Archive: February 2014

When over 60 Vivint volunteers traveled to Cambodia recently, they didn' t know exactly what to expect, but they knew they wanted to work hard.

"I was super pleased to see our teams put to work' seriously hard work," said volunteer Neal Rogers.

Vivint volunteers partnered with Globe Aware, a non-profit organization that organizes short-term international service projects that encourage cultural awareness as well as giving back. Volunteers were able to enjoy the environment, associate with people native to the area, and provide incredibly important services to people in need.

On day one of the service trip, volunteers delivered water filters to families in a floating city that were in serious need of water filtration. But that was just the beginning. The volunteers then painted a community center, taught English classes at local schools, and built wheel chairs for landmine survivors. Perhaps most impressive of all, however, were the latrines volunteers dug to ensure clean sanitation and the new buildings they built for a local orphanage.

"I have never been a part of something that brought so many people together to do that much good in a short amount of time," Rogers said. "I think our teams got as much out of the experience as the Cambodians we helped did."

vivint blog

Georgina Cruz, special correspondent with the Orlando Sentinel, looked at volunteer vacations and the upside of a “voluntourism” vacation in a February 13, 2014 article:

Spring into service with a “voluntourism” vacation. You can mix with the locals, living and working in communities on a variety of projects and activities, from teaching English to caring for youngsters in orphanages, taking part in community improvement projects or conservation efforts.

Trips are generally short-term: one-, two- and three-weeks in length, though some companies can arrange for longer service periods. Typically, no prior experience is necessary to participate.

Cruz spotlighted Globe Aware’s program to the Inca city of Cuzco in Peru:

Globe Aware Adventures In Service: This non-profit has been developing short-term volunteer programs internationally for 15 years. Trips are intended to promote cultural awareness and/or sustainability. The organization’s criteria for choosing projects include trips that are safe, culturally interesting, genuinely beneficial to a needy community, and that involve significant interaction between participants and the host community. Optional cultural excursions are available on every program. Among the organization’s service trips this season are programs to the Inca city of Cuzco in Peru, near the legendary Lost City of Machu Picchu. Visit globeaware.org.

Orlando Sentinel

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