It is common practice for some students to take a gap year between high school and university in order to do charitable work abroad in underdeveloped countries.Do the advantages of doing volunteer activities outweigh the disadvantages?

In this modern world, many students tend to take a gap year between high school and university in order to do different tasks as what they used to have in their last education. And one of the tasks they choose is volunteering abroad in underdeveloped countries. While there are several downsides to this program, it actually comes with more positive impacts on the students. According to my gap year experience on volunteering at a war country, Yemen, the work directly impacted me in many positive ways. Firstly, it gave me the first hand experience on tackling problems that I have never faced which developed my problem solving skills and bettering me at working under pressure. Secondly, I met many wonderful people who are passionate about their career path which really inspire me to choose a public health major at university. And lastly, because my work was focusing on education by teaching first graders basic English, I was able to improve my teaching skills, people management skills, and also my English proficiency. However, during the 3 months of gap year I found a difficulty along the way as well. The one thing that hugely disappointed me is how much viruses are spreading around the workplace and how poor the healthcare there. I was vulnerable to disease and unable to get better quickly when I got a flu which impacted my performance during the volunteer work. In conclusion, being abroad to volunteer in underdeveloped countries comes with many more advantages, such as improving your skills, being inspired by your colleague, and practicing your language proficiency, rather than disadvantages.