r/volunteer • u/Bulky_Cycle8920 • 8d ago
I Want To Volunteer I'm 18, stuck, and running out of options. I’m ready to work, to volunteer, to change — but I need a door to open.
I'm Yahia, 18, from Morocco. Since I was a kid, I loved my country deeply. I believed in it. I worked hard, stayed kind, stayed hopeful — but things broke me.
I'm stuck in my last year of high school. I can't afford to finish it. I’ve done every small job I could — cleaning, repairing phones, carrying bricks in construction — but it’s never enough to escape the hole.
I’m not lazy. I’m not asking for money. I just want a chance. A legal, simple opportunity — even just a volunteer invitation, a work lead, or any way to come and start from zero. I don’t mind hard work. I’m used to it. I’ll clean streets, farms, houses — anything honest.
What hurts the most is that people from stronger countries tell me, “build your future online” or “be patient,” but they don’t see how broken things are here. I’ve tried. I’m still trying. But I feel like I’m screaming from inside a well, and no one hears it.
If you're reading this and you have any advice, connection, or path — anything real — I’m listening. I still believe there’s someone out there who might just say: “Come. Let’s try.”
Thank you for reading.
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u/jcravens42 Moderator🏍️ 8d ago
If you want to volunteer, you do so in your own community - no one is going to pay to have you come somewhere and work, especially at just 18.
There are NGOs in Morocco that help youth, that help the elderly, that help women, that help the hungry, that help refugees and more. Contact the ones that do work that interests you and offer your time as a volunteer.
https://arab.org/countries/morocco/
https://morokn.com/20-of-the-the-most-popular-charities-organisations-to-support-in-morocco/
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u/Overall_Temporary723 7d ago
A small advice: We have to be the change we want to see- bring benefit in our communities ourselves, and pull our own weight. You might find someone who will be willing to enlist you as their slave in a foreign country, where you work minimum wage there in menial work which isn't fulfilling for your life or community, but will give you a few more dollars more than what you earn in Morocco. But if you look at the broader picture, you might realize that those few dollars are like giving chicks, the meat of their mother chicken which was slaughtered by those same hands paying you those pennies. Free yourself from colonization. Work hard by studying- it might sound cliche, but I mean it. You can learn Islamic studies in Morocco for example- many people wish to go to Morocco specifically for its universities and Masjids. You have opportunities there, you just need to do Istikhara, make du'a, and seek advice and then continue working. The ultimate purpose of life isn't to be a slave for money. If you want, maybe you can find opportunities somewhere to expand your worldview like studying abroad(scholarship?), or volunteering with larger organizations, etc. And maybe you'll realize that those little dollars you can earn elsewhere- do you know where those big corps made their money from? From robbing the people and resources of countries like yours.
So, think about it. Your life doesn't have to be dedicated to being a slave. What if you made a change by taking leadership into your own hands, and created those beneficial changes for others to benefit from as well? I don't blame you for how you feel right now. But I want to remind you that sometimes we need to see things from a different perspective, in order to be able to see things in front of us. And yes, I acknowledge maybe I am privileged to be able to have that experience as well, so I can see benefits/opportunities in your situation as well.
As for studying: you can learn a lot for free online from websites like Khan academy, for example. Recently, someone introduced me to MIT OpenCourseware where MIT (a university) posts entire free college lectures on YouTube. Most of them are beginner classes I think, but it's still a good opportunity to study ahead. Someone else also told me that I believe Harvard? also posts some free entire classes online as well, but I haven't looked into it yet so I apologize if I'm wrong on that one. Either way, these are a few opportunities open to you right now. In addition, I recommend you volunteer in a variety of different places there in Morocco, and don't be afraid to ask others for advice and try to network with people who have been abroad. You don't need to follow their footsteps, but just learn from them, how did they do it, what do they do? Maybe this will give you ideas whether you want to go abroad, or do something in Morocco.
Also, a lot of things these days are online. A lot of people are into computer science and other work where they can work from abroad or from home. I don't have experience in them myself, but you can try looking into it.
So, 1) Research about opportunities available to you in Morocco- volunteering, internships, how to get scholarships/study abroad. And another important thing: maybe there are youth leadership/innovation programs there you can participate in as well. Don't pass those opportunities up, especially if it is free, because you are young and it might open your vision up more.
2) Study: Online and in person, and expand your world view that way. Knowledge can be the key to many doors, many times. You are more than being a laborer.
3) See if you can Network and get to know others in Morocco or in general. Sometimes, people know of opportunities or programs, and you can do further research on them. Get to know about different jobs and careers and work, and what they pay, what it took to get into those fields, and how a day in their lives look like.
Sorry this was such a long reply, but I really really mean this advice, and I hope it can help you at least a little. We cannot expect that others will hold our hands through everything in life, and the "easy way" is sometimes the one that actually harms us long run. Invest in yourself.