Photo above by Cross-Cultural Solutions.
10 simple ways travelers can make a difference in others’ lives while seeing the world.
We’ve all heard about the importance of sustainable tourism, ecotourism, voluntourism and a multitude of other buzz worlds that help locals benefit from travelers. But as individuals, it can be difficult to believe we’ll ever be in a position to really make a difference.
However, we never know where tomorrow may take us. The stories and examples below show how one traveler can make a difference. There is no reason why we can’t–why you can’t–change the world. Read on.
Help
Ellin Yourgsen was enjoying her break in Thailand when the tsunami hit on December 27, 2004. She gave up the rest of her gap year travel plans to help out wherever she could.
From helping in the removal and burial of bodies to building temporary shelters; she was just one of tens of thousands of travellers who gave (and are still giving) anything they could to help those who needed them most.
Photo above by subcomandanta.
Educate
In Africa alone 6,000 people die of AIDS each day; that’s more than the combined total of deaths from war famine and natural disasters.
Volunteer on sex education projects and you’ll be helping to alleviate one of the biggest issues facing humanity in the 21st century. If this doesn’t appeal, simply give out as many condoms as you can afford (while keeping back a plentiful supply for yourself, of course).
Unite
What better way to link two different cultures than to get married. Jasmine Avissar, an Israeli Jew, and Osama Zaatar, a Muslim Palestinian, have truly bridged the gaps of a cultural and religious divide since meeting in Jerusalem in 2004.
Sadly, not everyone has welcomed the union between these two bitterly divided states, yet if one can start, could others follow?
Photo above by locket479.
Enjoy
Matt Harding loved travel so much he danced for his entire journey (well, kind of). His loosely termed ‘music video’ has shown the world to millions and opened people‘s eyes to the wonders of the world.
Whether this has had any benefit to the international community is questionable, but another person’s travel videos have never been so entertaining.
Observe
When Charles Darwin stepped onto the Galapagos Islands in 1835, he was a young man part way through a world voyage. The species he saw on the islands and from future explorations led him to develop his ideas on natural selection and evolution.
Twenty-three years after his first voyage he published The Origin of the Species, a text that revolutionised our thinking on the world.
Share
The very basis of helping and volunteering relies on a person sharing something with another, whether that be time, a particular skill, material goods or something else.
Gary Myers, a trained doctor, left his home in Oklahoma to help victims of election violence in Kenya. He faced a daily barrage of extreme injuries-most caused by machetes-inflicted by those with opposing political views.
Many would have lost limbs and sometimes their lives, were it not for his extensive training.
Explore
Rosie Swale-Pope, who is 52 years old, is currently running across the UK in her last leg of a run that has crossed Europe, Asia and North America- she is expecting to reach the finish line in the middle of August 2008, having raised thousands for various international charities.
In 1983, at just 16 years old, Fyona Campbell set out to walk around the world. She crossed four continents- Europe, North America, Australia and Africa- and walked 32,000 km while raising over £120,000 ($230,000) for charity.
www.survival-international.org
Give
Shortly after the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, David Savage was so moved by the state of Romania’s orphanages that he moved there to help: setting up a small team of volunteers and later building a school, community centre and holiday home to give these under privileged children, many whom are HIV positive, a brighter life.
He was awarded an MBE in 2003 and still continues his work in the small town of Cernavoda, south east Romania.
www.nightingaleschildrensproject.co.uk
Photo above by Island Spice.
Conserve
The destruction of the world’s rainforests- ‘the lungs of the world’- is one of the greatest threats to our natural world. 25% of western medicine is derived from rainforest plants and we can only guess what cures still lie hidden.
With 50,000,000 tribal people still estimated to live in the world’s rainforests, the need to preserve their world and way of life has never been more apparent.
Donate
Half the world- that’s three billion people – live on less than two dollars a day (of those about 1.5 – 2 billion live on less than one dollar a day).
One billion children (that’s half the world’s children) live in poverty and around 30,000 die each day because of that poverty. In comparison, the travel industry is expected to generate almost $7 trillion this year alone.
I’ll leave you to do the math…..
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19 Comments... join the discussion!
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There's one other thing that I might add to your blog, which, by the way, I massively appreciate and congratulate. The one thing I might add, however… is… "Understand." I have spent a lot of time recently getting to simply understand and appreciate a variety of different countries and cultures and I think if many of us would do the same this world, each country and internationally, could be a lot better off…
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Very interesting. Thanks for sharing the great links! I agree with David, we should also make an effort to understand…
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I absolutely love 'where the hell is matt' – great post
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reading that last part gave me the chills. heartbreaking.
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Such a great article. I don't see the point of traveling if you don't contribute in some way to the place that's hosting you!
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Yip, definitely don't see the point of visiting a place if you're not going to contribute to it, or leave something good behind. Personally prefer the Enjoy, Explore and Share options!
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Definitely the best to experience a culture, country and life in general!
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Excellent Point!! How could I have missed that one!! Without understand a culture many of the above become obsolete. Thanks for adding that.
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this can make a difference when we travel
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Great job putting this list together, Matt. Remember, too, that all of us can change the world every day, by doing lots of little things.
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Great tips, following some of these will certainly help anyone be a little more balanced and feel better about themselves – and the world! I myself support Medicines sans Frontieres, and I'm looking into the Nightingale Project now too. Thanks
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right on, David
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Thanks for this, I ended up clicking through to Project Hope, very inspirational.
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"Little things" volunteer vacations are catching on as well, for people who don't have a lot of extra time or funds. There is a site called RezHub.com and they have a Volunteer Travel Hub website where you can add a short-term volunteer opportunity to your vacation. They link you through Volunteer Match and offer options almost anywhere in the US.
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Great list and a worthy commitment for us all to make when travel.
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I went to Tanzania last July for a safari. Knowing there was a lot of poverty there, I brought two 50 pound suitcases with me (two are allowed on all international flights). One contained my clothes. The other suitcase was full of cheap t-shirts, children’s books (donated by my local library), crayons, coloring books, chalk, balloons, bubbles, paper, scissors, school glue, candies and toothbrushes.
Although the Tanzanian wildlife and scenery was nothing short of spectacular, one of the highlights of my trip was delivering my suitcase full of goodies to a local orphanage. If I could do the trip all over, I would have spent more time visiting with the orphanage.
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I went to Tanzania last July for a safari. Knowing there was a lot of poverty there, I brought two 50 pound suitcases with me (two are allowed on all international flights). One contained my clothes. The other suitcase was full of cheap t-shirts, children’s books (donated by my local library), crayons, coloring books, chalk, balloons, bubbles, paper, scissors, school glue, candies and toothbrushes.
Although the Tanzanian wildlife and scenery was nothing short of spectacular, one of the highlights of my trip was delivering my suitcase full of goodies to a local orphanage. If I could do the trip all over, I would have spent more time visiting with the orphanage
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I think something that can have a huge impact is not only doing things in the communities and places we visit, but un-doing things within ourselves. Allowing ourselves to question our most deeply-held morals and our vision of how the world works, to be unsettled by what we see and experience in other places, and letting go of the idea that we can always know and do what is best for another community, is maybe the most humble and humbling way that traveling can change the world.
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