asia

It is only when we truly know that we have a limited time on earth—and have no way of knowing when our time is up—that we will then begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.

—Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, psychiatrist and author of On Death and Dying

In Asia, the world’s most populous continent, volunteer opportunities are diverse and plentiful. You can save urban wetlands in Hong Kong, conduct fish and coral surveys in the Philippines, make amends for Hiroshima or Agent Orange, or teach English in Tibet or Thailand.

If you have an interest in health care, you could help the people of the world’s newest country, Timor-Leste, fight diseases like tuberculosis and promote maternal and child health.

If animals are your bag, try your hand at zookeeping in Malaysia. Or help care for orangutans in Borneo. Or save endangered elephants in Sri Lanka.

If architectural preservation is what you really find fascinating, help restore a Buddhist monastery in Nepal.

But whichever direction you take and whatever project you choose to work on, just know that spending time with and paying attention to your four billion brothers and sisters in Asia will strengthen the fabric of our shared humanity.