Volunteer Accommodations Abroad: Host Families | ABV

Knowing where you will sleep, eat, and live during your international service trip is essential for peace of mind. Since 2007, A Broader View Volunteers has prioritized participant safety and comfort by personally vetting every housing option across our 168 project sites worldwide.

​Depending on your destination and program preference, you will typically stay either with a carefully screened local host family or in a comfortable, community-style volunteer house. Host family homestays offer complete cultural and linguistic immersion, featuring private or shared bedrooms, daily home-cooked meals, and local guidance. Volunteer houses provide an independent, social environment where you can live alongside fellow international participants. Both options include full-time support from your local country coordinator, clean drinking water, electricity, and convenient commuting access to your project site.

ABV Homestays - Our host families are hand-picked for security, location, comfort, and friendliness. Many host families are partners with our programs - for example, a teacher or principal at one of our partner schools or a nurse/doctor at one of our medical placements or the director of an orphanage.

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You can expect modest but comfortable accommodations. Families live in secure houses in safe neighborhoods and are closely screened and monitored, with regular checkups, including before every new volunteer moves in.  Most families will offer laundry and internet services in their homes (extra fee). 

Expect to eat like a local with home-cooked meals.  Food is at the heart of society so be ready to eat your fill of local cuisine! If you have any specific dietary requirements or restrictions, please let us know when you apply, and we will do our best to accommodate them.

To validate our commitment to being a positive influence in the communities we work, host families are financially compensated. To ensure a family is suitable for ABV service, they are interviewed for friendliness and to make sure they are motivated by the right reasons.  Volunteers should expect to feel like a member of the family.  Host families will welcome you into their family and home.  You will find your hosts are eager to share their customs with you and eager to learn about your culture in return. 

There are some locations where host families are not possible, mainly on the majority of our Conservation Projects or some orphanage projects. But rest assure, these housing alternatives has been evaluated and selected for quality and comfort.

Where do volunteers stay during their program with A Broader View?

Volunteers stay in either vetted local host family homestays or shared volunteer houses, depending on the destination and program choice. Both living arrangements are thoroughly inspected by our local coordinators to ensure safety, comfort, and easy access to your project site.

​What is included with host family accommodations?

Host family stays include a secure furnished bedroom (private or shared), daily home-cooked meals, clean drinking water, electricity, laundry facilities, and round-the-clock local support. Living with a host family also provides an unmatched opportunity for cultural and language immersion.

​How are host families and volunteer houses vetted for safety?

All housing providers are personally interviewed and inspected by our experienced, full-time in-country coordinators. We verify neighborhood safety, structural security, sanitary standards, and reliable transportation routes before any ABV volunteer is placed there.