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Globe Aware featured as “feel-good” volunteer vacation provider

11 May 2010
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Helping Hands: Globe Aware’s Volunteer Vacations in Cambodia

Giving back isn' t just for grownups. Here, T+L' s pick of feel-good volunteer vacations to share with the whole family.

By Nicolai HartvigCambodia-volunteer-vacationsCambodia is a remarkable destination to take a volunteer vacation. This South East Asian country' s natural, spectacular beauty and vibrant communities and people amaze Globe Aware volunteer vacationers.

 

1 Help an Elephant
Lampang, Thailand
WHY GO Elephants never forget, or so the saying goes.
Sadly, many of Thailand' s gentle giants are likely to have painful memories. Caught in the wild, they' re often mistreated by their caretakers, who put them to work with adventure-trekking companies or performance troupes, or remove their tusks to sell as ivory on the black market.
THE TRIP The Thai Elephant Conservation Center (from Bt3,500 per person, plus tip for mahout) in Lampang province welcomes volunteers.
Activities depend on your choice of program: you may find yourself bathing a baby elephant, learning the skills of a mahout' a fully fledged elephant handler' or, if you stay overnight, guiding your elephant into the wilderness and leaving him at his favorite spot for the night while you retire to one of three wood-and-thatch houses. The center cares for around 50 elephants and has an on-site hospital, which program fees subsidize. T+L Tip: For your own relaxing soak, try the nearby San Kamphaeng hot springs.

2 Build Wheelchairs
Siem Reap, Cambodia
WHY GO Cambodia' s tourism industry may be flourishing thanks to the draws of the Angkor era, but the vast majority of locals still live in poverty following years of civil war and repression under the Khmer Rouge. A week of volunteering will go a long way toward helping people in need, including children and adults injured by landmines.
THE TRIP Week-long programs from Globe Aware (globeaware.org; US$1,200 per person excluding airfare) run in Siem Reap once or twice a month, from Saturday to Saturday. Itineraries are flexible, but volunteers can expect a plethora of activities: think putting together wheelchairs and hand-delivering them to landmine victims, working with local street children and teaching English to Buddhist novice monks. Cultural-awareness and cookery classes are also on offer, as well as built-in downtime' essential for checking out Siem Reap' s unmissable attractions, from the ruins at Angkor Wat to the stylish boutiques that have sprung up in the city center.
 
3 Teach English
Bangkok, Thailand
WHY GOThailand' s dynamic capital is one of Asia' s most popular tourist hubs, yet it' s not without problems of its own. Young people from around the country arrive looking for big-city opportunities, but are often greeted with harsh realities, like poverty and overcrowding. Teaching English to underprivileged communities is one way to help.
THE TRIP Staying in family-sized rooms provided by Cross Cultural Solutions (from US$2,784 for two weeks, excluding flights), volunteers work in local schools, community hubs and day-care centers. Children can help out as teacher' s aides' or simply play with and inspire confidence in other kids, especially those with disabilities who tend to be stigmatized in Thai society. After school, volunteers can soak up the local color, exploring Bangkok' s myriad temples, bazaars and food markets. They can also take their turn at being students, with Thai"cooking and language classes.
 
4 Spy on a Rhino
Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Borneo
WHY GO The Sumatran rhino is one of the world' s most endangered species, with only 200 or so left. Not only are their habitats imperilled by deforestation and climate change, but poachers hunt their horns, prized in traditional Chinese medicine. Understanding these shy, solitary creatures, and their threatened environments, is the key to helping them survive.
THE TRIP On-the-ground info gathered on a trip with Hands Up Holidays (from US$3,750, excluding flights) will help protect these animals from extinction. An all-inclusive 15-day package has you and your family collecting invaluable survey data in Borneo' s Tabin Wildlife Reserve, home to an estimated 50 Sumatran rhinos, over three days. The rest of the time is spent on an action-packed jungle adventure, from white-water rafting in Kiulu to proboscis-monkey spotting in Sukau to a trek to the Lipad mud volcano. Jungle training and water sports also figure on the itinerary.
At night, you' ll be staying in three-star hotels, a jungle lodge and an island chalet. You' ll even get a chance to sleep under the stars, in open-air hammocks at a rainforest camp.
 
5 Journey with Nomads
Terelj National Park, Mongolia
WHY GO Mongolian nomads travel the steppes their entire lives, herding livestock across sweeping grasslands and setting up gers, or yurts, their unique itinerant homes; the fireplace at their heart symbolizes the link to their ancestors. Following them on their journey offers an insight into a dying way of life, steeped in tradition and a reverence for nature. Meantime, hosts are happy to learn a little English' or a new ball game' on the way.
THE TRIP Projects Abroad (US$3,045 for two weeks, discounts for children aged 15 or under) organizes tailored two-week"minimum trips in Mongolia' s Terelj National Park. Between travels on horse- or camel-back, volunteers may find themselves tending to animals, cooking Mongolian food from scratch, drinking traditional airaag, or fermented mare' s milk (kids can try the non-alcoholic kind), and even engaging in the odd bout of local wrestling. The remote locations and range of physical tasks on this trip make it better for smaller families with older children. Be prepared to soak in the silence and beauty of the vast, empty landscapes' and to receive your own Mongolian name.
 
If you would like more information about taking a volunteer vacation to Cambodia,China, India, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal or you are interested in voluntourism in South East Asia, please visit Globe Aware’s Destinations Gallery for program and trip descriptions, dates and Minimum Contribution Fees.

Forget the Ferrari: travel can transform your life. Here are 10 trips to make it happen.

28 March 2010
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Teaching English in Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Why Go Now: Philanthropy is fantastic, but a one-week, hands-on stint volunteering in Cambodia' still in need of much aid' can be much more personally satisfying. It can also pretty quickly make a person grateful for his life back home. Globe Aware' s volunteer vacations in Angkor Wat engage travelers in making a genuine influence on others' lives in a very short time: teaching English, working with children, distributing wheelchairs to adults and children in rural villages. The accommodations will be modest, but the Khmer food and magnificent Angkor Wat temples make the authentic experience entirely welcome.

Read the full article.

More Americans Take Volunteer Vacations

1 March 2010
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By GIGI STONE

When you think of teenagers on spring break, visions of Daytona Beach or Cancun may come to mind â€" not necessarily a trip to Cambodia.
But that’s where Kate McNamara, a 16-year-old New Yorker, went on vacation with her family, volunteering to teach children English and build wheelchairs for land mine victims.
“It wasn’t that long and it was a small group of people … but it made just such a huge difference, ” she says. “It was one of the most rewarding things that I think that I’ve ever done.”
Her mother, Elizabeth McNamara adds, “In a world that needs so much, just to a little bit to make a difference in someone’s life is a very positive experience.”

Watch Gigi Stone’s report on “volunteer vacations” Saturday on “World News.”

Check your local listings for air time.
More Americans are choosing to go on philanthropic vacations â€" along with their extra time and money. Globe Aware, the nonprofit group that organized the McNamaras’ Cambodia trip, says enrollment has gone up 40 percent every year since the organization started in 2001.
Last year, more than 65,000 Americans traveled overseas to take part in volunteer vacations, estimates Stefanie Rubin, director of the International Volunteer Programs Association. Organizers say there was a surge of renewed interest after 9/11 and the Asian tsunami in 2004.
“I think it’s got people thinking about the world: ‘What’s out there? What real need is out there?’ And how they can connect and be a part of this beautiful world we’re in?” says Kimberly Haley-Coleman, the executive director of Globe Aware. “I suspect that there is a growing contingent of people who feel that writing a check to an organization doesn’t feel as significant as donating their time. Both are important.”
It’s not just overseas: After Hurricane Katrina, thousands of volunteers flocked to the Gulf region to help rebuild.

More companies are joining in as well by organizing charitable activities for their employees.

Home Depot provides resources for its workers to help build affordable housing and playgrounds in New Orleans and around the country. Last year, more than 40,000 of the company’s employees took part in one or more of these volunteer projects on their day off.
“Once you do one [a volunteer project] and you see those children over there … it gets your heart and you can’t stop,” says Seth Owen, a Home Depot employee who helped build a playground for Hiram Elementary School in Atlanta.
The company admits that such ventures benefit the company’s bottom line. It gets free advertising by using Home Depot products, and establishes business contacts in the various communities.
“We have to be good philanthropists, good citizens and strategic investors in our community,” says Kevin Martinez, the vice president of community affairs at Home Depot.

Sidebar: Interested in a Volunteer Vacation?
If you’re interested in taking a volunteer vacation, there are some things to keep in mind:
If your company isn’t paying for it, the cost of a one-week volunteer vacation usually starts at around $1,000. But there is a silver lining: It is tax deductible.
The online travel agency Travelocity recently announced a Travel for Good program to make information about volunteer vacations more easily available.
Make sure you’re traveling with a nonprofit not a commercial organization, because they’re required to account for how money is being used.
Check that you’re with a company that provides emergency medical insurance. Companies are joining in as well by organizing charitable activities for their employees.

She Turns Vacations Into Voluntours

1 March 2010
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SMU Alumni Magazine

They help Buddhist monks teach poor children in Thailand, make
wheelchairs for victims of Vietnam-era landmines in Laos, and build
stoves to save families from respiratory illness in Peru.

And during their trips abroad, Globe Aware volunteers also find time to
be tourists.
Kimberly Haley-Coleman (M.A., art history, ¹97) founded in 2000 the
Dallas-based nonprofit Globe Aware, which also sponsors weeklong
volunteer vacations in Costa Rica, Cuba, Nepal, Brazil, Vietnam, and
Cambodia. As its executive director, she runs the nonpolitical,
nonreligious organization with two principles in mind.

³We promote cultural awareness, which means we work to appreciate both
the real beauty and challenges of a culture,² she says. ³And we promote
sustainability, which means we train people using local resources; we
don¹t create dependence.²

Globe Aware grew out of Haley-Coleman¹s experiences as an international
businesswoman and volunteer. The Dallas native, who also earned an
M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Dallas and a B.A. from Emory
University, has worked for companies including Infotriever in Canada,
CNBC.com, and the Capstone Japan Fund, where she often has focused on
strategic partnerships and development. During business trips and
between job changes she squeezed in international volunteering with
organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Volunteers for Peace,
which usually require commitments of at least several weeks.

³I always came back thinking there had to be a better way for busy
Americans, who have almost the least vacation time among developed
nations but are the world¹s most generous volunteers and donors,²
Haley-Coleman says. Through her travels, she built a network of
like-minded volunteers­ many of who now serve on Globe Aware¹s board
­and together they launched their first weeklong program in Thailand.

Today Haley-Coleman, who devoted herself to the organization full time
in 2003, spends time in Dallas communicating with coordinators in the
field and re-evaluating and developing programs, such as this year¹s new
trips to Romania, China, and Africa. She seeks out communities that are
safe and culturally interesting, and with needs they want groups of
volunteers to address.

Community service was a significant part of her life, says
Haley-Coleman, as was SMU. Her parents, aunts and uncles, cousins,
grandparents, and great-grandparents are all alumni of the University,
where she recalls hours spent analyzing art with University
Distinguished Professor Emerita Alessandra Comini and Associate
Professor Randall Griffin. ³They helped reinforce my passion for truly
examining and appreciating cultures.²

Learn more at globeaware.org.

­ Sarah Hanan

Voluntourism: Good Times and Good Works

1 March 2010
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Voluntourism: Good Times and Good Works

by Steve Kallaugher

Most people come home from vacation with a nice tan and a suitcase full of souvenirs. Carolyn Bentley returned from a trip she took with her 17-year-old daughter, Julia, with a new outlook on life â€" and a renewed bond with her child.

“It was life changing,” says Bentley. “It’s an amazing way to grow yourself and develop bonds with others. You become part of the country, instead of just looking at it out a window.”

With those sentences, Bentley sums up the appeal of one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry: Voluntourism.

Euromonitor International announced at the 2006 Travel Trust Association Conference in London that Voluntourism will be one of four key growth areas in travel over the next three to four years. A 2006 Travel Forecast poll conducted by Travelocity revealed that 15% of travelers planned on taking a volunteer, educational or religious trip this year. That’s an increase over last year’s record, when more than 65,000 Americans traveled overseas for volunteer vacations, according to the International Volunteer Programs Association (IVPA)

“Voluntourism isn’t simply growing in popularity, it’s exploding,” says Delta Willis, communications manager for the Earthwatch Institute. She cites two reasons for its emergence. “First, the fantastic growth of adventure travel. Second, the increasing number of travelers who want to learn or do good deeds.”

Globe Aware’s experience confirms this: Enrollment in the company’s programs has increased 40% each year since 2001. According to Executive Director Kimberly Haley-Coleman, “Voluntourism is flourishing at such a rate it is hard to comprehend. September 11 changed everything. When that was followed by the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, it made everyone aware of how much is needed. People want to make a concrete connection, to give more than money.”

Getting More Than You Give

The voluntourist concept was born with the establishment of the Peace Corps in 1960. But devoting two years of one’s life to volunteering in a distant country isn’t possible for most people. Still, as a generation of travelers wandered further off the beaten path in their search for adventure, they saw the face of need first handâ€"and they came home determined to do something about it.

Ask any voluntourist why he or she takes precious time from work to serve others and, chances are, you’ll get the same response: “I got so much more than I gave.”

Indeed, Voluntourism is by far the best way to experience in depth the country you’re visiting. Working, eating, and living with local residents takes you out of the bubble most tourists live in, and away from well traveled tourist haunts. It breaks down the barriers that most travelers face, giving you a much deeper understanding of the culture, challenges, and pleasures of the people who live there.

A voluntour vacation may not be a day at the beach, but voluntourists come home refreshed from the changeâ€"even if some projects can be demanding work. They’re also filled with accomplishment and a sense that their spirits have been replenished as well. For time-pressed professionals and their families, who might not be able to volunteer regularly at home because of their busy schedules, a voluntourist vacation offers a means of connecting, not only with themselves, but with their desire to give back.

A Voluntour for Every Taste

Then again, a volunteer trip may well be a day at the beachâ€"literally. There are thousands of opportunities in every part the world, so you can choose a program and place that suites your passion.

Most voluntourist organizations, of course, focus their efforts on less developed parts of the world where the need is greatest- from Nepal and Vietnam to Ghana and Botswana, from Peru and Nicaragua to the Cook Islands…volunteer opportunities in the developing world tend more towards humanitarian aid and development projects, such as Globe Aware’s project assembling wheelchairs in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Getting Started

Questions to ponder while planning your trip:

  1. Where in the world do I want to go?
  2. What cause means the most to me-humanitarian, educational, medical, environmental, professional?
  3. How much time do I want to devote?
  4. What are the physical requirements of the work and living conditions?
  5. Do I need to know the local language? How can I learn at least a few phrases?
  6. What immunizations will I need?
  7. Is the organization a recognized 501(c) (3) that accounts for how its money is spent and how much it gives to the local community?
  8. Is my trip tax deductible?
  9. How much experience has the organization had in the country?
  10. Can I speak to previous volunteers about their experiences?
  11. What background reading can I do about the country and culture?

Steve Kallaugher is a freelance writer and veteran voluntourist.

 

 

 

 

 

PHILANTHROPY: a dossier of stat, facts, manners and mores for your consideration.

1 March 2010
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Compiled by Jonathan S. Paul and Rosecranns Baldwin

Volunteer Vacations
Just because your idea of a good vacation requires tanning on a beach doesn' t mean you can' t save the world while you are doing it. Here, six of the best volunteer trips, where you can sport a good-works glow along with a sunburn.

Land Mine Aid, Cambodia, Globe Aware Between visiting a floating village on Tonle Sap Lake and the temples of Angkor Wat you' ll help assemble simple metal-and-plastic wheelchairs. There' s no expertise required and you' ll deliver your finished chairs to some of the thousands of Cambodians devastated by land mines. One week trip, $1,200.00;877-588-4562;globeaware.org

North Texas volunteers see personal rewards

1 March 2010
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GUATEMALA CITY — Instead of heading to the beaches of Mexico or the capitals of Europe this summer, thousands of Americans are going abroad to reap the rewards of compassion.

“I heard from everyone how life-changing it is, and I wanted to see for myself,” said Shelley Foran, 15, as a busload of young people from Park Cities Baptist Church bounced across the rutted road leading to a gritty Guatemalan home for abandoned and delinquent boys.

More than 50,000 American volunteers work in foreign countries every year, helping others and learning about themselves. Half go with faith-based groups; many go on their vacations. While not all the experiences are life-changing, international service can reward volunteers, the people they help and the ailing image of the United States.

 

 

Dallas mother and empty-nester Betty Sanders, 58, went to Guatemala City for three months to work with disabled orphans and elderly women abandoned by their families.

“I’m old enough to know that I wasn’t going to change the world, but I did feel like before I left there was going to be some contribution I’d made,” she said. “I’ve had a very good life. I have a wonderful family, a truly wonderful daughter and great friends. I’ve been very, very fortunate throughout my life. I just wanted to do something to give back.”

Dallas Jesuit School graduate Nathan Castillo was a bilingual teaching assistant in San Antonio when he joined the Peace Corps last year and found himself supervising primary school sanitation projects in Guatemala’s western highlands.

“The kids were sick so often they couldn’t go to school,” Mr. Castillo, 25, said. “Now it’s a whole different dynamic. There’s an ambiance of hope and happiness.”

Interest in volunteer vacations has spawned more than 60 travel agencies arranging opportunities for Americans to work in poor overseas communities. Kimberly Haley-Coleman runs Globe Aware in Dallas, sending customers to Cambodia, Peru, Cuba and nine other countries.

JIM LANDERS / Staff

JIM LANDERS / Staff

Park Cities Baptist Church volunteers Brenna Burns, Laurel Folmar and Meredith Leach sing with boys at the San Gabriel y Elisa Martinez Home for Boys in Guatemala.

“You live at high altitude, sleep in uncomfortable beds, take cold showers,” Ms. Haley-Coleman said, describing the experiences of volunteers in Peru. “The locals get adobe stoves [built by the volunteers] that clear the smoke from their homes. But the volunteers get more out of it.”

They have to pay for the experience. The Park Cities young people, with their families and their church, paid about $1,800 apiece to spend a week with orphans in Guatemala. Globe Aware charges about $1,000 for room, meals and work projects, and customers have to pay airfare as well. Cross-Cultural Solutions, the group that Ms. Sanders chose for her trip to Guatemala, charges about $2,000 for a two-week package and $250 a week after that.

Such charges are tax-deductible as charitable contributions.

In need of attention

Ms. Foran and her church group went to see Guatemalan boys in need of some gentle attention. The government-run San Gabriel y Elisa Martinez Home for Boys houses 80 kids ages 9 to 18. Among them are mentally challenged 9-year-olds who were abandoned on the streets, a 13-year-old severely abused boy with only a couple of teeth who disarmed and shot at a police officer, and a 17-year-old loner who made a pact with the devil and used to cut himself with a knife.

The boys live in three dorms and are locked in every night at 6 p.m. A 15-foot-tall green cinderblock wall surrounds the campus.

“It is a misnomer to call it an orphanage, but it’s a better word than children’s warehouse,” said Jeff Byrd, associate pastor of Park Cities Baptist.

The Guatemalan boys surrounded the church group when they arrived, and there was much hugging and handshaking. Next came songs of faith, and the boys joined in. Three of the Park Cities girls read from Genesis. The Guatemalan boys were split into groups. Two groups studied Bible passages, while the others played kickball. Then they traded places.

“It was a lot more than I expected, a lot more kids with special needs. It’s fun, though,” said Jeff Perkins, 16, who will be a sophomore this fall at St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas.

Focus on teens

Buckner International, a Dallas-based, Christian service organization with orphanages in several countries, coordinates the visits. Buckner arranges visits by more than 500 volunteers a year to both its own Guatemalan orphanages and those of the government. Many of the volunteers are from North Texas and belong to church groups that come every year. They’re concentrating at the moment on older teens who hope to make the transition out of the homes and into society.

“Some of the girls at 15 have only a second-grade education, and they won’t be able to do much unless we strengthen their life skills,” said Leslie Chace, director of Buckner International’s Latin American work. “Dallas Baptist University comes to teach some skills to these kids.”

Plunging into Guatemala’s poor neighborhoods and bleak institutions takes verve and courage. Volunteers with Cross-Cultural Solutions work at a clinic where gun-toting gang members chased a wounded rival into the emergency room. Other volunteers spend mornings with disabled children confined to wheelchairs — in some cases because their muscles atrophied when no one ever taught them to walk. The volunteers also try to cheer old women who have lost their memories.

They teach a smattering of English to disturbed children raised in a squalid neighborhood surrounding a massive landfill that has swallowed trash pickers alive and feeds flocks of vultures. “It’s not a traditional education,” said Eva Morales, director of the Casita Amarilla School for Abused Children and Women. “Our students come for the support they get from the teachers, not for the curriculum.”

‘Extraordinary’ rewards

Working in these places changed Ms. Sanders.

“The rewards were extraordinary. They all evolved from simple human-to-human contact and interaction,” she said. “I came back feeling like I had made small contributions to lots of different lives along the way.”

Addison financial strategist Steve Miller was invited to Guatemala in 1981, in the midst of a 35-year civil war, to see about investments. He came back determined to bring dentists and doctors to beaten-down villagers. About 120 teams have since visited under the auspices of HELPS International, performing surgeries, dental work and other care valued at more than $100 million, Mr. Miller said.

“We get a lot of young people [as volunteers] who are looking for purpose in their life,” Mr. Miller said. “We’ve all been told if we own the Lexus or the Mercedes we are going to be happy, and of course that’s not the way it works. The people who go down and get involved in a mission, it revolutionizes their life.”

Some in Washington, D.C., also want to help. President Bush has asked Congress to double the size of the Peace Corps from 7,700 to 15,000 volunteers willing to spend 27 months abroad. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., have introduced legislation that would fund 10,000 Global Service Fellowships for volunteers willing to spend six months overseas.

Republicans and Democrats alike are reaching back to the idealism of President John F. Kennedy to urge Americans to volunteer for peaceful international service.

Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes, charged by Mr. Bush with improving American public diplomacy, praises volunteers for “a diplomacy of deeds rather than words.”

When the Peace Corps was formed in 1961, Mr. Kennedy hoped to send 100,000 volunteers abroad each year so that, after 10 years, a million Americans would have the experience and knowledge to form a constituency for foreign affairs.

The Peace Corps never numbered more than 20,000 volunteers in the field. But today’s efforts from faith-based organizations, individual volunteers working with travel agencies, compan ies that sponsor volunteer work among their employees and other nongovernmental groups are swelling the numbers of Americans abroad.

Many of these groups, guided by Mr. Kennedy’s vision, have joined a coalition aiming to boost the number of volunteers working overseas to 100,000 by 2010.

“What if they had built the Peace Corps up to those numbers?” asked Steve Rosenthal, founder of Cross-Cultural Solutions and head of the Building Bridges Coalition that is working to double the number of international volunteers. “By 9/11, we would have had more than 3 million people in the United States who had been volunteers abroad, many in Muslim countries, people who learned to speak Arabic. … The opportunity lost is massive.

“We’ve got a spiraling-down global image, and the anti-American sentiment out there is really important,” he said. “The international volunteer is one of the single greatest things we can do about it.”

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helpful Holidays

1 March 2010
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Helpful Holidays

With summer in full swing, leisure travel is high on the to-do list, but some vacationers are doing good while they get away.

by Glenn R. Swift | July 2007

 

In the 1990s, organizations like Earthwatch offering “volunteer vacations” added a new dimension to the charity-based travel that began in the 1960s with organizations like the Peace Corps. A number of establishments took notice and began offering their own tailored itineraries combining travel with volunteer service. But things changed after September 11.

“Following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, there was a realization upon the part of many Americans that we were not isolated from the rest of the world. As a result, a whole new generation of ‘hands-on helpers’ quickly emerged,” says Kimberly Haley-Coleman, executive committee member of the International Volunteer Programs Association (IVPA), an alliance of non-profit, non-governmental organizations involved in international volunteer and internship exchanges based in North Bergen, New Jersey. She also acknowledged that interest in volunteer vacationing increased markedly following the devastating tsunami in December of 2004 and the catastrophic Kashmir earthquake ten months later, adding, “This type of activity reflects not only a different outlook toward the world, but a changing attitude about travel.”Says Jeanne Brown, a Long Beach resident who has participated in four trips with Global Volunteers, a not-for-profit organization based in St. Paul, “It’s time to give back. We all have too much.” Brown has worked on the Blackfoot Reservation in Montana, and also traveled to Minnesota and to Beards Fork, West Virginia, deep in Appalachia, where she and others on her trip helped a coal-mining community build and repair homes.

“It’s a test of yourself—to see who you can get along with, and what really bothers you, and what’s really important,” Brown says.

Trip Roster           

“Traveling for good” is most definitely a growing trend. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, more than 55 million Americans have traveled to other countries on vacations that included some form of volunteering. The growing desire to “give back” is also reflected in a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics study, which reported that nearly 30 percent of those 16 and older participated in some kind of community service project last year.

So what exactly is a volunteer vacation? There is no simple definition. Some volunteers work in remote mountain villages after traveling for miles by horseback, while others teach local children how to read and write English in the morning, before retiring to five-star oceanfront hotels on a tranquil Caribbean island. Despite this wide variation in activities, the goal is the same. “This type of travel is designed for people who want to become directly involved in the communities they visit so they can make a positive impact, not just act as observers,” Haley-Coleman says.

“I’ve always had this desire to be a foreign missionary,” says Nancy Murphy of West Hempstead. “I’ve always had this interest in traveling to far-off places. When you’re just a tourist you’re just looking but when you do this sort of thing, you become immersed in the community for a while, and it becomes like being part of the local scene. It’s very sustaining,” she says. “I guess I was looking for a little adventure,” Jeanne Brown laughs as she describes her experiences painting the reservation’s juvenile detention center and a “never-ending fence.” Brown’s work in Appalachia was more than adventurous; it was labor-intensive and included home repair, planting, spackling and painting, along with some daycare there and interaction with younger kids.

The U.S. government has also teamed with a number of organizations worldwide to expand opportunities for Americans to serve overseas. The campaign is led by Colin Powell and is part of an effort originated by the Brookings Institution, a center-left think tank in Washington D.C., to develop a new global approach to enhance security and promote national interests, while improving our standing in the world. “The idea is to promote ‘soft power’ instead of ‘hard power’ throughout the world,” says Haley-Coleman, who also serves as executive director of Globe Aware, a Dallas-based non-profit organization currently offering volunteer vacations in a number of underdeveloped locales.

A study released in April of last year by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a public policy research arm of the United States Congress, vividly illustrates the exorbitant cost of having to rely upon military muscle alone to protect U.S. national interests. The study calculated that it costs an average of $361,000 annually to put a soldier, Marine, airman or sailor in Iraq or in the region. Needless to say, the soft-power approach of fostering goodwill by sending volunteer travelers abroad is significantly less expensive.

Here are some of the major players working hard to help foster that goodwill:         

So if you’re looking for a way to help make the world a better place the next time you travel, maybe an “adventure in service” is just what you’re looking for.

Among the major players working hard to help foster that goodwill:         

Globe Aware        

This group offers volunteer vacations in Peru, Costa Rica, Thailand, Cuba, Nepal, Brazil, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. One-week trips focus upon cultural awareness and sustainability, and are often compared to a “mini Peace Corps.” Globe Aware is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity and all program costs, including the cost of airfare, are tax-deductible. No special skills or ability to speak a foreign language are needed. “Our trips are primarily designed for working professionals who can’t afford to take three weeks or more off at one time,” says Haley-Coleman. Costs vary depending upon the country visited and range from just over $1,000 to around $1,400 (exclusive of airfare).

Could You Be a Volunteer Vacationer?

The Answers to These Questions Will Help You Decide

If you’re wondering whether or not you’re a good candidate, most operators will tell you that there are so many options available that’s it’s more a question of finding the right program, one tailored to your skills and interests. Here are some questions you should ask yourself:

  1. What kind of conditions am I willing to live in?
  2. How long am I willing to give?
  3. What skills do I have to offer?
  4. How much can I afford?

Remember, the greatest need isn’t always the safest. There are war-torn countries in Africa desperate for help, but they’re not necessarily open to outsiders. Take the time to evaluate all your options. Here are some basic questions that you need to ask your tour operator when choosing which itinerary is best for you.

  • Are the host organizations faith-based or secular?
  • What is the level of interaction that you will have with local residents?
  • How much guidance and supervision will I receive?
  • What type of physical labor/strenuous activity is involved?
  • Is there a backup plan in case of an emergency?
    (If you’re staying in a secluded mountain village in the Andes, you need to know what happens if you break your leg.)
  • What exactly is included in the price?
  • Do you offer travel insurance?
  • How much free time will there be and what types of sightseeing options are there?
  • What types of immunizations are required?
  • What is the climate?
  • How safe is the locale?
  • What percentage of the trip is tax- deductible?


Double duty: Both sides reap the benefits of volunteer trips

28 February 2010
Globe Aware
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Categories: Globe Aware news

USA Today

KRASANG ROLEUNG, Cambodia â€" Andrew Krupp doesn’t speak a word of Cambodian. And, for the most part, the dozens of happy-faced children racing across the dusty schoolyard to greet him don’t speak a word of English.

But that doesn’t stop Krupp from winning them over immediately.

It doesn’t take much, after all, to get across the basics of the hokeypokey, which it turns out is just as big a crowd-pleaser in the poorest thatched-roof villages of Cambodia as it is in the manicured suburb near Chicago where Krupp lives.

“I’m like a novelty act riding into town,” says the 39-year-old manufacturing executive, laughing as his frenzied “right foot in” sends the children into hysterics. “Everybody loves a lunatic.”

A lunatic with a mission. With the ever-energetic Krupp occupying the kids, his five traveling companions are free to grab hammers and saws and get down to the real task of the morning: building new eraser boards for the rural school’s ramshackle classrooms.
It’s a lot of work.

It’s also their vacation.

A volunteer vacation, it’s called â€" a type of trip that has gone from being on the fringe to the mainstream in just a few years.

Krupp and the others have signed up to visit Cambodia with GlobeAware, one of a growing number of organizations that design vacations for people who want to spend as much time helping in the destinations they visit as they spend seeing the major sites.

People such as Mary-Ellen Connolly, 46, of Chelsea, Quebec.

“I’m so sick of going to typical tourist attractions and doing the same old tourist thing,” says Connolly, who volunteers at home teaching the visually impaired to ski and thought it would be fun to combine voluntarism with vacation.

Like the others here, Connolly says she wanted to “give back.” But she also saw the allure of volunteering as a way to experience a country on a deeper level.

“I wanted to meet the local people,” she says, “because that’s the way to really know a country.”

A scene from a Dickens novel

Connolly, a part-time accountant who left her children with her husband to take the trip with a friend, is talking outside an orphanage where the group spends every afternoon. In Siem Reap, the region’s tourist hub, the tiny, run-down building houses 23 children in two rooms â€" one for girls, one for boys.

Many of the kids are barefoot, their hair a mess, their clothes stained â€" a Cambodian version of a scene from a Dickens novel. But however bleak their situation, they, like kids everywhere, relish the chance for a little adult-sponsored goofiness. Encouraged by GlobeAware’s local coordinator, Sophanit Prin, 26, who serves as guide and translator, Connolly and the others quickly organize lessons in such life-important skills as playing “duck, duck, goose” and “hot potato.” The sad faces turn to smiles.

Like the thousands of other tourists arriving each week in this low-lying region of rice paddies and rural villages, famed for its 1,000-year-old temples, Connolly and her companions spent a day or so of their one-week trip exploring the legendary ruins of Angkor Wat and other remnants of Cambodia’s ancient Khmer empire. And like other Westerners, they’re staying in Siem Reap, which has mushroomed with hotels, restaurants and nightspots over the past decade as tourism rebounds from years of violence.

But that’s where the similarity ends. While other tourists lounge at $200-a-night resorts around Siem Reap â€" in sharp contrast to the region’s still-widespread poverty â€" the GlobeAware group bunks in a no-frills, $15-a-night guesthouse a short walk from the town center. They’ve paid $1,200 each for the trip, but much of that money goes to the local institutions on the group’s itinerary.

‘Volunteering 101’

In addition to spending time at the orphanage, the group takes on at least one, sometimes two more volunteer activities each day. On one sunny morning, the group assembles wheelchairs for some of the war-ravaged country’s thousands of land-mine victims. On four nights before dinner, Prin leads the volunteers down a dusty road to a Buddhist monastery to help teach English to locals.

The mix is typical of the new breed of short-term volunteer vacations, which often follow a “little of this, little of that” format that gives volunteering newbies a chance to try a lot of things to see what clicks. Krupp dubs it Volunteering 101, “a survey course of the options available” for those considering a longer-term commitment.

Krupp quickly decides that teaching is by far the most difficult task of the week. Welcomed at the monastery by monks in orange robes, the six GlobeAware volunteers are ushered into stark, barely lit classrooms, introduced to rows of wide-eyed students and then, for the most part, left on their own.

It’s trial by fire. But as Krupp notes, it doesn’t take long to realize the students, many of whom hope to become English-speaking tour guides at the nearby temples, a relatively high-paying job in the region, want little more than to hear the correct pronunciation for words they’ve only seen in books.

Despite an influx of tourist dollars in recent years, Cambodia remains one of the world’s poorest countries. Years of war and genocide under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s devastated the population â€" by some estimates, 2 million people died â€" and the violence and chaos continued well into the 1990s, stunting economic development.

A difficult life for most

At the Angkor Participatory Development Organization, a small non-profit agency that partners with GlobeAware, director Savuth Tek-Sakana explains that a typical job in the region pays only $100 a month. Those who speak English, however, can find work in tourist hotels paying as much as $250 a month, a small fortune in an economy in which more than a third of the population subsists on less than $1 a day.

Still, even for the higher earners, it’s a rough existence â€" a point that hits home when Tek-Sakana and Prin whisk the group into the countryside to visit a typical village.

The destination, Kravan, is less than a mile from Ta Prohm, the magical, jungle-covered ruins made famous in Angelina Jolie’s Tomb Raider, and just steps away from Prasat Kravan, a lesser-visited Hindu temple built in 921.

Leading the way down the muddy path that serves as the village’s main street, Tek-Sakana points to the rickety, one-room huts that house families of five, six or even eight people. Built on wooden stilts to keep occupants dry during the rainy season, the thatched-roof huts have flimsy walls made of palm leaves. There’s no electricity, running water or toilets. And the “kitchen” is a fire circle in the dirt.

“I’m at a loss,” says Krupp, echoing the shock of other volunteers at the sight of children running barefoot through the same muddy puddles that serve as latrines for roaming chickens and pigs. “I’ve seen poverty, but extreme poverty like this is so mentally conflicting. It makes it hard to enjoy life seeing and feeling how some people are forced to live in the 21st century.”

Much can be done in a week

Visiting such sites long has been part of the volunteer vacation experience. But it also has brought criticism from some who see it as little more than voyeurism.

Even some of the participants on this trip are conflicted. “I felt a bit embarrassed, like it was a show for us,” says Gabrielle Duchesne, 26, of Toronto. “But I think it’s good that we see it. If we can go back and find a way to volunteer, to donate, to integrate giving into our lives, then it was worth it.”

Like others on the trip, Duchesne says she was hesitant to sign up fo r a volunteering experience that was so short, concerned that she wasn’t going to be able to do enough.

But “it takes a lot of people doing small things to make a big difference,” says Duchesne, a fundraiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. And she and others on the trip are surprised by how many small things they can get done in a week and, indeed, by the difference they seem to make.

The proof comes on the final day, when the group meets grateful recipients of the wheelchairs assembled during a single morning. Awkward at first, the “wheelchair party,” as GlobeAware’s Prin has dubbed it, loosens up as Duchesne distributes snacks, and the recipients begin to tell their stories. Some have waited years for a wheelchair, which costs many times the $20-a-month stipend that one disabled recipient says he has received since stepping on a mine in 1987.

“At first I was nervous, but it was a happy occasion, not sad,” Duchesne says afterward. The wheelchair recipients “left better than they had arrived, and that’s the reason we’re here.”

IF YOU GO

GlobeAware offers volunteer vacations to Cambodia year-round; 13 departures are planned for 2008.

The seven-night trips feature five days of volunteering in and around Siem Reap and a day visiting the nearby ruins of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm and other ancient Khmer Empire sites. The cost is $1,200 per person, based on double occupancy, including lodging and meals. Singles will be paired in rooms.

GlobeAware has similar programs in 11 other countries, including Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Costa Rica, Peru, Romania and Ghana. Costs: from $1,080 to $1,390 per person.

Information: 877-588-4562; globeaware.org

Peter Greenberg: The land of Laos – Affordable and undiscovered

28 February 2010
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Categories: Globe Aware news

Laos is a true magical mystery tour. Few Americans visit. Fewer understand it. However, more and more savvy travelers are slowly discovering this small country.

Not too long ago, Vietnam was like this – before diplomatic relations with the U.S. were restored in the 1990s. The same could be said for Cambodia. Both Vietnam and Cambodia have recently exploded as tourist destinations

And now it’s this former kingdom’s time to enter as a preferred destination in Asia. Ten years ago it was a backwater country, still trying to recover from its own 1975 revolution, which ended a 600-year-old monarchy.

The government – slowly but surely – has opened the doors to the outside world. And the world is curious to see what is there.

Laos is a landlocked country between Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma and China. It’s lifeline is the Mekong River, which forms a large part of Laos’ western border with Thailand. Centuries ago, it was the Kingdom of Lan Xang, or Land of a Million Elephants.

On the surface, little has changed. Laos is still a farming country specializing in rice. The official language is Lao, but English is widely understood in the cities.

The best part about traveling to Laos is that it’s affordable, but not overrun with tourists. But word has spread about Luang Prabang, “the Shangri-La of Southeast Asia,” so it’s more developed and filled with backpackers and vacationers. This 700-year-old town can get very crowded, and it is quickly transforming into a more structured, organized tourist destination. But not all travelers make it to the current capital city of Vientiane; southern Laos is practically undiscovered so you’ll find even fewer crowds and better deals in places like Pakse.

 

Getting there
To travel to Laos, you will need both a passport and visa. Thirty-day visas cost $50 and must be used within two months of issue. (Visit laoembassy.com for more information.)

One of the smart ways to travel to Laos is to combine the trip with visiting Cambodia, Thailand or Vietnam. It’s a very affordable destination – Geographic Expeditions estimates that you can travel through southern Laos for about $300 a day, including meals, accommodations, a private car and English-speaking guide; Luang Prabang and Vientiane will cost about $400 per person per day as they have higher-end hotels.

Another suggestion is to invest in an RTW (‘Round the World) ticket that allows you many destination options. A company called Airtreks (airtreks.com) sells a number of these multiple-destination RTW tickets that start at $1,650. Here’s one sample itinerary: San Francisco, Singapore, Saigon/Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Luang Prabang, Angkor Wat (Siem Reap), Bangkok, Xian, Beijing, Tokyo and San Francisco. Promotion code: HAT559079; airtreks.com

Laos has three airports: Wattay International Airport in Vientiane; Luang Prabang International Airport and Pakse International Airport. When traveling within Laos, the only domestic airline is Laos Airlines. A flight between Vientiane and Luang Prabang takes about 35 minutes. You can also travel by bus – but don’t say I didn’t warn you. You can expect to spend at least 11 hours traveling from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, but you’ll catch some beautiful mountain scenery. You can travel by boat or river taxi for shorter hauls around the country, but not all the way from Vientiane to Luang Prabang.

 

Tours
Geographic Expeditions: The majority of this company’s Laos tours are customized small-group trips. Existing tours include the 27-day Mekong from Top to Bottom (this includes Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) for $12,999. An 11-day trip to Southern Laos costs $3,295 and includes Pakse, Sekong, elephant riding and a river trip to the Khong Islands. 800-777-8183; geoex.com

Distant Horizons: Check out a tour called A Reflective History: Myanmar and Laos. With Myanmar in the mix, this is certainly a trip for curious travelers. Led by Julian Brown, currently a researcher at the School of African and Oriental Studies in London, this tour takes you through Mandalay, Sagaing and Pagan – then flies you back through Bangkok to Laos to see Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Then you travel by boat along the Mekong River to the Pak Ou Caves. 800-333-1240; distant-horizons.com

Intrepid Travel: This Australian-based, small-group operator focuses on off-the-beaten track, immersive tours that involve homestays and local transportation (i.e., tuktuks instead of private motor coaches). The shortest group trip to Laos is 15 days, and includes Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, starting at just $1,010. Trail of the Khmer starts at $1,400 and includes Bangkok, Siem Reap/Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh, Luang Prabang and Vientiane. Airfare is NOT included but Intrepid is known for having affordable tour prices. intrepidtravel.com

Globe Aware: This company has volunteer vacation programs in Luang Prabang, in which volunteers primarily work with children in an orphanage. Projects include improving the facilities, teaching English to the children as well as monks in a local monastery, and simply playing with the children. Accommodations are in a hostel along the Mekong, which is walking distance from most major sites. Airfare is NOT included, but Globe Aware is one of the more affordable volunteer programs, with rates starting at $1,140 for eight days. globeaware.com

 

When to go
Peak season is November through March. For the best weather, go between November and February, when it’s not too humid and rainy. Not surprisingly, that’s also the best time to go to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. March to May is also good as it’s hot but still dry.

 

Lodging
Luang Prabang can get crowded, so book early. Vientiane, Pak Se and vicinity won’t have that problem.

Vientiane
Settha Palace Hotel: This is a luxury boutique hotel in a French colonial building. Rates start at $180 a night. Pang Kham Street, (856-21) 217581-2; setthapalace.com

 

Culture
Vientiane is not always the first stop for tourists visiting Laos, and in fact, some visitors skip it altogether. The capital city has its charm and plenty of local activity, but you won’t need more than a couple of days to get a good feel for the place before moving on. Much of the city’s culture and history was wiped out when the Thais sacked it in 1828, and many of the temples you see are restorations from the 20th century.

Pha That Luang: This monument is the national symbol of Laos. It is a “golden stupa,” or a moundlike structure containing Buddhist relics. The 16th-century monument was destroyed by the Thais and later restored to its former glory.

Wat Sisaket: Built in the 19th century in a Thai style, this temple was not destroyed by the Thais in 1828. Small carvings in the walls hold more than 2,000 silver and ceramic Buddhas, and about 300 larger statues fill the space. Outdoors, golden shrines also honor the Buddha.

 

Ho Phra Keo: This museum was formerly known as Wat Phra Keo and was the former site of the Emerald Buddha, which now lives in Bangkok. It was built in 1565 for the Emerald Buddha, which the king had taken from Thailand (and reclaimed by the Thais in 1779). This historic museum includes works of religious art, many Buddhas, and in the garden is a jar from the Plain of Jars.

National Museum/Museum of Revolution: Much like a visit to similar museums in Vietnam, this museum is all about history from a Lao point of view. Located in an old government office, it showcases the Lao struggle for independence against France and America.

Wat Xieng Thong (Golden City Temple): This is one of the most important temples in the country, built around 1560 on the banks of the Mekong River. It was a royal temple until 1975, and was restored in the 1960s. A mosaic of the “Tree of Life” patterns the back wall, and much of the restored temple has been gilded and lacquered.

 

Activities
Wat Sokpaluang (herbal sauna): Don’t miss out on this experience. Wat Sokpaluang, or Forest Wat, may be the “original” herbal sauna in Vientiane, formerly operated by monks. You’ll step inside a bamboo hut where steam rises, infused with a secret combination of herbs and flowers. You can also opt for a massage for just a couple of dollars. Just watch out for mosquitoes!

Talat Sao (morning market): This two-story, covered market is where you’ll find all the handicrafts and souvenirs you want – textiles, jewelry, religious ornaments, herbs and flowers. Nearby is the Ethnic Handicraft Market, which focuses on Lao-only items.

Shop for textiles: Lao textiles are renowned, and you can find incredibly high-quality silks in Vientiane. Visit Carol Cassidy, located in a renovated colonial-era workshop in the city. She employs locals and together their works are showcased around the world. laotextiles.com

Watch the sunset on Phousi Holy Hill: It may be a life-changing experience. You’ll have unparalleled views of the town and its temples, and a breathtaking view of the sunset.

Morning alms: Definitely get up early to participate in this daily religious ritual. Monks wander through the town blessing those who give them offerings (sticky rice will do). You can do this at Wat Xieng Thong temple at 6 a.m.

Pak Ou Caves: The caves of a 1,000 Buddhas are located within limestone cliffs. There are two levels filled with statues of Buddha in all sizes and materials – the lower Tham Ting cave and the upper Tham Phum cave. It’s located outside of Luang Prabang, so to get there, you can take a day-long riverboat trip.

Plain of Jars: Thousands of stone jars lie scattered among a 500-square-mile region in northern Laos. These containers were created by a now-extinct race of people from nearly 2,000 years ago, and may have served as burial urns. The Plain of Jars refers to the area of land, which is a highly strategic area – bitter battles over this land have transformed it into a desolate, flat area, but it remains a top tourist attraction. A drive from Luang Prabang takes about five hours.

Pakse: This is the largest city in the south. It’s very tranquil and has small hotels and laid-back villages. This is a spot for true eco-tourism, with great hiking, waterfalls, tea plantations and small eco-lodges.

 

Cuisine
Cuisine in Laos will be familiar to enthusiasts of Southeast Asian food, particularly Thai dishes. Flavors include chili, fish stock, lemongrass, peanuts, mint, lime and tamarind. You’ll come across lots of sticky rice, minced meat called laab (very similar to Thai larb), and Vietnamese-style pho and other noodle soups.

Vientiane has a multitude of little tent restaurants along Mekong River that allow you to lounge and eat cheap food along the riverbank while enjoying the night and some music.

In Vientiane, a surprising amount of French cuisine exists, thanks to colonialization. Baguettes and good coffee are a staple, and a few restaurants offer French-influenced meals. Le Silapa is a high-end dining experience that would costs hundreds of dollars in France or the U.S. Diplomats and ex-pats flock to this establishment for fine (and rich) French cuisine. And don’t feel bad about not eating “local.” Part of the restaurant’s proceeds to go charity. 17/1 Sihom Rd, Vientiane

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