There are many issues that affect the world today. Some of these issues are easily solved while others might take more time to solve. Solving issues that affect the world is one of the major factors in the reason why volunteers go abroad. While there are volunteers who have seen the plight of many through television and the internet and know which issues they want to address. There are some who have been personally affected by an issue and want to help others with the same problems. There are various ways of supporting a cause, volunteering, financial support and working. The best option to make the biggest change is through volunteering. After they have picked a cause and want to support it, the next step is to pick an organization which is credible. The organization doesn’t have to be large or years of experience but one which is passionate and determined to meet its goals. Also the goals and mission of the organization should be in tandem with the volunteers’. There are some volunteers who don’t know which cause to support or which issue to pick. Supporting a cause is one of being part of something that is bigger than volunteer. Here are a couple of causes a volunteer who is abroad can try to address

HIV/AIDS

AIDS is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human (HIV). This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. AIDS is pandemic, as of 2009 33.3 million people in the world are living with it, 2.7 million new infections each year, and with 1.8 million deaths every year. 76% of the deaths were in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS originated from the evolved virus SIV, which mutated from the ape virus. The main cause of HIV/AIDS infection is through sexual transmission, others are: sharing common needles, being born from an infected mother. AIDS can be prevented through abstinence, limiting the number of sex partners, using condoms, not sharing needles. If the volunteer chooses to help address this cause, they will be involved in guiding and counseling of HIV/AIDS victims, encourage awareness and try to improve the lives of the infected.

Children

They form a large percent of the vulnerable groups. Children are the future and should be protected from a lot of things. They are easily abused due to their inability to defend themselves. Children in various parts of the world are used badly and are taught wrong values. For example children in Palestine are taught to hate Jews and to promote Jihad almost from birth. Another issue that affects children is poverty, it is said that 25,000 kids die each day due to poverty. Poverty means inadequate access to water and proper nutrition. The children suffer from dietary problems and due to their weak immune system, a large number of them die. There are also 25 million child refuges around the world. They are refugees because of wars, natural disasters and crime. As refugees they are subjected to abuse in the form of rape, slavery and child labor. Other issues that affect children are child pornography, trafficking and slavery; child labor; and military use of children.

Women

Women are largely affected as children are. There are a whole host of issues that affect women and can be addressed with the right attitude. It is said women’s rights are an indicator to the global well being. If a man is empowered, he can improve his life or status but if a woman is empowered, they change the whole community. In this day and age women are still being sold as slaves and are trafficked all over the world. Most of the trafficked women come from third world countries and are sent to developed nations. Apart from international crimes, women are also subjected to domestic violence and in some communities in parts of the world their rights are considered to be less than those of men.