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Conde Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist 2024

Enriched Souls, Kinder Hearts, Open Minds, Meaningful Travel, Giving Back, Service Projects, Voluntourism

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Quick Tips for a Successful Volunteer Abroad Experience

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Last week’s post explained why voluntourism is such an amazing way of traveling so this week I’d like to follow up with some tips on how to get the most out of your volunteer abroad experience.

Let me start by telling you exactly what to expect – expect absolutely NOTHING. The worst thing you can do is go into a volunteer abroad experience with a ton of preconceived ideas and expectations because chances are it’s going to be nothing like what you expected. While you may have an interest in “volunteering abroad” for a particular cause, what that really means is that you want to step into an organization in a different culture that has a unique set of subjects they are trying to help, a unique set of employees and volunteers, and a unique set of rules, values, priorities and issues. No matter how much research you do you won’t really know what you’re getting yourself into until you get there. So be extremely excited for the brand new out-of-your-world experience that you are about to embark upon but go in with an open mind and a clean palate because no volunteer experiences are the same.

Below are some tips to help you get the most out of your experience. This list could obviously go on and on but these are the things I would not have fully understood if I hadn’t experienced them first-hand throughout my journeys. If you have any other tips please leave them in the comments below!

1. Embrace the experience & ignore the inconveniences. Volunteering in a foreign country is a once in a lifetime experience (even if you do it more than once!). Ignore the inconveniences that you would never put up with at home. For example, if the shower only runs freezing cold water with no pressure from a faucet located only 2 feet above the ground, that’s okay, you’re not there for a spa. You’ll be back home to your jet streams in no time so don’t let these little discomforts affect what you’re there to accomplish.

2. Stay away from negative people. You’ll likely be surrounded by a positive group of volunteers who love every minute of what they’re doing. However, every now and then someone comes along who hates absolutely everything and has no problem contaminating your experience with their negativity. Whether you want it to or not, their negativity will creep into your mind and affect how you view everything going forward. While they may have good reasons for their opinions, you should have the chance to make your own assessments. So, to the extent you can, stay away from these people. Be the positive person you would want everyone else to be. Positivity is contagious, let it shine through you.

3. Talk to the organization’s directors/volunteer leaders as much as you can. You are there to learn and the people working there are a wealth of knowledge and stories. If it’s a big organization and there are a lot of other volunteers it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. Don’t let that happen, seek them out and spend time with them. They will appreciate your curiosity and you will have a richer experience for it.

4. Bond. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can bond with people through volunteer work. You’ll finally be rid of email, facebook, twitter and all of the other daily gizmos and gadgets that distract you from fully engaging in conversation. The unique experiences you’ll face when you’re volunteering can turn strangers into fast friends. I still keep in touch with people from almost every volunteer trip I’ve been on. These friendships make the experience all the more enriching.

5. Don’t be shocked if things aren’t run exactly as you’d like. I admit, I’ve struggled with this periodically. I’ve been to organizations that fall into all areas of the spectrum; from those that are extremely well run and organized, providing the ultimate volunteer experience, to those that are not so well run. I spent many years working in a corporate law firm, which was a well oiled machine built for optimal efficiency, so I may have been particularly susceptible to falling into an overly critical mindset. I would hate to be someone who marches in telling people how to run things better after being there for only a few days so I’ve found it’s best to wait for an organization to ask for feedback. If they ask for it it shows that they care about continually improving, as every company should. Just as with everything in life, no organization is perfect, and the smaller ones who need the most help are often the ones who could benefit from some changes. I believe in supporting these organizations (provided that they are legitimate) just as much as the larger ones who’ve got it all figured out. The more help they get, the more effective and efficient they can become.

6. Follow the volunteer organization’s rules. While some rules may seem arbitrary and unreasonable to you (i.e., no drinking on the premises), those rules are there for a reason, placed after years of trial and error that you were not a part of. You are only there for a short time, don’t try to rock the boat and be a rebel.

7. Remember that you are not there to save the world. You will likely learn and gain more from your volunteer experience than you give. You are there to help out, to learn and to then spread awareness – that is the beauty of volunteer work.

 

What is Voluntourism Really About? & 5 Reasons Why It’s Better than Just Sitting on a Beach All Day

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This week I would like to introduce you to guest blogger Liz Longacre, a colleague of mine who shares some of the same passion for travel that includes volunteer opportunities. She shares some of her inspiring experiences so you can see how voluntourism can help you gain more than you give.

Let’s start with the definition of “voluntourism”. Voluntourism is exactly what is sounds like, volunteering while engaging in traditional tourism activities when you travel. While that sounds so simple it’s really about so much more. It’s about cultural immersion, participation and exploration. It’s about meeting people from all over the world and from all walks of life and engaging in something truly unique with them that bonds you in a deep way.

When you volunteer you get to totally immerse yourself in the culture by working, and even living, with the local people. You get to hear their stories and learn their history. You get to interact with other travelers from all over the world. You get to choose a cause you care about and then participate in it in a unique and amazing way. While you may have to do some hard work, it’s not sitting in a cubicle watching the clock tick kind of work. It’s exhilarating and unique and challenging and it’s for the benefit of those who need it most. By adding tourism activities you get to explore the country and just have fun, because you work hard and you deserve some fun!! It’s the absolute best way to get the most out of a country and out of a vacation in a short amount of time.
So if you haven’t given voluntourism a try yet, here are 5 reasons why you don’t want to miss out!!

1. Cultural Immersion. The days of traveling to another country merely to sit at a hotel resort sipping mai tai’s and baking in the sun all day every day are somewhat over. From terrorist attacks, to tsunamis, to earth quakes, to economic collapses, to social media, our world has become smaller and smaller. We now want to engage more, learn more and interact more. Spending a ton of money to fly to a foreign country and never leave your resort now seems frivolous. Through voluntourism holidays you can still get your beach and mai tai time in, but you get so much more. There is no better and faster way to immerse yourself in a culture than to work side by side with it’s people for a cause you share together.

2. Dissolve Stereotypes. It comes as no surprise that people everywhere have stereotypes. Stereotypes of Americans are not always flattering. Prove people wrong. When you volunteer abroad you get to spend a lot of quality time with local people. You can show them what being an American is all about. Be helpful, gracious, courteous, respectful and eager to listen and learn. Slowly but surely you will influence people’s image of not only you but the culture you represent.

3. Knowledge is Contagious. The more you learn on your travels, the more eager you’ll be to continue that learning process when you get home and to educate others about what you’ve learned. My first volunteer abroad experience was in Thailand at an elephant sanctuary. At the time I didn’t know just how harmful it was to go on elephant rides or to watch elephants paint a picture. My instincts told me it wasn’t good, but I didn’t know just how devastating a life those elephants live to provide entertainment for tourists. My point is, I learned from the people working at that sanctuary and I came home and I shared that knowledge. In doing so I affected what other people participate in when they travel and that shared knowledge became invaluable.

4. It’s Good for Your Health. Volunteering has been shown to help decrease rates of depression, increase your functional ability and reduce your chances of getting heart disease! We’ve all had bouts of depression where it feels like your life is a mess, nothing’s going your way and the future looks bleak. There is nothing better at getting you out of your own head, than helping others, whether they be animals or people or the environment. You may think you have it bad but I guarantee you others have it far worse and they could use your help. In helping them, you gain a little perspective that goes a long way.

5. It May Change Your Life. It certainly changed mine.
So whatever your interests may be, if you want to get a little more out of life and out of your vacation, consider including some volunteer work in your travels. You will gain way more than you give.

Author BIO:
Liz Longacre is the founder of Your Time Travels, a travel company for animal lovers. Your Time Travels offers voluntourism trips with animal welfare projects and African safaris. To learn more visit www.yourtimetravels.com.


How Volunteer Work Abroad Gave Me the Experience of a Lifetime

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Do you ever think about how much we often take for granted? Warm running water, a roof over our heads, food, new clothing, access to medical care, our physical abilities? I know I often overlook these things.

I had a reality check when I decided to volunteer in Ghana, Africa, with the NGO Unite for Sight (UFS). I had wanted to visit Africa for years because that’s where my parents were from but I didn’t just want any ordinary trip. I wanted to really immerse myself in the country and get to know the people and their culture, so I decided to volunteer.

I was nervous before leaving, I had no idea what to expect. But when I got there, I found the people to be so kind, honest and welcoming that my nerves quickly subsided. The people had such a contagious sense of pride and joy in their country that I felt like I belonged there.
I volunteered with UFS for three weeks. We spent most of our time going from village to village providing free eye care to the local people. We typically saw 150 to 200 patients per day (sometimes double that amount).

Ironically most of the patients we saw had perfect vision. What they suffered from were infections, such as bacterial conjunctivitis, as a result of the environment they lived in, their lifestyle, and their lack of access to medical care.
Every day we received at least 5 to 10 cataract/pterygium patients who would require surgery. We took down their names, the village they were from, and their chiefs’ names and scheduled one day per week to perform all surgeries. We typically ended up with 60 to 100 surgeries – all to be performed in one day.

It’s hard to describe the speed and efficiency we needed to work at in order to keep up with that many surgeries. When you’re working under that much pressure you don’t really have time to grasp how amazing it is to give people their sight back. But when we would come back a couple of days later to do post-ops and our patients would be crying with joy and gratitude because they could see their families’ faces for the first time in years, that’s when the magnitude of this work would hit us. It was quite literally, the BEST feeling ever.

One of our patients, a 78 year old grandfather, had lost his sight over 50 years ago. Because he couldn’t see, he couldn’t work and his family suffered for it. His wife found some work but it was often not enough to afford food and clothing for the entire family. To help support the family, his son started working at the age of ten instead of attending school. His eye condition not only cost him his vision, in many ways it cost his family parts of their future.
Moments like these made me realize how easily we take the privilege of sight, among other things, for granted. In America, we have so many resources at our fingertips. A ten year old boy would never have to sacrifice his education in order to start working.
One of my most memorable experiences in Ghana was when we visited Langa Primary School. We volunteered all day with the children there, who were so full of energy and joy. After classes were over we gathered with the children in the center of the school yard for some fun. The children taught us their games and traditional dances and we ran around with them as if we were children ourselves. It was so amazing to fully immerse ourselves in their childhood activities.

I’m so grateful that I decided to volunteer in Ghana. I was so blown away not only by the kindness of the people but by their strength. It seemed that regardless of what they were struggling through they always seemed to see the bright side of life. They always believed in a higher power and they never gave up hope.
I may have helped the local people with their medical eye treatments but they gave me so much more in return. They taught me to appreciate the things I take for granted, to be more selfless and help others in need whenever I can, to always have a positive attitude, and to truly understand what it means to be strong.

The next time I travel abroad, I hope to find a volunteer experience that’s as amazing as this one was!

Poonam Nathu

Newsletter-Unique Opportunities II

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Message from my Heart

This experience was especially touching for me because in May 1997 I was involved in an accident which left me millimeters away from being paraplegic. I count my blessings daily for the medical facilities, doctors, nurses, countless hours of therapy and rehab that I had the privilege of having access to. Not to mention all the family & friends for all their emotional support. I was able to recover within 18 months to full mobility and today I can share my stories with my 2 beautiful daughters.



Today’s Inspiring Story

The temporary lack of mobility that I experienced was nothing compared to that of the estimated 100 million people in developing nations around the world who need a wheelchair but cannot afford one.

Fortunately for some of them, there are organizations like
Free Wheelchair Mission, who are dedicated to providing the gift of mobility to everyone from children to seniors in these impoverished communities.

 

Our second day in Lima, Peru was incredible. We started the morning off at the Camino de Vida facility assembling wheelchairs. Camino de Vida works in partnership with Free Wheelchair Mission, and our team of 24 assembled 4 wheelchairs within an hour and a half.

The assembly work was fun as we tried to race each other in completing the task. It’s amazing how durable these wheelchairs are even though at first glance you may not think so.

We then split into smaller teams of 8 and hopped into vans loaded with 2 wheelchairs each.

Off we went to different areas where individuals had been identified and selected through a government process to receive these wheelchairs.

The distributions are prioritized based on the needs. My group of 8 provided the first wheelchair to a 70 year old woman who was paralyzed and immobile. The second one we delivered for a 3 year old boy whose legs were amputated earlier this year, and he continues to be in the hospital due to a lack of diagnosis.

Over two days, our group of 48 assembled and distributed 12 wheelchairs.

It was such an amazing way to give as we learned how to work as a team to assemble them, and then experienced the emotions as we distributed them.

Driving to the different communities gave us an opportunity to experience Peru from a local’s perspective and not just as tourists.

We will forever treasure this unique opportunity to serve others and the perspective it gives our own lives. Our children are back in school, the days will get shorter and cooler, but life’s adventures, challenges, and rewards will continue. Stay tuned for the next issue of
Matters of the Heart!!!

Newsletter-Unique Opportunities

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Message from my Heart

I know it’s been a while since my last newsletter, but I hope that you have had a great summer. I’ve had some very unique opportunities to experience giving and quality family time with my immediate and extended family this summer.Starting with a service trip to Peru in South America with a family group of 46 people, and ending with a family wedding in Toronto, Canada with the opportunity for a reunion and a visit with my 91 year old grandmother.

With so much to share, I’ll dedicate this issue to the shoe distribution that we experienced in the outskirts of Lima, Peru with Samaritan’sFeet, an organization that I’ve really enjoyed working with and supporting.

Today’s Inspiring Story

You may remember one of my previous newsletters which featured Emmanuel (Manny) Ohonme, founder of Samaritan’s Feet. I was truly honored to be working with his team on his incredible mission to put 10 million pairs of shoes on the feet of 10 million orphans and impoverished children around the world. Manny wishes to make a difference in the lives of millions by continuing the legacy of love and hope which he received with his first pair of shoes at the age of 9 in Lagos, Nigeria.

Vacations That Matter had an amazing opportunity to collaborate with Samaritan’s Feet to include a shoe distribution service project for the extended family with a mission to serve in Peru. And the privilege was all mine to join them with my 11 year old daughter to experience giving in such a unique way.

On the afternoon of June 20, 2011, 48 of us boarded a bus to one of the poorest areas of Lima to distribute 300 pairs of shoes with our local representative for Samaritan’s Feet, Pastor Samuel Santa Maria, and his dedicated friendly translator. What a humbling experience it was to wash the feet of children, women and men, and to provide them with a new pair of shoes while giving them a message of hope. Seeing the smiles and excitement in their faces was well worth the long bus ride to get to the distribution site. Even with our limited Spanish language skills, we managed to get our message of love and hope across to them.

We could have stayed many more hours and distributed many more shoes because the need so outweighs the supply we had. It just gives us a reason to want to go again and serve those who we sadly missed.

As one of the teenagers in our group said, “Everyone is the same, no matter how different our lives are. Each person has value and deserves to be treated with no less respect than anyone else. I really picked this up when washing people’s feet. It really was a humbling experience”.

This experience was not exclusive to a few, but was felt by the entire family group. What could be more gratifying than sharing these moments with your loved ones while enjoying the sights, culture and people of Lima and Cusco.

As you may have guessed, a trip to Peru would not have been complete without a visit to the awe-inspiring kingdom of the Inca’s, Machu Picchu. The scenery was breathtaking and definitely worth the hike.

Stay tuned for the next couple of newsletters where I will share the other unique service projects that we participated in during the same trip to Peru.

 

Day 2-Vancouver, BC

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We were really excited that it wasn’t going to rain today and we could spend the day going up to Grouse Mountain and the Capilano Suspension Bridge. We took the free shuttle (as long as you have purchased the Gondola ticket) from Canada Place to the base of Grouse Mountain where you board the Gondola. It takes you up over 3000 ft in just 8 minutes. Once you get up to the top, you can enjoy many activities such as a Lumbar Jack show which was entertaining. They also have a birds show, 2 movies, the grizzly bear habitat, the wind turbine, a zip line, paragliding, and a wolf exhibit.

We then took the shuttle down the hill to the Capillano Suspension bridge. It was very exciting and educational for the kids. They participated in a fun scavenger hunt going around identifying weather patterns, different types of trees and their characteristics, looking for forest animals and learning about their natural habitats, and comparing their own wing span to common birds that live in the forest. The Cliffwalk with it’s high, narraw, and partial glass bottom walkway was a thrilling experience although it could be a bit scary for those afraid of heights.

After our full day of exploring the tourist activities of Vancouver, we took the bus to the ferry terminal, the ferry (SEABus) across to the waterfront and then walked to a nearby restaurant called Nuba for some amazing Lebanese food. The restaurant was recommended by our concierge at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. Just outside our hotel,  we stopped for dessert and had some of the best Gelato in Vancouver at Bella Gelateria.

Visiting Seattle and Vancouver, BC

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I’m not sure how many of you have made last minute plans for a quick getaway or vacation, but my family made some very last minute plans to visit a cousin in Seattle and while we are doing that, why not drive upto Vancouver, British Columbia.

So, here we are. We flew into Seattle yesterday evening. Left for Vancouver this morning which was a quick and easy 3 hour drive. We checked into our beautiful hotel on the waterfront, The Fairmont Pacific Rim. Asked the concierge for some sightseeing, restaurant and most importantly some volunteer or service project recommendations. Since we didn’t have the opportunity to pre-plan the volunteer project, let’s see if it works out.

We already tried to contact the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society but they didn’t have any projects for us. Our Concierge also tried to see if we could volunteer with the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, but no luck there either. We will continue trying.

In the meantime, we plan to have fun in Vancouver. This is our first visit to this lush and beautiful city, and we’ve already had a fabulous first day. We spent some time walking around the waterfront, but the highlight of the day was a Seaplane ride for a half hour city tour giving us a birds eye view of Vancouver and what a sight it was!!


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Day 7- Final Day in Cusco

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We were up bright and early today for our final service project day. We were only going to be at the Albergue for half a day so that we would have the afternoon to experience the sights of Cusco, do any last minute souvenir shopping and pack since we have an early morning flight back home.
The team was anxious to make more progress today even though we knew the work would have to be continued and finished by future volunteers. It was satisfying to see the structure coming up, especially the log fence which we managed to get up and even paint a few pictures on. The younger volunteers really enjoyed the painting. It gave them an opportunity to leave a personal mark on their hard work and made the fence more fun for the kids at the Albergue.

We enjoyed another healthy lunch before saying goodbye to all. We headed back to the hotel, showered up and hit the cobblestone streets and main square in Cusco. We really enjoyed the walk, the sights, the shopping, and couldn’t decide where to grab dinner. One of the most beautiful sights was the church at the hotel Monastario. The carvings were so intricate and the colors so vibrant.
Supporting a local street vendor

Our trip to Peru was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed all the sights. Machu Picchu was definitely a highlight, but all the service projects we worked on throughout the week were just as enjoyable, fulfilling and really gave us an opportunity to interact with the local Peruvian people. They are very friendly, grateful and welcoming. I would definitely recommend Peru as a vacation destination with an opportunity to give back….


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