14 Feb 2012

So I'm pretty well organised for heading off to Nairobi on March 14th. I've had most of my vaccines, just need to get things like mosquito net, travel insurance, etc. Very excited. Also, trying to plan what other adventures I'll have when I have my weekends off! More to come, I hope :) Vx

12 Feb 2012

this blog for her > Rest in peace Whitney Houston. My prayers to her family and to all her fans throughout the world. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fVyO0I_kJuw#! today when I heard the music of Whitney Houston in the song - step by step...... every times when these word play ......i thinking of her and myself.... "...and there's a road I have to follow, a place I have to go. well, no-one told me just how to get there. But when I get there I'll know 'cause I'm taking it ....." her music and my volunteers has always been my inspiration. http://www.gofundme.com/my-dream-never-come-true

10 Feb 2012

We have relaunched!!! Welcome! The site is currently in Beta testing at the moment so while we hope things are going smoothly for you all, please bare in mind that there may be some hiccups along the way; which we are trying to iron out. If you do experience problems using the site, please go to the 'feedback' thread in the GENERAL forum and log any issues. Alternatively email info@worldwidehelpers.org and let us know.  The site is, as I am sure you can all see, MAGNIFICENT, so magnificent infact that we have yet to finish all the different services we will be bringing you! You may find at this stage that there are some areas of the site that you can't access. Don't worry, they will be available to you very soon. For now register, login and have a play around with the site.  Welcome once again, and we look forward to getting to know you all a little better in the worlds first Volunteering Community. HAVE FUN!!! WWH

10 Feb 2012

The Buenos Aires Project (a volunteer experience) My name is Bree and my friend Izzie and I came to Buenos Aires from Sydney, Australia two and a half months ago. We have been volunteering with Voluntario Global in orphanages known as ‘Querubines’ (meaning ‘Angels’) outside of the city located in Beccar and Olivos. Their purpose is to give children from complicated backgrounds a second chance at a family lifestyle in a caring and stable environment. I (Izzie) was placed in an orphanage situated in a suburb called Olivos. Like Bree’s  is as well, Olivos is a middle class suburb on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. The house was donated with the intent of providing a comfortable, safe neighbourhood for the kids to grow up in. I remember my first, not-so-shiny-impressions of the 1.5 hour commute to Olivos, however I quickly became accustomed with the help of my iPod and easy ability to power-nap! The orphange (or ‘homenage’ being its preferred name) turned out to be a sweet, little, yellow house. One seems to picture an orphanage in a certain way, but I soon learnt that it was not dissimilar to a typical home- only one which houses a larger sized family. The homenage in Olivos is home to 10 children at the moment. With all girls except for two boys, the youngest is 3 and the eldest, 16.  With that great range I have been able to a do a variety of activities with the different kids as well as helping out the ‘Tias’ (the women who work there). An average day may consist of helping the elder girls with their English homework, singing along and teaching the words of ‘Baby’ to some Justin Beiber-obsessed tweens, playing in the plaza and copying out pictures of Hello Kitty! For Bree, having a houseful of little boys, it’s a bit of a challenge but they’re always happy to muck around outside and get their hands dirty with colouring and paints. Being as hard-working as they are, the Tias couldn’t always give me things to do for them. This combined with the language barrier certainly made things difficult in the beginning. I would sometimes find myself feeling like more of a nuisance than a help, but no sooner learnt that like any other household, plates need to be washed and clothes need to be folded and by talking more with them I would no longer feel like a stranger in their home. When I initially started fundraising, I didn’t really know what I was fundraising for! All I knew was that I would be working somewhere in need of donations and I knew that 3 months with the same people was enough time to become emotionally invested. I created something called ‘The Buenos Aires Project’, writing a letter to friends and family explaining what I knew about what I was doing and that, with promised updates and a final report, we had a chance to make a contribution to something worthwhile and see it in the process. For me (bree), I created a Facebook event inviting friends and family to a cinema fundraising night I held at my local cinema and I found that everyone was more than happy to help. Like Izzie, I also sent an email around to friends of my parents who were also more than willing to contribute to what I was doing in South America. In our second week in Buenos Aires, we had a meeting at Voluntario Global to give us information of where we would be volunteering, the days and times, and also a brief overview of the organisation. We found it very helpful and well managed and we were given timetables of our placement days and the addresses of the orphanages we would be volunteering at. On our first day of volunteering, a Voluntario global staff member came with us to introduce us to the Tias and to make sure everything was going smoothly, and that we knew our way there and back. It made the day less daunting and we felt more comfortable. During the two months we have been volunteering, we have never had a problem at the orphanage or with Voluntario Global. They send regular emails and updates and we know we always have that help there if we need it. So when we were thinking of how to donate the money raised in an appropriate manner, we emailed Voluntario Global and they got back to us immediately and arranged a meeting to discuss what was to be done. We found the meeting very reassuring as they told us the money would go directly to the orphanage and they also spoke to the Tias and emailed us a list of things they actually needed. With the money raised we are in the process of purchasing a freezer, stoves and medications for the children. Sadly we know that Querubines’ needs extend far beyond what Izzie and I can provide. However, we are glad we can help and do something that we are sure others have done and will do later. We were really lucky to get to work with this project as with everything the children have been through, the boys and girls are still able to experience family atmosphere and just act like normal kids! We would recommend Voluntario Global to anyone thinking of doing something like this as they are a reliable volunteer organisation and are always willing to help and provide information. It has been a great experience!  http://blog.voluntarioglobal.com.ar/

10 Feb 2012

 We have relaunched!!! Welcome! The site is currently in Beta testing at the moment so while we hope things are going smoothly for you all, please bare in mind that there may be some hiccups along the way; which we are trying to iron out. If you do experience problems using the site, please go to the 'feedback' thread in the GENERAL forum and log any issues. Alternatively email info@worldwidehelpers.org and let us know. The site is, as I am sure you can all see, MAGNIFICENT, so magnificent infact that we have yet to finish all the different services we will be bringing you! You may find at this stage that there are some areas of the site that you can't access. Don't worry, they will be available to you very soon. For now register, login and have a play around with the site. Welcome once again, and we look forward to getting to know you all a little better in the worlds first Volunteering Community. HAVE FUN!!! WWH

10 Feb 2012

I have just returned from spending 6 months in the Philippines. There, I kept a blog, which can easily be viewed at: http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog/saharandreams/2/tpod.html I will be returning to the Philippines in December again, to continue on the work, and am keen to meet up with any other potentially interested volunteers. The Kids Worldwide centre, located in Blissful Family Village, is an amazing place! The people are so inspired, friendly and interested in deepening spiritual connections with one another, as well as through yoga and meditation practices. This is all "earthed" in the community land project and trying to uplift and serve the local people in the area through co-operatives and the act of making a living through spreading the ideas of vegetarian diet etc. The Kids Worldwide centre, which is where I have been mainly engaged -  is focusing on trying to create an area for youth to meet, be creative and in the future to get involved in environmental and outdoor activities. We have many musical instruments and the centre is becoming a hub for young energy and artistic creation. Our next idea is to create an adventure playground and activities to involve the children from the local orphanages and to engage and inspire them during thier holidays.  Come and help us out! We would love to see you there!

10 Feb 2012

Many people have the perception that working and holidays is something for the young and adventurous. Well, that might be so for a lot of projects, but not so for the people that come to TCDF Eco-Logic. Adventure is in your heart and age has nothing to do with it. It does not matter if you are 21 or 71. Really, you are the one who makes the difference, together with us! Over the years TCDF Eco-Logic has had many volunteers, guests, visitors of different cultures and ages, who spent a part of their holiday in helping the foundation. By doing (volunteer)work, by promoting us, do some fundraising and so on. Singles, couples, we even have had a number of families who stayed and worked with us. Some stay for a week, some for a very long time. Here are some examples of the ‘young at heart ones’: Gini A very creative Dutch woman in her 50’s, came to stay with TCDF Ecologic for a period of 2 months. During that period she lived in one of our clay-houses (the dormitory was not her thing) and her input, energy and creativity made a big change around the place. To name a few things she did – working in the vegetable garden - : • 30 signs with pictures and letters, to be used in the horseback riding area for educational purposes • designed bags for the students of our Special School to make • upgraded the look of our restaurant • input for more information on the project and the work we do for people who come and work with us • made hundreds of beautiful pictures for us; many of those are used for this website • had an open mind and open arms for all of us who needed some advice Before coming to us Gini did a lot of promotional work for the foundation and she arrived with boxes full with material for the horses, games and toys for the Special Students and a lot of toothpaste for young children. Gini made TCDF her home and she left a big part of herself here. She’ll be back! Loes, Truus en Reina Three Dutch ladies came to TCDF Eco-Logic for a working holiday of three weeks. They brought us a lot of laughter, very good energy and they worked very hard on the upgrading of our Art Eco Shop and the entrance of our restaurant. Thanks to Loes, Truus and Reina we have a two beautiful decorated flower ponds at the entrance of our restaurant. The Art Eco shop was painted, had shelves made and display areas for selling the art of our Special Students. Loes, Truus en Reina were very active on fundraising for TCDF before their arrival. Thanks to their promortional work in Holland the students of the Special School now have a sawing machine and a lot of material. They are learning how to use this machine as you read this. Thanks ladies! See you again! Bianca A beautiful energetic lady in her 30-ties came from Holland and joined us for several weeks. Very motivated, very active and always with a smile on her face, she worked as a volunteer in the Eco&Kids project. Gardening, working with the kids on Saturdays. Next to that she spent hours and hours on the decoration of several benches around our Special School. They are a beautiful mosaic now, and are used as and educational tool too, because Bianca mosaic-ed it all with numbers. Lucy and David They came to have a look, Lucy and David from Holland. They stayed for 6 months. Lucy and David, both in their twenties, worked on anything you can imagine on our premises. They made furniture, they worked in the gardens, build clay houses, organized activities for our kids, hosted our volunteers. They became a big part of TCDF and when they left, this place became a lot quieter. But they will return, as all good friends do eventually! Several families with children Numerous families came and stay with TCDF Eco-Logic. Families with very young kids, families with teenagers, families with kids in their 20ties even. They all participated in some of the activities and work around here. Trees have been plated by them, many children made friends for life with the local kids when they participated in the Saturday activities, kids discovered – together with their parents – the nature around us on bamboo-rafts and on hikes and short jungle treks, they cooked a meal for their parents in a special kids-cooking course with our cook. They played in our special school, on the playgrounds, in the river and in the special playroom at the restaurant. They had the time of their life, well their parents enjoyed their joy and a wonderful holiday. The list can go on, continuously. • Ben. Who comes every year, builds, organizes workshops and runs for TCDF for fundraising. • Jan and Astrid. Regular guests. Jan biked to Santiago-de-Compostella for TCDF. Astrid is the best toothpaste collector for the toothpaste project of TCDF. • Louis and Nelleke. Retired and big supporters of TCDF. They visit on a yearly base. Thanks to Louis we have the most beautiful flower gardens around the guest-accommodation. • Bob and Truus. Regular visitors. Bob made beautiful promotional movies for the foundation. • Lonneke. Guest and friend of the foundation. Lonneke organizes yoga and meditation holidays. One of her destinations is Paksong! • And many more! Traveling, sharing your world and experiences, learning and exchanging culture is not bound by age. Come and pay us a visit and experience it by yourself! Together we can make the difference! Ingrid and Rose TCDF Eco-Logic

10 Feb 2012

The pom pom island volunteer project is protecting a coral reef by replanting damaged corals, protecting turtles by eliminating predation on adults and eggs and rebuilding shark populations.  We work in the coral triangle with the very best diversity in the world.  We teach you to dive or you can simply snorkell.  From 2 weeks to 12 weeks this isa project to really make a difference and do something worth while you gain knowledge and experience on a beautiful white sand coral island. look at our website or  blogs for more information. Sharks - turtles - coral planting - volunteers  volunteer experiences blog

10 Feb 2012

As coordinator of Unique Friends Humanitarian and Development Organisation, one of the questions I ask myself most is, “Can I really make a lasting change in people’s lives?” The simple answer is: Yes, you can. The problems in our communities are vast. There aren’t enough resources. Education isn’t always available. Clean water can be difficult to find. Poverty is overwhelming. It can be difficult to look into the eyes of a child who is being treated and know that they very well may be injured or become sick again after returning to the same environment that made them sick to begin with. Many times, though, we have an opportunity to touch lives in a very lasting way. So many people suffer from lack of access to the most basic medical care. Every time I travel to rural communities, I hear of someone new who has died from “sickness,” or some other undiagnosed illness that likely could have been treated. Adults and children alike suffer from infections. They urinate blood, they go blind, and diarrhea leaves them constantly weak and distracted. The most basic treatment really does mean the difference between life and death for many of these people. And that’s just the beginning of the difference we can make. I’m always humbled by the kindness shown by these people even in their situation. People who have nothing strive to make you fill comfortable when you visit their communities to offer the little help you may have. There’s something else, too. When you care enough about others to leave your family, friends and comforts behind to make a difference in their lives, something happens inside of you. You discover that the secret to happiness is not in what you have, it’s in what you give away. And in that way, you will absolutely make a difference—in yourself.

10 Feb 2012

CBSM Taxi Fleet 09/18/2011 0 Comments Picture Taxi Fleet CBSM is happy to announce that we have been working along side two local youth groups to create our very own 'Taxi Fleet'! After four years of teaching best business practices, a pilot project has begun with a vocational training program. Youth from the CBSM community will take part n a nine-month vocational and leadership program and upon graduation they will own their own personal bicycle taxis. The program will teach these youths bicycle maintenance, repair and will include a one week apprenticeship at a local Kimilili repair shop. Picture Our main aim in building up a CBSM Taxi Fleet is to provide male youths with a new prospective on how they can achieve self-sufficiency through collaborative effort. The vocational and leadership training program will provide them with the knowledge they need to run a successful bicycle taxi business. Everyone is very excited and many ideas, suggestions and support has been generated! Please continue to check our blog to receive more information and updates about our exciting new project!

10 Feb 2012

Want to learn how to farm organically? Decrease poverty? Protect rural communities from Global Warming? Volunteer shoulder-to-shoulder, empowering the poor? Live on a Caribbean island with people from all over the world? Learn Spanish? Actively create a better world? Come to Richmond Vale Academy (RVA) to train to learn how to be a community service leader in developing countries! RVA’s programs focus on farming, sustainability, environment, learning and community development in the Caribbean and Latin America. No degree is required, just a willingness to volunteer and learn about how you can make a difference! The minimum age limit is 18 (there is no maximum). The program is taught in English, but there is a huge emphasis on learning Spanish if you choose a Latin American program. Now there are 3 different programs offered to fit your needs:     Fighting with the Poor – Program to Ecuador. Starting: Nov 15, 2011. Training for 3 months on St Vincent, volunteer-travel in Ecuador for 5 months, summing up experiences for 1 month on St Vincent (total: 9 months). Cost: Training fees apply.     Gaia Activist Program. Starting: March 1 and Sept 1, yearly. Volunteer for 6 months in the Caribbean (total: 6 months). Cost: Training fees apply.     Fighting with the Poor- Program to Latin America (Belize, Brazil or Ecuador). Starting: March 1 and Sept 1, yearly.Training for 6 months on St Vincent, volunteer-travel in Latin America for 6 months, documenting and teaching about your experience for 6 months in the Caribbean (total: 18 months). Cost: Training fees apply, some scholarships are available. * Fees include: Food and accommodation for the entire program.  Also flights to and from, pocket money and heath insurance while in Latin America. RVA’s programs include studies about sustainability, organic farming, the importance of self-sufficiency in poor communities, the risks/effects of Global Warming and Climate Change in the Caribbean and Latin America, etc. Students will also experience community living, cooking, cleaning, harvesting food, garden farming, building furniture, and other skills needed to be a self-sufficient leader who can do anything they put their mind to. In the end, students will leave as environmental activists capable of bettering the world! This is a great opportunity for people who would like to travel, volunteer, have already graduated, have just quit their job, don’t want to attend university just yet. I am from CT and I know how tough the job market in the US is right now. This is a great, affordable opportunity to take some time to think about which direction your life should go while helping. Since 2003, I have periodically volunteered in Nicaragua, Thailand, Cambodia, Korea and Qatar.  However, I felt that if I really wanted to make a difference when volunteering abroad, I should probably get some training to do so–so here I am! Please let me know if you, or someone you know, would be interested in learning more about these programs. It is an amazingly culturally rich experience! Right now, we have volunteers from more than 20 different countries on campus (Brazil, Hungary, Latvia, Ecuador, Venezuela, USA, Italy, Denmark, Slovenia, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Cameroon, Lithuania, the Caribbean, Korea, and the list goes on). I feel I will really learn a lot about the world, the future, and myself here. My belief is that together, we can change the world! I am here to answer any questions (unless I am harvesting fruit, practicing Spanish or swimming in the crystal clear Caribbean Sea)! Feel free to email me at virvoed@vcu.edu or visit our website www.richmondvaleacademy.org. I hope to volunteer with you on Saint Vincent soon!

10 Feb 2012

Realizing Chantal's Dream My dream was to live and work in a Peruvian community. I wanted to get to know the culture, the people, and to see and feel how they live. To contribute to the community and help out where they needed my help, I was sure that volunteering was an effective way of doing this, as I always like to jump into new experiences, and commit myself fully to whatever I do. I contacted Otra Cosa Network because one of my best friends had worked as a volunteer with them. She highly recommended the organization. Indeed, from the first contact, I had a good feeling about it. For me it was very important that the volunteer organisation is honest and personal. After a couple of conversations they offered me a new project, which suited me very well. That’s why I chose this new project. I was the first volunteer! I felt privileged to explore, being the first one to start contributing at Casa Hogar in Rodriguez de Mendoza. The contact I had with Najin, Operations Manager of the organization, throughout my stay at the project really supported me. Casa Hogar San Fransisco is a warm home for children from 12 to 16 years old whose families live far away in the mountainous or jungle regions of Peru. This place offers these children the opportunity to go to school. Without Casa Hogar, the voyage to school would have been impossible. It usually takes around six hours of travel (each way!), combined by bus with trekking, for these children to get to the nearest school. The children live together with ‘El Profe’, a local history teacher who runs the place very well. Like a father figure for the children, he was loving and caring, but he can be strict as well. He teaches the kids discipline and makes sure they complete their tasks well. Although the church has been supporting Casa Hogar as much as they can, it is mostly self sustainable. There is no money from the government or any other fund to run this place. There are vegetable garden and some animals at Casa Hogar. The kids worked for a few hours a day after school to help out in the garden. The lettuce they grew was a well sold item at the market, a good illustration of how the program works. I was amazed by the responsibility those children had at such a young age! They cooked by themselves on the weekends, and they washed their own clothes. They worked in the garden, and they went to the market to buy and sell food - all of this other than all of their school work! The days were long, but the kids had a lot of fun too! They played volleyball and soccer while listening to music from the radio during their free time. They are like a big family together. When I arrived on the 3rd of July, the Padre Lolo welcomed me. He is the priest of this little town and the coordinator of Casa Hogar. Mendoza was a very nice, friendly little village. For me it was like walking into a movie. The people lived like half a century back in time compared to the Netherlands. Imagine lacking hot water, washing machines, TV, refrigerators….often water or electricity. This was very different to me. My task was to teach the kids English. Because of the busy schedule the kids had, the evening was the best time for them to attend the English class. So every day from 8:00-9:30 pm all fourteen kids participated in the class. This, after the full days the children had. 6:00 am wake up, feeding of the animals, 7:00 am breakfast 7:30 go to school, 1:30 lunch, time for home work and then they worked in the garden until 17:00 pm, some free time, 19:00 pm dinner, and then English! We had a lot of fun together! Because I was living with the children at Casa Hogar, I could manage to build a positive relationship with them in a short period of time. They were all very motivated, and enthusiastic to learn! Being a teacher in Holland, I have had many different groups of students of all ages but, this group in Casa Hogar was very special and unique. Kids in my country are much more spoiled with toys, computers and the protective love of their parents. Without similar amenities, these kids were very happy! I saw that in their eyes. When I was teaching them English, they taught me, without even realizing, that you can be very happy even if you don’t have much. We sang English songs together, like ‘We are the world’ by Michael Jackson. I tried to play as many games with them as I could. Any attempt to make the learning more fun and easy was enticing. When you live with the children in such a home, you are not only there to teach English. You become a mother, a friend, and a role model of the children as well. The girls often came to me to share moments, to ask questions about my life, to listen to music, and to talk about their lives and boyfriends. Of course they were young teenagers! It seemed that girls there don’t talk with their mother about sexuality or anything emotional. It really touched me, the trust they had in me to talk so openly about these things. Highlights of my tasks at the project for me were teaching English and the contact I had with the children. It was not just about teaching them foreign language, but it was the interaction you have with them as a foreigner, as a role model - someone they can trust, which is very important for people at this age. For these children, it is also making their world a little bit bigger, and it also gives them an opportunity to grow. Giving them the ability to study and to make other choices for their own future is highly rewarding. I wish I had been able to extend my stay there, because the contribution you can make as a volunteer at this place is really big! I hope the next volunteer will come soon to continue this beautiful work! Keep up-to-date with all things Otra Cosa Network and read about more volunteer experiences. Find out what it's really like to live and work in Peru! Follow the link below to our blog: www.otracosanetwork.blogspot.com

10 Feb 2012

Field Story: NIRP Uganda has offered the children, parents and community volunteers leadership skills and the knowledge needed to make healthy choices. By helping to control malaria rates, the mosquito nets are seen as one of the tools through which the community can increase children’s participation in school activities and improve daily attendance. “Malaria prevents us from achieving our goals at school. We have been falling sick so often at home and did not understand why,” said James Lubega, an orphan from Mukungwe Village. “But this changed as we continuously got involved in NIRP malaria prevention programmes where we were able to learn what is malaria, its symptoms, the effects and how it can be prevented.” Maria Nakitto, a widow left with twins, was happy to receive the mosquito nets. “I have already lost one child due to malaria,” she said. “When the twins were born, I was worried because I thought they would also die due to the high rate of malaria in my home. But with nets, and the knowledge we have learnt from NIRP Uganda programmes, I will be able to live a healthy life with my children.” According to Segawa Ivan, Area Councillor in Buwunga subcounty, malaria is a disease that can be avoided through community sensitization on the importance of clearing the bushes around homes, destroying stagnant water reservoirs and ensuring that each family obtains a mosquito net. “NIRP Uganda has given us the knowledge on how to prevent malaria, and we are happy for the mosquito nets support,” said Ivan. “The challenge remains with us to apply the knowledge we have been given and make our community one in which it is safe for families to live.” The malaria prevention programme needs to reach more villages for a full impact to realised.  You can support our work online :http://www.betterplace.org/en/projects/4436-ease-the-pain-of-people-living-with-hiv-and-aids

04 Feb 2012

Hello fellow volunteers, Throughout Kenya, nonprofits organizations promote the ideals that attract so many and include protecting the environment to developing our future community leaders and entrepreneurs, to supporting the early care and education of our children, to protect our most vulnerable citizens, nonprofits are key to our present and our future, but if no assistance goes towards them then chances are high that the level of poverty will increase, crime and other social atrocities will become eminent due to the communities depleting the resources already present. The greatest way to experience the people, culture, landscape and wildlife of Africa is by volunteering in Africa. We believe that you as a human being are not here merely to make a living. You are here on earth in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you to impoverish yourself if you forget the errand. We know that the men and women who got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm and hard work. If you would like to volunteer in East Africa, around Kenya, then Tope Africa may just well be the perfect African experience for you. We have tailor made projects that would need your skills to the local community’s development and this would promote a cross-cultural exchange. Therefore, please feel free to look around our site, our projects and sign up to comment or contact us with any queries. Tope Africa, P.o.Box 1039 – 00517, Tel: +254 20 232 0 669, Cell: +254 724 241 230 E: info@topeafrica.org W: www.topeafrica.org Projects: projects@topeafrica.org Swedish Office: Scheelevägen, 19a 260 – 35, Ödåkra, Sweden, 26036 Email: info@topeafrica.org W: www.topeafrica.org Phone: +467 335 687 30