About us

Friends for Asia began operations in 2007, founded by Todd Cikraji, an experienced teacher and Peace Corps Volunteer (Kyrgyzstan and Thailand). Friends for Asia develops international volunteer projects that assist local communities overcome challenges, and provides volunteers with the experience of contributing to those communities as a valued participant. More than 3,000 volunteers have been placed in Bali, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.

The mission of Friends for Asia is twofold. First, we offer an opportunity for people to meaningfully contribute to the improvement of standards of living by building capacity in our host countries. Secondly, we provide committed volunteers to work on projects that benefit the local communities.

We have always been an independent organization with no connection to (or support from) any government or religious organization. We also do not operate as a charity, but rather as a professional self-sustaining organization. As such, we require a project fee from our volunteers and interns to help cover the costs involved with providing proper support and arranging quality international volunteer projects and internships. We work hard to keep our fees as low as possible and have some of the lowest volunteer and internship project fees offered throughout Asia.

Friends for Asia operates projects in five locations:

• Bangkok, Thailand
• Chiang Mai, Thailand
• Hanoi, Vietnam
• Kathmandu, Nepal
• Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

It is important to us that our coordinating staff is made up of highly qualified, well-educated individuals devoted to our volunteer’s needs and the development of our projects. You’ll see our staff regularly, if not every day. We give our volunteers and interns freedom and the opportunity to have an authentic volunteer and internship experience, but we are also here to support them in all areas.

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