Expat Volunteer Abroad News

20 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Expat retirees in Thailand still scared of more rule changes

Chaos still rules in Thailand’s immigration requirement for long-stay expats. Whilst tourists and other visitors are now covered until late September by the junta government’s latest edict, other sectors of the expat community may be left out in the cold. Having made a sensible decision based on helping trapped visitors on tourist visas, the government seems to have left out other expat sectors which continually contribute to the country’s economy. The decision to allow another amnesty, for want of a better description, was...

16 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Expat dog owners in Malaga thrilled by its new doggie play parks

Lucky dogs in Malaga can now take their expat and local owners for a refreshing walkie in two large, brand new doggie-designated recreational areas. Malaga’s city council has allocated a total of 13,000 square metres in two sections for dog-owners to get exercise along with their furry best friends. The two dog-walking parks are located close by the Society for the Protection of Animals and Plants shelter and within the grounds of the Municipal Animal Health Centre, with the two areas together costing some 73 thousand euros and...

8 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Expats in Dubai raise money for sick kids by long-distance running

Caring expats living and working in Dubai are running every day in order to collect donations to be used for financing treatments for sick children whose parents aren’t able to afford the cost. One expat who’s always enjoyed running has helped turn his passion for the sport into a way to help the less fortunate by volunteering and raising money, with his latest challenge aimed at raising money for the Al Jalila Foundation’s Farah Programme. The charity funds life-saving treatment for children afflicted with cancer, heart disease...

7 Jul at 6 PM 2020

How to avoid UK quarantine after your Portuguese vacation

The UK Foreign Office is urging Brit expats in Portugal to stop helping their compatriots avoid quarantine. As reported in an English language local expat newspaper, expat Brits living in Portugal are advising prospective UK tourists on how best to avoid having to quarantine for two weeks after returning to the home country. Some enterprising expats are even volunteering to pick British tourists up at local airports in Spain and drive them across the Portuguese/Spanish border. For British holidaymakers needing to avoid the 14-day...

1 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Expat-owned dog shelter in Qatar fears mass dumping of abandoned pets

Dog rescue centres in Qatar are fearing mass dumping as expats are forced to leave. Expatriates in the emirate number 90 per cent of its total population, with many being forced to leave at short notice and unable to arrange for their pets to be shipped out to the home country. One dog shelter is already seeing an increase in numbers of strays on the streets as well as abandoned pets being delivered to their shelter. Sadly, dependent on expats’ home country rules about bringing in dogs, many repatriating expats simply don’t have...

24 Jun at 6 PM 2020

Spanish Gota Fria flooded animal rescue centre finds new home

A Spanish animal shelter wrecked by last year’s gota fria weather event is finally in its new home. Big Red’s Animal Association’s rescue centre in Dolores was devastated by last September’s terrifying gota fria storms and resultant floods, with the property and land totally washed away. The three pigs, 16 dogs and three cats who’d survived the floods due to the rescue attempts of shelter workers have been cared for by supporters of the charity and it’s now rehomed in a beautiful old farmhouse sadly in need of restoration...

26 May at 6 PM 2020

Expats in Myanmar concerned over China’s growing influence

Expat teachers and volunteers in Myanmar are worried and confused over the government’s increasing friendship with China. Myanmar’s next elections are due this November, with no postponement due to the pandemic expected. The outright winner is expected to be the National League for Democracy headed up by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, even although the party has lost a good deal of support in the country’s ethnic regions, possibly due to the leader’s increasing ties to China. Formerly, and mostly due to Suu Kyi’s...

26 May at 6 PM 2020

Beach-loving expats in Spain to be monitored by robotic drones

As Spain gets closer to opening up to international tourism, high-tech systems and volunteer beach armies preventing overcrowding are all being introduced. When the pandemic began spreading its tentacles across the world, many publications gave voice to peoples’ fears that life would never be the same again. Given the latest methods proposed by Spain in order to prevent a second wave of devastating infection, it seems the sensationalist arm of the media may have been right after all. For starters, Marbella and Benalmadena as...

15 May at 6 PM 2020

Expats in Spain step up to help save an abandoned emu

The focus of tragedies caused by the coronavirus pandemic is, obviously, on the appalling death toll and the possibility of an economic meltdown, but pets of all kinds also suffer when their owners die. One sad tale out of Spain concerns an emu whose owner died from the virus and was left to starve, along with the rest of the deceased’s menagerie of 27 animals. After realising urgent help was needed, one concerned local lady called the Refugio de Burrito donkey sanctuary some 450 kms away and begged for help in saving the entire...

15 May at 6 PM 2020

Vietnamese doctors giving their all to save British expat pilot

With the pandemic almost conquered in Vietnam, the country is pulling out all the stops to save one expat’s life. Identified simply as Patient 91, the male victim is a British pilot working for the country’s national carrier Vietnam Airlines. Should all efforts fail, the expat will be the first in the country to die from covid19. According to state news articles, the patient caught the virus during a mid-March trip to Ho Chih Minh City where he’d visited a bar, with medics now doing all they can to prevent his demise. Once...