programmes Giorgos has seen many parts of Greece that are virtually unknown to tourists. His experiences are clearly positive: "Locals are friendly, they invite us to their homes and offer us food. They know we are there to help them so they want to give something back."

Most schemes are open to all with English usually the common language, although a small number of programmes are only available in Greek. Specialised skills are occasionally required. Accommodation, food and medical insurance are mostly covered. Participants pay their transport costs and a subscription fee. Projects tend to last between two and three weeks. The longest ones can run for up to six months to a year. Costs, including transportation, for long term projects are usually covered.

Public service

The programmes are as diverse as the people who participate in them and interest in voluntary work has been increasing rapidly in Greece over the last decade in line with a global move toward adventurous holidays.

Not everyone equates volunteering with adventure though, "There are more constructive ways of using one's time than turning life into a Hollywood-type adventure. People who risk their life for fun are irresponsible. They need to spend more time with people who don't take their health for granted." says 25-year-old Tita.

She chose to spend six months doing voluntary work at a hospital. Tita believes the experience has broadened her horizons. "When you are working with people you can't keep a distance from them, you have to give part of yourself in the process. And you can't quit when things get harder. So you keep testing yourself and going further all the time. You build up self confidence and develop skills you didn't know you had."

Plenty of people fail to grasp the essence of volunteering says Evi Tsitsiridou, press officer at MOM. She explains that half of the people enquiring about projects lose interests when they hear they will have no direct contact with the seals.

"Our work is not to create a tourist attraction but to promote awareness, protect and monitor seal populations. Voluntary work is not a form of tourism, it is a commitment to promote a cause."

Anyone can do voluntary work no matter what their time limitations. The organisations can always use a little help. For individual arrangements it is best to contact them directly.

 Non-governmental organisation (NGOs) directory 

For Information on governmental and NGO voluntary work projects contact the General Youth Secretariat on: 00 30 (1) 25 30 820, 25 30 827.