Volunteer Vacations Blog

Family

5 Latin American Destinations Worth Your Altruistic Visit

10 March 2016
Globe Aware
No comments
Categories: Globe Aware news

Great news article by By Erika Miranda, writing for The Latin Post, on how youth can be inspired to give back to their community through volunteer vacations.

Teach youngsters to be grateful for their blessings and give back to the community while enjoying their Spring break vacation in Latin America.

Nowadays, youngsters look forward to Spring break because it is a chance to get away from all the toils of studying and spend time with family and friends out of town or overseas.

While that sounds like fun, there may be better ways to enjoy the vacation while doing something to better the lives of others.

Globe Aware

Globe Aware can help your teenagers tap their inner altruistic self by going to Costa Rica where they can stay in a village near one of the country’s most diverse biological reserves: the Carara Biological Reserve.

They can also visit the popular “cultural and natural paradise” in Orosi Valley where they can help create sustainable members of small communities in the locality.

Here is a video description of what’s in store for volunteer vacationers from Globe Aware.

{youtube}RmiNuCPXVmM|454|320|0{/youtube}

International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ)

The International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) founded by Dan Radcliffe in 2007 promotes literacy in Guatemala where vacationers can teach residents how to speak English and Spanish as well as proper care for children and the elderly.

The program also includes teaching about Lake Conservation, Animal Care and Animal Rights, Construction and Renovation, Eco-Agriculture Conservation, and Special Needs.

The program period ranges from one to 24 weeks, depending on how long the volunteer wants to stay.

Of course, the organization will provide training for volunteers prior to their departure to ensure “an understanding of important aspects that need to be considered before embarking on an IVHQ program.”
Volunteering Solutions (VolSol)

Founded in 2006, this international volunteer organization opens popular tourist destinations like Peru to volunteers who want to spend their holidays and vacation days helping others.

VolSol’s Peru-Cusco program promises an unforgettable experience with the country’s ancient ruins, history, customs and traditions as well as an awe-inspiring tour of the enigmatic Machu Picchu.

Volunteer work with VolSol in Peru includes dental, medical and teaching programs as well as child care for normal and differently abled children.

Projects Abroad

Already catering to over 10,000 volunteers every year, Projects Abroad presents a chance for tourists to help young children of Argentina earn kindergarten knowledge with their “Care in Argentina Alternative Spring Break Trip.”

Set up in Cordoba, volunteers will be assigned to assist local kindergarten teachers by playing with the children and helping them with homework.

Volunteers would also be assigned tasks to help with general maintenance of the school and the kids’ homes.

American Hiking Society (AHS)

As its name implies, the American Hiking Society is composed of a group that protect and promote foot trails as well as the surrounding natural areas.

While they mostly do hiking and backpacking with adults, AHS also has a special program for youngsters that allows them to do “part volunteer work project, part kick-back outdoor vacation.”

With a group of 8 to 15 students, the AHS combines hiking, exploration, trail work and crew camaraderie into one fun experience and gives them the choice of camping out or staying in lodges, bunkhouses or cabins during the course of their week-long vacation-slash-volunteer stay.

Self

Give Back While You are on Vacation

9 March 2016
Globe Aware
No comments
Categories: Globe Aware news

Emma Sarran Webster writing for Teen Vogue explores how to turn spring break into a truly worthwhile, beneficial vacation through a volunteer vacation with Globe Aware and other working vacation facilitators.

6 Spring Break Ideas That Allow You to Give Back While You Vacation

From a Kindergarten in Argentina to the health campaigns in Ghana.

This Spring Break, take the opportunity to travel and help others, through a volunteer vacation. The combination of volunteering and travel is growing in popularity as an increasing number of companies offer the chance to explore and make a difference. You can take your pick from working at orphanages in Africa, assisting in wildlife conservation efforts in South America, or protecting natural environments right here in the States. "Volunteering overseas is, without a doubt, one of the top experiences anyone could hope to undertake in their lifetime," Dr. Ken Dorman, a board member of service travel organization Globe Aware, wrote on their website. "Even a short-term volunteer adventure can change your life and world perspective. Few things can give you a greater sense of meaning." So as you plan your Spring Break, consider gaining perspective through one of these six companies that offer service trips at home and abroad.

Globe Aware

Globe Aware offers 8-day, Saturday-to-Saturday international volunteer vacations ' perfect for a full and fulfilling Spring Break. The company focuses not on giving charity, but on helping host communities build renewable, sustainable programs. "The goal is not for volunteers to change the host communities, but rather to help them in the needs that the host community has identified as important," the Globe Aware site states.

As a Globe Aware volunteer, you can travel to places like Cambodia to help with reforestation efforts; Brazil to help build a community center; or Romania to help teach English. And fear not: You don' t need any special skills or prior qualifications to join; the volunteer coordinators will help you throughout the process. Book your trip as a solo traveler, with your family, or even a group of girlfriends.

Projects Abroad

Projects Abroad, a company that sends more than 10,000 volunteers overseas every year to work on service projects, offers week-long Alternative Spring Break Trips designed specifically for college students. Sign up to volunteer at a kindergarten in Argentina or Fiji; help with public health campaigns in Ghana; participate in renovation work in Morocco; or help protect sea turtles in Mexico, among other options. Not in college yet? Check out Project Abroad' s High School Special programs.

Fathom

Fathom gives travelers the chance to head out on a cruise ' with a purpose. Depart by sea from Miami to one of two Caribbean destinations: the Dominican Republic or Cuba. While on board the ship, you' ll get to know your fellow travelers, learn about your destination and its customs, and participate in orientation activities and lessons that will prepare you for your on-land experience. Sail to the Dominican Republic to serve the local communities through projects like working with a women’s collective on their successful artisanal chocolate business, or helping locals gain access to clean water. Or immerse yourself in Cuban culture through visits with Cuban professionals, entrepreneurs, and family business owners to learn about education, economics, the role of government, and more in this country that was, until recently, mostly off-limits to American travelers.

Sierra Club Outings

Sierra Club is the country' s largest grassroots environmental organization, on a mission to "explore, enjoy, and protect the planet." As part of that mission, Sierra Club Outings offers environmentally friendly, outdoor excursions throughout the year ' among them, inspiring and adventurous service trips. Head to Big Sur State Park to help with trail improvements; to New York City to assist with maintenance and invasive species removal in the Thain Family Forest; or to Florida to work on restoring the ecosystem on the island of Cayo Costa.

Earthwatch

Earthwatch Institute gives adults and teens alike the chance to work with scientists on various expeditions focused on protecting the planet and its species. As a "citizen scientist" on an Earthwatch Expedition, you can explore the impact of climate change on the Mojave Desert and Joshua Tree National Park; research ocean health as it pertains to whales and dolphins in Costa Rica; or learn about wildlife and ecosystems as you help conserve river dolphins and monkeys in Peru' s Amazonian forests.

American Hiking Society

American Hiking Society (AHS), a national organization that promotes and protects foot trails and the surrounding natural areas, offers volunteer vacations focused on building and maintaining trails throughout the country, with a healthy dose of backpacking or day hiking. Explore AHS' s Project Guide to find a trip that' s right for you, whether that' s assisting with boardwalk maintenance at Virginia' s Kiptopeke State Park; protecting the sand dunes at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore; or helping construct a new trail at the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Tennessee.

AHS also offers Alternative Breaks, open to groups of 8-15 students who sign up together and are touted as "part volunteer work project, part kick-back outdoor vacation" on the website. Though the Spring Break trips are full, summer trips to places like Texas, Florida, and California are open ' perhaps a sign to get a head start on your summer break planning?

Teen Vogue

Global Wings volunteer takes flight

15 December 2015
Globe Aware
No comments
Categories: Globe Aware news

ag2Adan Gonzales was one of Globe Aware’s first recipients of the Global Wings initiative. Gonzalez grew up in Oak Cliff, a predominately Mexican-American community in Dallas that is mostly known for crime and socioeconomic strife. As a child, he sensed a disconnect between his surroundings and the American dream his parents had believed in when they immigrated to the United States in the 1980s.  Street violence was an everyday concern for the family as well as what seemed to be a series of never-ending financial blows. Adan was inspired by his parents’ work ethic and perseverance and at the age of eight, began to sell movies and snacks at the local flee market to help afford school uniforms for him and his brother.

ag4As his parents worked multiple jobs to provide basic needs for the family, traveling was an unattainable luxury. Adan and his parents rarely traveled outside of their city or state, unless it meant the rare trip to Mexico to visit relatives. Even exploring his own city was out of reach for much of his childhood.

In high school, Gonzalez realized that through academic success and community involvement he could make life better for himself and his relatives.

“That’s when I started doing well in school. I saw how proud my dad would be when the teachers told him I was smart or that my grades were really good,” Gonzalez said. “I wanted to show my parents that their sacrifice and hard work was worth it.”

Adan also became involved in local community service and began to seek ways in which he was able to give back on a Global scale. Through the Global Wings initiative, individuals such as Adan, who have the desire to serve, but may not have the resources or know how to do so are empowered with the tools, knowledge and means to make it happen. Through events, raffles, and donations, Globe Aware was able to send three graduating seniors to Costa Rica to work on turtle conservation efforts. They also had the opportunity to work with a local school by teaching English and working on projects to improve the infrastructure of the school.

His fellow volunteers were so impressed with Adan’s desire to learn and serve, that they were inspired to fund a second trip for him to volunteer in Cambodia.

The Pulpit RockAdan Gonzales with Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the UN.

“Cambodia was an experience in my life that I still have a hagard time putting into words. It made me a better person,” Gonzales said. “The things I saw, and people I met helped me understand more the concept of being alive, to understand that as people, even if we do not have wealth, more than anything in this world we can give to someone…is our ‘time’.”

For Adan, his volunteer trips to Costa Rica and Guatemala helped prepare him for new experiences and has further driven his desire to give back.  Adan went on to attend Georgetown University and founded the Si Se Puede Network. The network promotes his simple philosophy for success to ambitious but disadvantaged students: Great students keep up their grades, perform community service, and develop leadership skills.

We are so proud of Adan and look forward to seeing all of the amazing things he has set out to accomplish.

 

Self

Difference Maker

6 November 2015
Globe Aware
No comments
Categories: Globe Aware news

Globe Aware was featured in the October 29th issue of The Christian Science Monitor: People Making a Difference. As part of The Christian Science Monitor’s efforts to Create a World Where Giving and Volunteering Are a Natural Part of Everyday Life®, the publication regularly features NGO partners. The Christian Science Monitor also uses social media to continually inform readers about how they can get involved with the NGO partners.

Difference Maker

Alexis Hurd-Shires found her calling helping Syrian refugees

She headed to Lebanon with the general aim of doing some good. Finding a struggling refugee community badly in need of a school, she decided to open one.

Beirut, Lebanon — When Alexis Hurd-Shires decided to leave the United States and move to the Middle East, she didn”t know which country she would be going to or exactly what she would be doing. She only knew that she was going to try to make a positive impact.

1102 PMAD MHURDThe daughter of a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, she was accustomed to traveling. While working on a master”s degree in social work, and after graduation as well, she found short-term opportunities to work abroad. Still, she dreamed of finding something more permanent.

In 2013 the door opened for her to be part of a project sponsored by the Adventist church in Beirut, Lebanon, and Ms. Hurd-Shires jumped at the opportunity. But after she arrived, she found that the work she would be doing wasn”t clearly specified.

“It was actually almost like someone handing you a blank check and saying, “Go imagine something and do it,” ” she says. “Basically, the Adventist church here in the Middle East felt like their church was very inwardly focused and not really reaching out … and they said to themselves “this is not healthy for any organization.” ”

Hurd-Shires immediately began to assess what she could do to make a positive impact. As she explored Beirut, she came across the Bourj Hammoud community, a traditionally Armenian suburb that in recent years has seen an influx of migrant laborers, as well as refugees from the ongoing civil war in neighboring Syria.

Many charitable organizations were already working in Bourj Hammoud and providing for particular needs. But as Hurd-Shires began to talk directly with community leaders and the directors of various local organizations, she found that the Syrian refugee community in particular was in need of a great deal of support.

Educating their children was one of their biggest struggles.

Officially, Lebanon welcomes Syrian children into its public schools. The reality, however, can be less inviting. Along with Arabic, the curriculum is largely taught in French or English. Yet even if the Syrian children show competency in one of these languages, schools often still turn them away.

“Sometimes they say it”s because of the ratio. If there are 20 Syrian kids, they say, “We don”t want to accept them if we only have 10 Lebanese kids [in the class]” because they don”t want to throw off the equilibrium of the school,” Hurd-Shires explains.

Lebanon”s entire population before the huge influx of refugees hovered around 4 million.

Because of the number of Syrian refugees fleeing into Lebanon – the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees listed 1.3 million registered refugees in Lebanon as of early 2015 – discrimination against Syrians has become commonplace.

Hurd-Shires recognized that her “blank check” project could help to alleviate some of the challenges facing the refugees. So, in the fall of 2013, she opened the Bourj Hammoud Adventist Learning Center – just a few months after her arrival in Lebanon.

Hurd-Shires already had been collecting the names of refugee children who had been out of school for two to three years.

“By the time we were ready to open [our school], we even had a waiting list,” she says. “And it”s always been that way ever since.”

The school, now entering its third academic year, is able to accommodate 70 students. With a curriculum taught in both Arabic and English, it is run by a mix of full-time staff, university students, and a few volunteers from abroad.

Even before the school opened its doors, Hurd-Shires began working to meet the needs of the refugees by providing medical supplies and food. Through a steady stream of donations from other countries – and from the local Adventist community – the center has been able to provide support.

The school also works to build lasting relationships with those it serves.

“Three days a week after school, the teachers go out and they spend time in the homes, just visiting with the families, talking with the families, befriending the families,” Hurd-Shires says.

In addition to these home visits, the school also holds regular weekly gatherings and arranges outings that bring the refugee families together.

Last June, during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, Hurd-Shires and other staff joined refugee families for iftar dinners, as they broke their fast. The school has also organized iftar meals for the families at the school.

Such gatherings have not only caused the refugees to see Hurd-Shires and her staff as extended family, but also have helped to bring the Bourj Hammoud refugee community itself closer together.

During this year”s Ramadan, “Everyone was sharing what they felt blessed for,” Hurd-Shires recalls. “And one mother said, “I was really dreading Ramadan this year because for us Ramadan is a time for family, a time where everybody goes to cook food with family and neighbors. But here, who do I have? Even though I don”t have my real family here, I came to this iftar on the first night of Ramadan, and I am with my family.” ”

Tragedy struck earlier this year when a student at the center died. But Hurd-Shires again saw how the community had grown together.

“As we were at the mom”s house, grieving with her and the family, one by one the other parents started coming to support her and be there for her,” she says.

Now, when the Bourj Hammoud Adventist Learning Center teachers and staff visit with a family in the evenings, it”s normal for other families to show up as well.

At the center of this budding community is Hurd-Shires herself.

“Alexis is trying her best to be friendly and helpful. She is always the shelter they come to whenever they have any problem,” says Noor al-Masery, a university student who works at the learning center.

“I”ve seen the impact of the center in the children”s lives … through making them feel that they are not alone in this world [and] allowing them to think about a better future through education,” says Christine Watts, another university student who has worked at the school.

Ayat Hariri, a 13-year-old student, says Hurd-Shires has become more than just a teacher. “She helped me very much, and I love her not just like a teacher, [but] like my friend.”

Hurd-Shires says she feels blessed by the support that the school has received thus far. But she has even bigger dreams. She hopes that the school someday will be able to expand to accommodate more students, or that perhaps she can open a second school elsewhere in Lebanon.

The gratitude of the refugees has been shown in some unusual ways.

“One day I came in and this one particular family was so excited to see me,” she says. “They were saying, “We have something for you! We have something for you!” ”

They gave her a dried piece of skin, which they told her was the umbilical cord of their newborn baby. In their region of Syria, she learned, it”s traditional to put the umbilical cord in a place that signifies what you want for your baby”s future.

“We don”t have big dreams of what we want him to become or do in life,” they told her. “All we know is that we want him to be like you.”

How to take action

Universal Giving helps people give to and volunteer for top-performing charitable organizations around the world. All the projects are vetted by Universal Giving; 100 percent of each donation goes directly to the listed cause. Below are links to three groups that help children in need:

  • The Shirley Ann Sullivan Foundation provides educational opportunities and seeks to protect children from exploitation and physical harm. Take action: Empower children through education.
  • World Food Program USA (Friends of WFP) supports the work of the United Nations World Food Program, the world”s largest hunger relief organization. Take action: Provide relief for Syrian refugees.
  • Globe Aware helps people and communities prosper without becoming dependent on outside aid. Take action: Volunteer to build a school in Ghana.

The Christian Science Monitor

The Student Becomes the Teacher

16 July 2015
admin
No comments
Categories: Globe Aware news

A family traveled to Siem Reap, Cambodia on spring break and shared their experience and the confidence-building activities their son engaged in during their Globe Aware volunteer vacation.

Learning in a one-to-one environment helps students build confidence. They grow in ways they never knew possible, and try new things they may have not done before.

Patrick, a Fusion Park Avenue student, is a glowing example of this. He and his family spent their spring break on a service trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

service trip to Siem Reap CambodiaPatrick”s mom sent the Park Avenue team the following email about their trip:

"I hope everyone had a nice spring break. I thought you guys might like to see some highlights from our sightseeing and service trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia with a great voluntourism organization, Globe Aware. Patrick was awesome in taking on the role of a "teacher" and the kids " despite language barriers " really connected with him.

Patrick’s Family

We volunteered at the small "English-speaking" school in one of the poorest villages just outside Siem Reap. We were charged with helping the kids ranging in age from about 7 to 15 practice their conversational English. We were with them, totaling about 50 students, for 3 days. It was an incredible experience and Patrick was really moved by it and the children he met. While some of the kids were clearly amazingly bright, because of their economic disadvantages, I”m told the vast majority of them will ultimately stop going to school by the time they reach 7th or 8th grade. And, the school”s continued sustainability also remains fragile. As inspirational our time there was, parts of it were also heartbreaking.

I hope the time we spent there, and the students” interactions with my kids, motivate them even just a little to try and keep pursuing their education in spite of the challenges they face economically and at home.

Patrick Family service trip to Siem Reap CambodiaWith that in mind, thank you all for the influence you”ve had on Patrick which helped him be able to shine in that setting and to feel he was doing something worthwhile and meaningful. You are all great mentors and have really helped Patrick emerge from a much more difficult place two years ago when he first came to Fusion. As I mentioned to Heather (Head of School, Fusion Park Avenue), he came there emotionally "broken" and you”ve all been huge contributors in his ability to heal and put him back on the path to being the kind, empathetic, and impactful member of society that I”ve always known he can be. Who knows, maybe some day he”ll go back to Cambodia or journey elsewhere and be a force that helps those children stay in school and break the seemingly inescapable cycle they are in.

I will be eternally grateful for the influence each and everyone of you have had in his development and growth.

As you”ll see, for his foray in the classroom, on one of the days we had him wear his Fusion t-shirt. I think it was a bit symbolic and a bit of a tribute to his teachers back home.

Cheers,
Judy

Self

Difference Maker

2 July 2015
Globe Aware
No comments
Categories: Globe Aware news

Ian Tilling, a retired British policeman, went to Romania to help children in need. His nonprofit Casa Ioana is a place where women and children can go to feel safe and learn how to rebuild their lives. Ian was so inspired and pleased with the impact and success of his efforts, he never left Romania. Here is his story from the The Christian Science Monitor.

World People Making a Difference

By Kit Gillet, Correspondent

effa0a0f0a538262f96ed7a70b9a5634 LBucharest, Romania — It’s been a journey to Romania of a quarter-century-and-counting for Ian Tilling. During that time he has been instrumental in setting up long-term shelters in Bucharest, the capital, initially for orphans, later for the homeless, and later still for families suffering from domestic abuse.

Casa Ioana, which he founded 20 years ago, recently opened a second night shelter in Bucharest, where women and children can go to feel safe and start to rebuild their lives. The charity is also about to roll out a series of courses to help recovering women develop job skills.

“Without a job the chances of changing the situation [for these women] is quite remote. The only way out really is through employment,” says Mr. Tilling, sitting in the historic Old Town neighborhood in the heart of downtown Bucharest.
Recommended: 11 quotes from difference makers

Tilling, a retired police detective from England, first came to Romania after seeing disturbing televised images of institutionalized children that were broadcast around the world following the Romanian revolution in December 1989.

“My wife asked me if I had seen the pictures coming out of Romania, the awful images of children languishing in orphanages,” says Tilling, explaining his first glimpse of the country that would come to dominate his life.

Within six weeks he and a British nurse had gathered up supplies and were driving across Europe in a borrowed van filled with donated baby food, diapers, toys, and medicine. They ended up at an orphanage called Plataresti, a “hellhole 40 minutes drive outside Bucharest,” Tilling recalls.

At Plataresti, Tilling was asked to help with a group of twenty 7- to- 9-year-olds who lived together in one room. Their cots were lined up 10 on each wall “like a row of prison cells” and the children never left them, he says. Most were still being bottle fed. The smell was awful. Tilling was tasked with talking with the children and keeping them clean, neither an easy task.

“For the month I was working there I was numb,” he says. Yet during the drive back across the Continent to Britain he decided he must go back to Romania. A little while later he did return, this time with 298 other people and a convoy of 100 trucks with supplies.

At the time of his first visit Tilling had been coming to the end of a long police career and wondering what to do next.

“I joined the police at 16 as a cadet. It was all I knew,” he says. He was living in the south of England with his wife and four children. Then in 1991 his eldest son, just 19, died in a motorbike accident and Tilling’s life fell apart.

In 1992 he took early retirement and moved to Romania to run a British charity he had established to provide lifelong care to some of the children from Plataresti.

“Looking back I was clearly escaping the hurt I felt back home,” he says.

However, rather than helping to heal his pain the project proved to be a nightmare itself, with the Romanian government breaking promises and officials demanding bribes. He was left trying to manage a small apartment block in Ferentari, a district of Bucharest that was fast becoming a ghetto inhabited primarily by desperately poor Roma (commonly called Gypsy) families.

“It was all unraveling, and my personal demons were coming to the front, and I was having to deal with that, too,” Tilling says.

In the winter of 1994-95 he lived with 300 Roma families in a collection of dilapidated apartment buildings. To top it off his marriage was breaking up.

“It was the lowest point in my life, but I was fortunate in that I finished my grieving process,” he says today.

Near the end of that winter friends gathered to urge him to leave, even going so far as collecting money for his plane ticket. But he didn’t want to return to England defeated. Instead he regrouped, creating a new charity – a Romanian one – that would pick up where the British charity had left off.

Casa Ioana was born. Over the next few years it became a halfway house for formerly institutionalized young adults and a resource center that helped local organizations set up a school for children with profound disabilities, as well as a kindergarten for local Roma families.

In 1997 Tilling was approached by the mayor of Bucharest with a request to open a night shelter for homeless men, who had become a growing problem in the city. He eventually agreed after the mayor offered to supply a building to house the shelter.

It opened as an emergency shelter for homeless men. But after a few years Tilling noticed the large number of women who came looking for a place to stay together with their children.

Recognizing that the system was failing these families at a time when they needed to keep together he refocused his efforts. Today, Casa Ioana is the largest provider of temporary shelter for survivors of domestic abuse in Bucharest. “I do what I do out of a profound sense of justice,” he says. “I hate to see people suffering.”

Those who know Tilling say he works day and night. “He is a one-man tornado,” says Nigel Bell, a British expatriate businessman who volunteers his time and expertise to Casa Ioana. “He tries to do everything himself; it is absolutely personal to him.”

Despite having the title of president of Casa Ioana, Tilling is often found painting the walls or cleaning the toilets.

Women and children who arrive at the shelters are left alone for the first few weeks. When they are ready they sit down with members of his team, which includes psychologists working pro bono, to develop a plan for moving forward.

Families can stay for as long as a year but Tilling says the vast majority move on within six to eight months. The women get jobs and are able to afford their own places, he says.

Casa Ioana perpetually faces challenges of space and money. It has room for 20 families and nine single women; last year it had to turn away 200 families. “We simply didn’t have room,” Tilling says.

His charity has a budget of about $100,000 a year; 80 percent of its funding comes from private donors and 20 percent from the Romanian government. It employs six staff members. Tilling himself takes no salary and lives on his British pension.

“Ian keeps us together. He brings people in from outside, and he opens the right doors,” says Monica Breazu, one of the social workers employed at Casa Ioana.

Parts of Romania are very traditional, and domestic abuse is often swept under the rug. Women who break away from abusive relationships and end up at Casa Ioana are likely to have been almost completely reliant financially on their husbands.

“Many haven’t got high school diplomas, and without that they can’t access formal training,” Tilling says. “So we created the opportunity for them to return to school. We give them the equivalent of a minimum salary in order to study.” Casa Ioana is also developing a financial-literacy program and six other courses that cover what employers will be looking for from new hires.

Tilling’s journey has never been easy. In 1998 the first Casa Ioana was ransacked by outsiders; everything was stolen right down to the fixtures and electrical wiring. “There were many occasions when I was close to saying enough is enough,” he says. “I’ve invested so much of myself. The good thing was I literally had nothing to go back to, so that was a good incentive to persevere.”

In 2000 Tilling was honored with an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II, shortly after Prince Charles visited Casa Ioana. Two years later he was awarded Romania’s equivalent.

Tilling knows that eventually he’ll have to pass the responsibility for Casa Ioana along to someone else. But it appears that it isn’t going to be anytime soon.

How to take action

Universal Giving helps people give to and volunteer for top-performing charitable organizations around the world. All the projects are vetted by Universal Giving; 100 percent of each donation goes directly to the listed cause. Below are links to groups that help children worldwide:

  • Globe Aware helps people and communities prosper without becoming dependent on outside aid. Take action: Volunteer to work helping the underprivileged in Romania.
  • Eastern Congo Initiative works with the people of eastern Congo, where local, community-based approaches are creating a sustainable society. Take action: Support access to education for girls in eastern Congo.
  • Half the Sky Foundation enriches the lives of orphans in China, offering loving, family-like care. Every orphaned child should have a caring adult in his or her life. Take action: Help a teen in Half the Sky’s youth services program.

 

Self

Make more of your time off

2 May 2015
admin
No comments
Categories: Globe Aware news

Writing for the Dallas Morning News, Lynn O' Rourke Hayes, editor of familytravel.com, offers suggestions on creating a family bucket listy with meaning.

Make your time off mean more

Are you creating your family travel bucket list? Here are five things to consider as you put yours together.

  1. Let your values lead the way. Ask yourself what aspects ' geographically, spiritually and culturally ' of the world you want to share with your loved ones. Then create your list of possible destinations and experiences accordingly.
  2. Share your heritage. Have you spent time in the area where you were raised? Have you toured the Old Country or explored your family' s genealogy? Time spent researching your family story and planning a trip to uncover more detail or to meet long-lost relatives can make for powerful bonding.
  3. Get back to nature. Head to the Galápagos Islands for friendly wildlife and stunning flora. Located 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, families can kayak, hike, swim and dive among sea lions, flamingos, blue-footed boobies, whales, dolphins and supersized tortoises. Learn about the fragile ecosystem and the dynamic geologic forces that forged the 12 major islands and numerous outcroppings.
  4. Make it multigenerational. Busy and geographically diverse families often choose vacation time for shared experiences. Join the mother-daughter team of Sarah Aciego, a distinguished glaciochemist, and her mother, professional photographer Mindy Cambiar, for their inaugural tour of West Greenland. The photo-hiking adventure offers a dramatic introduction to glaciers, icebergs, dog-sledding, indigenous life, arctic wildlife and fjords.
  5.  Give back. Make your family holiday about more than relaxing on a beach or museum-hopping in the city. Plan a volunteer vacation that helps those less fortunate. Teach English, read to children, paint a building or help plant a garden. Many resorts and cruise programs offer the opportunity to give back in local communities.

Self

Homeless are individuals, not problems

17 April 2015
admin
No comments
Categories: Globe Aware news

Marilyn Jones, correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, examines a former police officer’s unique understanding and approach to homeless individuals in his Northern California community.

Robert Anderson sees homeless people as individuals, not problems

Because of the efforts of the former police officer, many people he came to know on the streets now have stable housing "  in a place and in a program he helped create.

By Marilyn Jones, Correspondent

April 17, 2015

After retiring recently from a 32-year career on the San Mateo, Calif., police force, Robert Anderson could be taking life easy, enjoying soft breezes on a tropical beach. But after decades working to find homes for chronically homeless people, he couldn' t just walk into the sunset.

Because of his efforts, many of the people he came to know on the streets have moved into stable housing in a place and in a program Mr. Anderson helped to create.

Robert Anderson
Robert Anderson (c.) stands outside The Vendome, a shelter in San Mateo, Calif., with manager Steve Carey (l.) and Richard Gilmour, a once-homeless man helped by Mr. Anderson. (Courtesy of Robert Anderson) San Mateo, Calif.

When he was a 19-year-old political science major at San Jose State University Anderson, who had grown up in nearby San Francisco, interned as a police cadet in the San Mateo Police Department. Coming from a middle-class background, he wanted to gain some street savvy, and he found the police work fascinating. Seeing people at their worst awakened in him a desire to try to make a difference. After he graduated from college, he entered the police academy and became an officer at age 21.

Almost immediately, he started dealing with homeless people and their many problems. He describes those days as feeling like being in the movie "Groundhog Day" " every day the same calls, the same complaints from property owners and merchants, the same hassles that the homeless had caused people who came downtown.

Since homelessness is not a crime, he was limited in what he could do. One woman, for example, adamantly refused to go to a shelter and lived for years on the same downtown corner. A juniper bush on the corner actually grew around where she camped out, nearly enveloping her.

But sleeping in doorways, urinating on private property, and public drunkenness are crimes. When Anderson arrived on the scene, the same scenarios took place: The homeless were arrested, followed by periods of incarceration and a constant drifting in and out of jail or prison. Anderson also felt stymied in his efforts to curb substance abuse, chronic alcoholism, and episodes of mental illness, which often meant his calling an ambulance to take a homeless person to the emergency room.

More and more he felt frustrated.

"On the street, I had to be reactive," he says. "People would say, " Can' t you do something?' I developed relationships with the homeless, but my toolbox was limited." Most often his only contacts with the homeless occurred as the result of complaints.

He began trying to learn who these homeless people were and how they had wound up in their situation. "These are real people," he says. "Each with their own stories and different journeys that brought them to living on the streets."

A colleague of Anderson, Barbara Walt, a local business manager and treasurer of the downtown business association, recalls contacting him repeatedly to do something about the homeless people on her business property. She would arrive at work in the mornings to find them asleep by the front door. Bottles lay strewn around, and the area had been used as a public restroom.

"But Robert treated these people with respect," she says. "He would always be a gentleman, was always kind to them. He cared about them, and he would look for a safe place for them to go."

By 2006, Anderson knew the homeless situation wasn' t going to be solved through citations, temporary incarcerations, and trips to the hospital. So, along with San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer and Byron Hudson, a case manager and social worker, he decided to try a new approach.

Typically, homeless shelters require that residents already be off drugs and alcohol, having completed a treatment program. Anderson and his colleagues worked to establish what they called the Homeless Outreach Team. They based their approach on the philosophy that housing is a basic human right, even for those still abusing alcohol and drugs. HOT joined forces with the city, especially the police department, and the Downtown San Mateo Association, as well as nonprofits such as the Shelter Network of San Mateo County.

"At the time, there were 28 full-time homeless people living in downtown San Mateo," says Nancy Bush, a senior vice president at United American Bank and Anderson' s colleague at the downtown association, which was receiving hundreds of complaints every year.

HOT members, especially Anderson, worked with each homeless person to get him or her into stable housing, Ms. Bush recalls.

In 2007, the city purchased The Vendome, a run-down 19th-century hotel. The city restored it, creating 18 rooms for residents and a communal kitchen.

"Robert' s compassion and sensitivity, as well as his ability to " meet people where they are,' made him extremely successful at getting the homeless off the streets," Bush says. "He was able to identify each individual' s specific needs and worked diplomatically to address their issues."

After the first residents moved into The Vendome, HOT conducted a study to track the results of the pilot project. The study found that once participants got settled in their new home and began receiving support services, the cost of their medical care and criminal-justice interventions was reduced by 85 percent. The number of police responses involving the homeless dropped in one year by 99 percent. Although alcohol abuse wasn' t eradicated at The Vendome, there was a dramatic decrease.  

Today, The Vendome provides apartments for more than two dozen previously homeless residents. Each has chores to do and a code of behavior to follow. Every resident has a private room and is responsible for its cleanliness and maintenance. One current resident has started a garden and grows vegetables served at meals.

For some, the housing is provided free of charge. But The Vendome uses a sliding scale based on income to determine a resident' s rent. More and more residents have been able to earn money once they' ve stabilized their living arrangements.

However, not every homeless individual at The Vendome becomes a success story. Sometimes an alcohol or methamphetamine addiction returns, and the person goes back to the streets and to his or her former life. Sometimes mental illness plays a role in keeping a person from adjusting to life at The Vendome. But the majority of residents become responsible and happy as they settle into their surroundings. Some find work, and some even move into their own housing, reunite with family, and begin living independently.

Since Anderson' s retirement, another police officer, David Johnson, has  taken over Johnson' s role with HOT and The Vendome.

But Anderson has no plans to leave San Mateo. He still walks the streets, especially the downtown area, supporting the efforts of Mr. Johnson. They meet for lunch about once a month, when Anderson provides updates on what he' s been observing.

Anderson also stays in touch with homeless people he' s known for decades. One formerly homeless man (someone Anderson used to arrest and take to jail) has moved out of The Vendome into his own apartment. Not long ago, he surprised Anderson by asking him to be in his wedding. Many of Anderson' s former arrestees even have his phone number and e-mail address.

Anderson is often asked if San Mateo' s  success story could be duplicated in other cities. He' s happy to speak about it, he says, but he offers a word of caution. "This worked in our city only because I had personal relationships with these people," he explains. "But it took a very long time."

Anderson' s colleague, Ms. Walt, continues to join him in monthly walks around the downtown area. "If you could see how he' s received wherever he goes, you would know what an ambassador he is for the city," she says. "He' s beloved."

Anderson says he feels the same way about San Mateo, the city he' s served for more than 30 years " and counting.
How to take action

Universal Giving helps people give to and volunteer for top-performing charitable organizations around the world. All the projects are vetted by Universal Giving; 100 percent of each donation goes directly to the listed cause. Below are links to three organizations that help those in need:

  • Globe Aware promotes cultural awareness and sustainability by helping communities prosper without becoming dependent on outside aid. Take action: Help the underprivileged in Romania.
  • Miracles in Action provides Guatemalans in extreme poverty with opportunities to help themselves. Take action: Provide a backpack and school supplies to a poor child.
  • Children of the Night helps rescue children from prostitution. Take action: Support the work of Children of the Night With Out Walls by providing activities, therapy, and support for mentally ill people.

The Christian Science Monitor

Making a Difference

26 February 2015
admin
No comments
Categories: Globe Aware news

David Conrads, correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, recently wrote an inspiring profile on Caroline Boudreaux who works with India’s orphans and started The Miracle Foundation.

Caroline Boudreaux is a passionate, effective advocate for India’s orphans

The Miracle Foundation dramatically improves standards in a growing network of orphanages.

By David Conrads, Correspondent

Austin, Texas ' Caroline Boudreaux was not looking for her life' s work back in 1999 when she set out with a friend on a yearlong trip around the world. But she found it in a remote village of thatch-roofed mud huts in the Indian state of Odisha.

Invited to dine at the home of a local family, Ms. Boudreaux was completely unprepared for what she encountered: more than 100 filthy, emaciated orphans, wide-eyed with longing, and so starved for affection that they clamored simply to touch the two American visitors. While the adults ate chicken, the children were given rice and sugar.

boudreauxThe children slept in crowded dormitories on beds made of wooden planks " no mattresses, pillows, or blankets. When Boudreaux put one little girl to bed, who had fallen asleep in her lap, she could hear the child' s bones hit the boards.

"It was like putting her down on a picnic table," she says. "The whole experience was overwhelming. They were the sweetest, saddest children I had ever seen in my life. I knew I had to do something."

For several years prior, Boudreaux had been actively seeking a new direction in her life. Though not yet 30 years old, she seemed to have it all. The sixth of seven children from a middle-class family in Lake Charles, La., she was selling advertising for a network television station in Austin, Texas, and making more money than she ever imagined possible.

She drove a nice car, lived in a beautiful condominium in one of the city' s best neighborhoods, and led an active social life. By any measure of material success, Boudreaux had made it.

Except for one nagging problem: She found her job unfulfilling and its material benefits less and less satisfying.

"I felt empty inside," she recalls. "I felt like I was being wasted. I knew in my heart that I had a higher purpose that I wasn' t fulfilling."

Her yearlong sabbatical was not intended as a way to find that higher purpose, but find it she did. She knew when she returned to Austin in the fall of 2000 that she would devote her time and energy to relieving the plight of orphans.

Boudreaux started The Miracle Foundation that year as a typical international adoption agency, matching available children in India with Americans desiring to adopt. She changed her approach when she discovered that the process of international adoptions in India can be highly corrupt, involving a never-ending string of fees and bribes. She also realized that she could only facilitate about 20 adoptions a year. At that time, there were some 25 million orphans in India, with about 1 million new ones being added each year.

She also realized that it was the orphans who were not being offered for international adoption, who had no realistic alternative to growing up in an orphanage, who needed help the most.

Boudreaux entered into a partnership with an organization in India and began building orphanages from the ground up, training house mothers and setting high standards for nutrition, hygiene, emotional and physical care, and education.

The Miracle Foundation was very successful at building high-quality orphanages. Boudreaux knew she was onto something good, but didn' t know how to make it grow.

In 2009 she hired Elizabeth Davis, a veteran entrepreneur in Austin' s bustling high-tech world, to be the organization' s chief operating officer. In bringing her business savvy to bear on The Miracle Foundation, Ms. Davis immediately questioned why it was building new orphanages when there were already thousands operating in India.

So Boudreaux changed her approach again. She and Davis built a system for finding existing orphanages that were willing to partner with The Miracle Foundation.

Inspired by the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, they created the Miracle Foundation' s Rights of the Child, which includes the right to basics such as health care, nutrition, clean water, a stable environment, and a good education.

With these codified rights as benchmarks, they set up measurable standards and assessment tools, both to gauge an orphanage' s progress and to demonstrate the success of the foundation to prospective donors.

Orphanages that partner with The Miracle Foundation are provided with various kinds of assistance to help them bring their operations up to a high standard " from trained house mothers to a computer loaded with accounting software. While the foundation supplies support, employees of the orphanages are all Indian, as are the social workers who make periodic checks, and the country head, who oversees the operation.

Most important, during the first phase of partnership, the orphanage is given the resources to bring the ratio of children to house mothers to 20:1. (The norm in Indian orphanages is about 80:1.) When the orphanage becomes a full partner with The Miracle Foundation, the ratio is reduced even further, to 10 children for every house mother.

The homes also group both boys and girls of different ages together with one house mother, like a family, rather than grouping children of the same age together, like a school.

Several of the orphanages have shown dramatic improvement, scoring just 30 percent in their first assessment of meeting the standards, to scoring in the high 90s on the same assessment 15 months later.

"It' s remarkable," Boudreaux says. "The directors and the house mothers are doing the work. The heavy lifting is on them."

The Miracle Foundation now works with 11 orphanages, home to more than 800 children. Thanks to Boudreaux' s efforts, these children grow up in a happy, healthy, loving environment and can look forward to a future that includes vocational training or even a college education.

"The results of all her work are really apparent, the way the orphanages have turned into homes," says Nivedita DasGupta, the Miracle Foundation' s India country head, in an interview via Skype from her office in New Delhi. "The children now have loving mothers to take care of them, which they did not have before. They thrive with proper meals, education, and depth of care."

Before joining The Miracle Foundation in 2011, Ms. DasGupta worked for several nonprofit organizations in India, primarily with children. She has nothing but praise for Boudreaux. "I have never come across anybody as passionate and as competent as she is," DasGupta says.

"Caroline is one of the smartest nonprofit leaders in the US today," says Alan Graham, founder and president of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, an Austin-based organization that delivers meals to the homeless in several cities. Boudreaux once served as a volunteer for Mr. Graham and considers him a mentor. He advised her when she badly needed encouragement and direction.

"She' s got everything going for her. She' s got great communication skills. The work she does is compelling and meaningful," he says.

Chief operating officer Davis concurs. She particularly praises Boudreaux' s ability to adapt and grow as her vision for The Miracle Foundation broadens. Davis also notes Boudreaux' s ability to attract people to her cause, both in the United States and India, as employees, board members, and donors. "She does what she does for all the right reasons, and that' s what resonates," Davis says. "She has a magnetic quality about her."

Boudreaux' s immediate goal is to partner with more orphanages and serve more children. She is also hoping to expand beyond India. Her larger goal is to bring the plight of orphans to the world' s attention.

To that end, she is hoping to have the care of orphans included in the UN' s next set of sustainable development goals. Thus far, the plight of the world' s 153 million orphans is not on the UN goals list " or much on the radar of global concern, she says.

"These are the world' s children, and they belong to nobody," Boudreaux says. "What if they belonged to everybody? How cool would that be?"

• For more information, visit www.miraclefoundation.org.

How to take action

Universal Giving helps people give to and volunteer for top-performing charitable organizations around the world. All the projects are vetted by Universal Giving; 100 percent of each donation goes directly to the listed cause. Below are links to three organizations helping children in India:

    • Greenheart Travel is a nonprofit international exchange organization that provides cultural immersion programs to change lives, advance careers, and create leaders. Take action: Volunteer to teach children in India.
    • Embrace advances maternal and child health by delivering innovative solutions to the world' s most vulnerable populations. Take action: Provide infant warmers for newborn babies in India.
    • Globe Aware promotes cultural awareness and sustainability. Take action: Volunteer to fight poverty in India by working with children in slums.

The Christian Science Monitor

Family Volunteer Travel

13 February 2015
Globe Aware
No comments
Categories: Globe Aware news

Writing for Chase magazine, freelancer Michelle Seitzer looked at the myriad opportunities and ways to turn a regular vacation into a meaningful vacation through volunteer travel. Globe Aware founder Kimberly Haley-Coleman offered some great insight on what to look for and how to pick volunteer vacations that provide the best return for destination communities and countries.

Family Travel That Gives Back: A Meaningful Vacation

Going Away for a Good Cause
By Michelle Seitzer

Americans sometimes choose work over play — a 2014 study found that more than 150 million vacation days go unused every year — but a new kind of family adventure may be just the thing to give today’s modern family a high-quality break.

A volunteer vacation, or service trip, offers an opportunity to do good while working together as a family. A growing number of organizations now make it possible to do it without spending weeks or months away.

founderkimberlyKimberly Haley-Coleman founded Globe Aware to weave her passion for cultures, languages, and out-of-the-box travel with the strong demand for short-term volunteer trips. Her non-profit fosters "a mutual learning experience" benefiting travelers and individuals in needy communities worldwide.

"We' re not putting people on ladders or going into war zones," says Haley-Coleman. The liability is too high for her small company, and it' s not their mission " which may come as a relief to those worried about the challenges of global volunteer work.

Globe Aware specializes in community-driven projects that can be completed in a week, from Saturday to Saturday, without need for language or technical skills. And there are no age restrictions. Participants have ranged from 2 to 95 years old.

Most of the week is devoted to project work and organic interactions with local residents, but volunteers still visit landmark sites like Machu Picchu and Angkor Wat. "We go to tourist favorites but focus on the cultural awareness window to the world," she says.

"It' s tangible, visible giving, not just writing a check."

Kimberly Haley-Coleman, Globe Aware

On one of their Cambodia trips, volunteers assembled wheelchairs for land mine victims. In Guatemala, they installed concrete floors and outdoor garden spaces in the homes of impoverished single mothers.

"It' s tangible, visible giving, not just writing a check," says Haley-Coleman.

First-World Problems, Illuminated

Waiting to complete an international adoption inspired Mary Voorhies and Philip Southwick to take a working vacation to Nicaragua, where they helped to deliver clean water and establish modern bathrooms in rural communities.

For Voorhies, the most valuable takeaway was this realization: "Road bumps in my every day life are all now first-world problems."
An Unexpected Gift … and Guilt

Krista McKay accompanied her nurse-practitioner mother on a medical mission trip to Honduras that she described as "an operation in improvisation." The small but mighty team of doctors, surgeons, and nurses from a suburban Philadelphia hospital has visited the same villages for more than five years now. Though she is not a healthcare professional, McKay was invited to join the group on a recent visit after lending her marketing and fundraising expertise because the volunteers have to cover all costs themselves, including medical supplies.

In the heart of the village, the group sets up mobile clinics where locals line up to be seen for anything from common cold symptoms to gaping wounds to complications from diabetes. They also perform surgeries in the local hospital, where the team scrubs with a wash basin because there' s no running water. Patients wait with outdated x-ray printouts while wild dogs run in and out of the building.

The strengthened relationship McKay and her mother gained from working side-by-side in hard healthcare situations " treating seizures on the spot, in one instance " made the trip worthwhile. Still, McKay returned with mixed feelings. "I didn' t feel like what I did was enough. You feel good for doing something good, but you also have guilt for having more than you need."
Planning a Giving Vacation

Motivated to make a difference in someone else' s life " yours included " on a service adventure abroad? There are risks and rewards associated with giving this way, which is why you should do adequate research when choosing an organization to handle your trip, says Haley-Coleman.

Unsure about bringing younger family members? Evaluate what exposure they' ve already had, and consider a closer-to-home Latin American country vs. crossing an ocean for their first experience.

Choosing to do good on your next family vacation instead of simply consuming goods (or staying behind the desk and letting your employer have your unused vacation days) is a wise investment that can pay off in many ways.

 

Self

Archives