Mai Alyschild, RN volunteering in Haiti

Mai Alyschild retired from her job as a psychiatric nurse at San Francisco General Hospital when she turned 60.

That was five years ago.

Rather than join a bridge club or take up knitting, Alyschild began pursuing a different pastime: humanitarian work in the developing world.

Alyschild has conducted a study on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in rural Afghanistan; worked in Nairobi’s Kibera Hospital and AIDS Clinic; and has gained extensive experience in disaster relief, having provided medical assistance after an earthquake in Peru and a flood in Villahermosa, Mexico.

Alyschild, the mother of a friend of Brave New Traveler co-editor, Christine Garvin, has been on the ground in Haiti helping with earthquake relief efforts since January 21. She has been keeping a running journal of her impressions and experiences on Facebook, where her status updates give the rest of us an unedited, unscripted sense of what it’s like to be volunteering in Haiti right now:

Thursday, January 21: Oh.My.God

“We made it through the 7th level of hell (immigration bs/customs at the border). We were besieged by desperate hungry children at every turn….

…[W]e are …at the UN compound at the airport in Port-au-Prince. The Turkish NGO, Helping Hands, is feeding us dolmas and dates and grapes – after going hungry all day…. We will start work at the Hospital near the palace Nacional tomorrow.”

Friday, January 22: Greetings from UN Hospital

Photo: The US Army

“I no sooner got my scrubs on this morning at 6am when I was immediately coopted by the UN hospital here on the airport grounds… they were desperate for nurses… over 100 pt’s in the post-op recovery tent and 45 in the Pedi/Kids tent…(eek) and a full surgical theatre… with choppers airlifting in more pt’s every 1/2 hr from ground zero with gangrenous open wounds.

I was assigned vitals, wound care and hydration/nutrition… wound care was a bit daunting but the other nurses and I all pulled together and no one died…

[W]orked 12 hours running my ass off…and there was never enough time…everyone hollering “Doctora” “Doctora!” at me…. (This place makes “Mash” look like a 4-star hospital).

We even conscripted carpenters to ma[ke] us more OR surgery tables… as we needed them!
One funny thing: a team of Scientologists showed up to feed the Dr.s and Nurses hot chicken soup (bless them).
I may be here for awhile.”

Saturday, January 23: Day 3 at UN Hosp Hell City

“It is NOT getting any better…. The CDC would shut us down in a heartbeat for (absent) infection precautions… but what can we do??…. I want to scream at all the voyeuristic media hanging around, ‘Go home and send us nurses!’”

Sunday, January 24: 3-dot journalism

“passing soup across the cracked lips of a 96 yr old Creole woman…
one constancy intrudes: the whup-whup-whup of incoming choppers
and your gut tenses, wondering What now??

Untenses in the brief respites around coffee urns with colleagues
14 lenguas…two phrases in common:
‘What do you need?…How can I help?’

One certainty: I am where I need to be
You’d have to drag me away from here

Every moment you are ‘in the moment’
paying attention to the need in front of you.”

Monday, January 25: UN Hosp…

“Checking charts: (well, ‘charts’ is a bit of a stretch…stapled together sheets of paper)
‘TB positive’…’sickle-cell crisis’…’Hypertensive’…’rule out Typhoid’…’chicken pox isolation.’

Earthquake survivor, Photo: UN Development Programme

How many ways can the human body crump [sic] on you aside from earthquake trauma?

Don’t ask.”

Tuesday, January 26: How long have I been here?? IT FEELS LIKE A MONTH.

“Received ‘NO Code’ patient in advanced AIDS with advanced tetanus… prognosis: 24 hrs. Family at bedside
I gave him care and had a translator explain that this was their time to say goodbyes….

…[T]his is going to be Hell for the foreseeable future….

Tuesday, January 26: Reality bites

…Tonight a Haitian band came in and played some rousing gospel music and the patients families got up off the floor and began dancing and shouting in all the available open spaces…it was a sight to behold. Somehow they find it in their heart to be joyful for just being alive in the face of such dire adversity.

There is surely a lesson there for all of us….

Wednesday, January 27: Stress rears its ugly head

“I resorted to sneaking food from the mess to patients families who are here overnight without much to eat. Officially we have ‘only enough for patients and staff’ but there are cargoloads of donated food/supplies coming in every day marked ‘For the people of Haiti’ (I didn’t see any marked ‘for patients and staff only’).”

Wednesday, January 27: Greetings from (now) an armed camp

Previously known as the UN Hospital.
“The Army has taken it upon themselves and in a matter of 8 hours pounded posts in and hung a 6 foot chain link fence around the hospital to prevent locals and looters from coming into our camp.

I asked one: ‘Is that to keep the nurses in here from fleeing this scene?’ He laughed out loud.

Big problem: Cargoloads of donated items flown in in crates and dumped on our doorstep but no time or personnel to go thorough [sic] them and find what we need and get it on shelves… too busy with the need in front of us.”

Community Connection:

Another perspective on Haiti in this post-quake period is provided by students at the local film institute in the town of Jacmel. Check out MatadorTV’s video: After the Earthquake: A Compilation of Cine Institute Coverage.

Chris Mburu, recipient of educational assistance, Harvard grad, & UN human rights lawyer; Photo from A Small Act

A few months ago, an acquaintance was talking with me about Mexican children whose education she sponsors. She obviously felt good about the effects she believed her quarterly donations were having in the lives of a few kids; she spoke energetically, smiling a lot, describing the changes she imagined had been brought into their lives as the result of her modest contribution.

I didn’t say much, just listened. Honestly, I was skeptical about the kind of situation she was describing. While I’m an advocate of micro-loans, I’ve always been suspicious of supposed educational sponsorship programs. Unlike a micro-loan administered by an organization like Kiva, educational assistance programs are often far less transparent.

And so it was with interest that I read an article in last Sunday’s New York Times about an exceptional outcome in a case where a woman living in Sweden paid $15 USD per quarter for a Kenyan boy’s school fees… and he went on to become a Harvard graduate and human rights lawyer working for the United Nations.

Their story is told in the documentary “A Small Act,” which debuted at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival last week. Here’s the trailer:

The film will be shown on HBO later this year.

Community Connection:

Want to learn more about what happens to your donations? Read two viewpoints on micro-loans: Why We Need Micro-loans Instead of Slum Tourism and Hand Up or Help Out?: The Case Against Micro-loans.

Feature photo & photo above of Michael Franti, by feverblue

What do an American Hasidic Jewish rapper and an African-American roots-hip-hop-funk-jazz-folk-rocker adopted and raised by Finnish American couple have in common?

An unshakable belief that music can and should inspire.

That and the fact that they’re both musicians who make our #MusicMonday list of the Internet’s most inspirational music videos.

Here are our favorites… who would you add?

1. Matisyahu: “One Day”, picked by BNT editor, Ian MacKenzie

“‘One Day’ is meant to be an anthem of hope. The song [is] a prayer for peace which Matisyahu hopes will be a source of inspiration for people struggling to open their hearts and stay positive.”

2. Michael Franti & Spearhead: “Hey World (Don’t Give Up)”, picked by BNT editor, Ian MacKenzie

“The music that Franti makes and his dedication to greater understanding on a global level, are not two aspects of his life, but very much one and the same.”

3. Playing for Change, Various Artists: “Stand by Me”, picked by Matador intern, Nancy Harder

Even if you burned out on this song years ago, you’ve gotta love the spirit of the musicians who contributed to this video, and the whole idea behind the Playing for Change project.

4. Wyclef Jean, “Hold On”, picked by MatadorChange editor, Julie Schwietert

Wyclef Jean’s musical message to quake survivors in his home country, Haiti.

5. Bjork, “Declare Independence”, picked by contributing editor, Paul Sullivan

It’s worth noting that one of Paul’s other selections was Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”. Um, Paul, what does *that* inspire?

Community Connection:

Looking for more music? Paul Sullivan keeps you stacked with free beats from around the world in his “#MusicMonday: 50 Music Sites That Matter.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, the home of the Ku Klux Klan.  Raised in a middle class household, King experienced racism throughout his childhood.  As he got older, he started hating white people, even though his parents continued to tell him that he should not.

In September 1944, King entered Morehouse College, and everything began to change.  He met white people who shared his ideas of justice, and he joined the Intercollegiate Council, a mixed race organization.

His path eventually led him to the ministry, and after receiving a doctorate, King and his wife moved back to the South, ending up in Montgomery, Alabama.

On December 1, 1955 one of King’s parishioners, Rosa Parks, refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger.  A few days later, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his first speech.  The rest, as they say, is history.

In tribute to a man who changed the United States, if not the world, forever, I have compiled a collection of inspiring quotes spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr.

We must all learn to live together as brothers.  Or we will all perish together as fools.

Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.

Hate begets hate; violence begets violence.

There is within human nature an amazing potential for goodness.

It may well be that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition is not the glaring noisiness of the so-called bad people, but the appalling silence of the so-called good people.

True peace is not merely the absence of tension, but it is the presence of justice and brotherhood.

But we simply cannot have peace in the world without mutual respect.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

People are often surprised to learn that I am an optimist. They know how often I have been jailed, how frequently the days and nights have been filled with frustration and sorrow, how bitter and dangerous are my adversaries…They fail, however, to perceive the sense of affirmation generated by the challenge of embracing struggle and surmounting obstacles.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Community Connection:

For more about Martin Luther King, Jr. and other inspiring people, read 10 Revolutionary Acts of Courage by Ordinary People.

Pete and Andrea; Photo via Wedding Cans

Lots of Matadorians care about the environment. And lots of us have had budget weddings.

But I think we’re all going to be bested by Pete and Andrea.

The Spokane, Washington couple are planning to pay for their wedding by recycling 400,000 aluminum cans.

On their website, Wedding Cans, Pete and Andrea explain the motives behind this unusual way of funding nuptials:

[E]ven simple weddings cost more than a few dollars. We don’t really have much extra cash sitting around, since we’re just starting out. Add that to the fact that environmental responsibility plays a big part in our lives, and we hatched the crazy plan. Pay for the wedding – with recycling. Aluminum recycling is one of the most sustainable and useful forms of recycling. We’re shooting for 400,000 aluminum cans – approximately 5 tons of empty cans. We would like to get married on July 31 – which gives us 7 months to hit the goal.

For neighbors in Spokane, Pete and Andrea teamed up with a local recycler so folks can drop off cans and earmark their earnings for the wedding. For folks elsewhere, Pete and Andrea suggest taking your cans to a local recycling center and kicking a portion of your proceeds to their project after you treat yourself to a coffee or a microbrew.

Read all about the project on their website after you check out this video:

Community Connection:

Maybe you don’t want to collect cans, but if you do want to plan a budget wedding, MatadorTrips’ co-editor, Carlo Alcos, offers plenty of practical advice in A Budget Traveler’s Guide to Wedding Planning.

Ah, life’s simple pleasures. Photo: Kecko

While the rest of the world’s populations are flocking toward their nation’s metropolitan hotspots, a 2001 British census shows that Brits have been forgoing the fast-pace of the city for slower country living, a trend that has only gotten worse in recent years.

Not okay, says University College London research associate and author P.D. Smith in an article published in Wired UK magazine’s January issue.

Smith cites data revealing rural households emitting higher carbon dioxide than their urban counterparts due to larger residences, longer commutes, and multiple cars. Turns out, the regions with the largest carbon footprints in the UK are in the rural northeast, not the famed cities of London or Glasgow. London, interestingly enough, has the lowest per capita emissions. Who would have thought?

Smith argues that city living creates a low carbon economy and those who opt for country living should be taxed for the luxury.

“British people need to be cured of the insidious fantasy of leaving the city and owning a house in the country…. We tax cigarettes to reflect the harm they do to our health: we need to tax lifestyles that are damaging the health of the planet – and that means targeting people who choose to live in the countryside.”

Making exceptions for agricultural workers and those who are employed in rural areas, Smith wants to institute a “Rural Living Tax” for all other country residents, such as rich people with two houses.

But other than tax the pants off country dwellers, isn’t a better solution to aggressively promote greener living for all citizens?

Rather than punish people for choosing to live with cows and chickens, we should be encouraging the habitual acts that contribute to sustainability. The Earth is everyone’s responsibility and finding more reasons to tax certain demographics doesn’t exactly carry that message across.

Sound reasonable enough? Let those opinions fly free in the comments below.

Photo: heathbrandon

Project Name:

The Pro Bono Jeweler

The Big Idea:

Jeweler Gabriel Craig takes his studio out to the streets, where he makes jewelery as performance art… and then gives the pieces away.

History:

Craig started a similar project, “The Collegiate Jeweler,” as a college student back in 2007. In an interview with American Craft Magazine, Craig explained the purpose and spirit of the project:

“My objective was simply to share handmade jewelry with those who may not ordinarily encounter it. I wanted the format of the performances to reflect my educational and altruistic goals and so I gave away silver rings that I made on the spot—over 30 in the first few weeks. By giving away jewelry I was able to focus on its cultural value rather than its commercial value. The criterion for receiving a ring was participation. Those who seemed interested got to take home some of the excitement…. In the studio I am just a jeweler, but on the street I am a magician.”

Craig continued by explaining how jewelry might just be a meaningful vehicle for communication and community building:

“Approaching jewelry as a theme, I found that the opportunity for communication and change grew exponentially. Despite how pervasive jewelry is in our culture, as a maker I spend a lot of time in the studio by myself, complacent in the isolation and insular world built around studio jewelry. With The Collegiate Jeweler performances, I had finally found a direct way to share what I do with people. That was how it started—wanting to share and be inclusive.”

Logistics:

What do you make that you could give away? Whether it’s a poem, a small ceramic pot, a photo, postcard, flower from your garden, or a homemade candle, you can adapt Gabriel Craig’s pro bono art project wherever you live. Remember: the key is not just to give something away, but to create a moment where you and your public can connect, even if for a few brief moments.

For More Information:

Visit Gabriel Craig’s website.

Photo: gbaku

The centerpiece of the special issue was Kristof’s and WuDunn’s article, “The Women’s Crusade,” in which Kristof and WuDunn identify some of the most pressing problems facing women around the world and what can be done to address these issues.

Kristof and WuDunn have spent a lot of time with women, listening to their stories and reflecting about what a single anecdote can teach us about community phenomena. Here’s one of the compelling stories from the article, and an important lesson for all of us:

“…[W]hen Jo Luck [of Heifer International] came and talked to Tererai and other young women in her village, Luck kept insisting that… they could achieve their goals, repeatedly using the word ‘achievable.’ The women caught the repetition and asked the interpreter to explain in detail what ‘achievable’ meant. That gave Luck a chance to push forward. ‘What are your hopes?’ she asked the women….. Tererai and the others were puzzled by the question, because they didn’t really have any hopes. But Luck pushed them to think about their dreams, and reluctantly, they began to think about what they wanted.

Tererai timidly voiced hope of getting an education. Luck… told her… that she should write down her goals and methodically pursue them. After Luck and her entourage disappeared, Tererai began to study on her own, in hiding from her husband, while raising her five children. Painstakingly, with the help of friends, she wrote down her goals on a piece of paper:

‘One day I will go to the United States of America,’ she began, for Goal 1. She added that she would earn a college degree, a master’s degree and a Ph.D. — all exquisitely absurd dreams for a married cattle herder in Zimbabwe who had less than one year’s formal education. But Tererai took the piece of paper and folded it inside three layers of plastic to protect it, and then placed it in an old can. She buried the can under a rock where she herded cattle.

Then Tererai took correspondence classes and began saving money. Her self-confidence grew as she did brilliantly in her studies, and she became a community organizer for Heifer…. One day in 1998, she received notice that she had been admitted to Oklahoma State University.

…At Oklahoma State, Tererai took every credit she could and worked nights to make money. She earned her undergraduate degree, brought her five children to America and started her master’s, then returned to her village. She dug up the tin can under the rock and took out the paper on which she had scribbled her goals. She put check marks beside the goals she had fulfilled and buried the tin can again.

In Arkansas, she took a job working for Heifer — while simultaneously earning a master’s degree part time. When she had her M.A., Tererai again returned to her village. After embracing her mother and sister, she dug up her tin can and checked off her next goal. Now she is working on her Ph.D. at Western Michigan University.

Tererai has completed her course work and is completing a dissertation about AIDS programs among the poor in Africa. She will become a productive economic asset for Africa and a significant figure in the battle against AIDS. And when she has her doctorate, Tererai will go back to her village and, after hugging her loved ones, go out to the field and dig up her can again.”

You can read the rest of the article here.

What’s your “exquisitely absurd” dream? How can you achieve it? Who can help you?

And what are you waiting for?

Community Connection:

South Africa Education and Environment Project is just one of the thousands of organizations dedicated to education that belong to the Matador community. Learn more about SAEP and other organizations here.

Photo by author

The idea behind this new series is to show off cool projects from around the world that can be adapted and implemented in your own city. We kick off the series in New York City.

Project Name:

Rooftop Films

The Big Idea:

Rooftop Films partners with 15 venues–from museums and high schools to old factories–to show “underground movies outdoors” during the summer months. For just $9.00 USD, New Yorkers can enjoy films from around the world each weekend–as well as a view of the city most people never see. Most of the films are shown on the venues’ rooftops– hence the name Rooftop Films.

The films selected for each event are organized around a theme that’s customized to appeal to the neighborhood where the venue is located. And each screening is preceded by live music and followed by a filmmaker Q&A and/or after-party (with free drinks!).

But Rooftop Films is a lot more than a summer festival that brings together people to enjoy films they’d be unlikely to see elsewhere.

The organization also contributes $1.00 from every ticket sold to fund filmmakers’ new productions and teaches film appreciation and production classes to high school students.

History:

Rooftop has been showing films in New York City since 1997 under the direction of filmmaker Mark Elijah Rosenberg. From Rooftop’s website:

“[Rosenberg] was looking for an innovative way to get people together for screenings of new short films. … [I]nstead of trying to rent a small dingy theater, Rosenberg got out his 16MM projector, a cheap sound system and a big white sheet and invited everyone he could find up to the roof above his little apartment. Hundreds came out, many with their films in tow, and the movies were screened deep into the night amidst the water towers and pigeon coops of the East Village skyline.”

When his landlord got wind of the rooftop film fest, Rosenberg had to scout for alternative locations, which wasn’t a bad thing. Rooftop’s gone from a gathering of friends and artists to a city-wide event that’s open to the whole film-loving public.

Logistics:

Sure, Rooftop has fancy projectors and screens now, but it got its humble start with a bed sheet tied up between two poles. You can do the same. Scout your local thrift store for a projector or see if a local non-profit wants to partner up with you– they loan you a projector; you give them some exposure.

And you don’t need a roof– a little patch of lawn will do just fine.

For More Information:

For more information about Rooftop Films, visit the organization’s website.

Community Connection:

Love movies? Check out our guide to the world’s best film festivals.

Photo courtesy of Run For the Rescue

In 2008, singer-songerwriter Eric Proffitt was invited by the United Nations to perform at the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking Conference. Though Proffitt had long used his music as a way to communicate messages that informed and inspired his listeners, Proffitt’s experience at the conference left him feeling as if music might not be enough.

“I have never seen a problem so large, of which so few people are aware,” Proffitt said about global slavery. While at the conference, Proffitt learned that more than 27 million children around the world are enslaved as diamond, cacao, and sex workers; as the father of five children himself, he was determined to do something more than sing about the problem.

Most people wouldn’t do something as drastic as Proffitt has done: he and his wife sold their house and decided to start an educational awareness campaign called Run For the Rescue. But that’s not all: it’s what that awareness campaign entails that makes Proffitt convinced he’ll be able to make thousands–if not millions–of people more aware of the problem of global slavery and inspire them to do something about it.

On August 1 (Why August 1? Emancipation Day in the States) Proffitt started a 500 mile run– in chains. He anticipates the total run will take 42 days.

The goals, Proffitt states on his website, are two fold:

1) Raise $1 for each of the 27 million people living in slavery. This money will be used by non-profit organizations to rescue and rehabilitate girls like Theresa and to find and prosecute the perpetrators of human trafficking.
2) Create a global tipping point for the fight against modern day slavery.

The run started in Washington, D.C. and will continue in parts of the U.S. before Proffitt tackles the second leg, which will be in the U.K.

You can learn more about the run on Proffitt’s website, where you can also follow the journey as he blogs about it. Donations are being accepted through the website and if he’s running through your area– well, step outside and show him your support!

Community Connection:

Learn more about global slavery in this article from our archives: 10 Shocking Facts About Global Slavery in 2008.

“Better your character. Don’t live like dogs. Thanks.” All photos by Francisco Collazo.

While living in Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2007, I frequently despaired about the state of the island.

At one point during my time here, Puerto Rico was ranked the fifth most violent nation (per capita) in the world. Despite its enormous potential to become the next Costa Rica in terms of ecotourism, the island was suffering from profound environmental problems, including limited recycling programs, an underdeveloped public transportation infrastructure and over reliance on cars, and rapidly shrinking space for landfills.

Adults lamented aloud–even in television and print ad campaigns–about the loss of valuable cultural traditions and general courtesy. “Que nos pasa, Puerto Rico?” the ads asked.

“What’s happened to us?”

I often wondered what it would take for massive social change here.

And fortunately, returning this week to work on a guidebook, I found some answers that give me lots of hope for Puerto Rico’s future.

Here are five:

1. Artist Carlos Mercado

In Puerto Rico, Carlos Mercado is best known, perhaps, for his series of paintings titled “Iconos” (”Icons”), which explore Puerto Rico’s history by building upon the images of New Deal-era photographer Jack Delano, who was famous for the portraits of ordinary people he shot in rural Puerto Rico during the Depression era.

But Mercado, a modern-day Renaissance man, may also be Puerto Rico’s best hope for a sustainable brand of community building and activism that can engage the masses. “As artists, we have a responsibility… not just to make something pretty,” he told me when I visited him in his Old San Juan studio.

In addition to using his art as a way to teach and interpret Puerto Rican history, Mercado is currently collaborating with other local artists and policy makers to create sculptural collection bins to promote recycling in Old San Juan.

It’s just one of the many projects he’s working on with his neighbors. Though Mercado could easily move abroad, he has no desire to do so. He’d rather stay in Puerto Rico, using his art as a means of consciousness raising and critical engagement.

2. Hacienda El Jibarito

The concept of ecotourism hasn’t quite taken root in Puerto Rico yet, though it’s hard to understand why. The island–just 100x 30 miles–is full of geographic and biological diversity that could be tourism’s best selling point.

One exception, though, is Hacienda El Jibarito, a country inn high up in the mountains near the town of San Sebastian.

Greenhouses at Hacienda El Jibarito

Dubbed the country’s first “agrotourism” go-to spot, Hacienda El Jibarito is unique in Puerto Rico’s tourism industry because it focuses on environmentally sustainable activities, all offered on property: horseback riding, hiking, and coffee roasting, to name just a few. The hacienda also has its own greenhouses on site, where gardeners nurture eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, and other vegetables destined for guests’ tables.

I’m hoping that other travel industry entrepreneurs on the island follow El Jibarito’s lead.

3. Paulette Beauchamp’s DanzActiva

Dance–like music, the coqui frog, plantains, and chuletas can-can (Can-Can Style Pork Chops)– are important aspects of Puerto Rican cultural identity.

But unlike these other symbols of Puerto Rican culture, dance has often been restricted to certain groups of people.

Dancer and choreographer Paulette Beauchamp set out to change that.

Beauchamp’s DanzActiva is one of the most exciting and ambitious community service programs I’ve come across in Puerto Rico. In addition to teaching a full schedule of open-enrollment flamenco, ballet, and kathak classes, Beauchamp offers classes in modern dance and bomba for people with Down Syndrome and other special needs. Her students even participated in this year’s Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City.

Her studio, located in the historic Ballaja building in Old San Juan, is fully accessible to people with a range of physical abilities.

DanzActiva is the first program of its kind on the island. To learn more about it or to make a donation, click here.

4. Casablanca/DaHouse/Casa Herencia

It would be easy enough to see the lodging trifecta of Casablanca, DaHouse, and Casa Herencia as the latest in a series of precious boutique hotels.

Yes, they’re trendy: DaHouse shares its building with the popular Nuyorican Cafe, Casablanca has deep stone bathtubs where you can soak on its roof, and Casa Herencia has a high class pour-your-own libations bar.

But there are a couple reasons why I’ll be keeping my eye on the group behind these three hotels: one, they’re deeply committed to collaborating with local artists and musicians, creating spaces for them to showcase their work and making connections they’d struggle to negotiate on their own in an increasingly rarefied art market in Puerto Rico. Two, they’re rescuing historic buildings that have either been vacant for years or would fall into complete disrepair without their intervention.

By restoring Casablanca and, in particular, Casa Herencia, the folks behind this boutique hotel group are leading the way in the massive amount of historic restoration work that still needs to be done in Old San Juan.

5. Rafael Ramos Carmona, Cigar Roller

A cigar roller as an agent of change?

Indeed.

Rafael Ramos Carmona

Sit with Rafael Ramos Carmona for any length of time, and you’ll quickly come to understand that the art of cigar rolling is an important aspect of preserving Puerto Rican traditions. As he rolls, Ramos Carmona gives impromptu lessons in Puerto Rican history and culture and can hold forth knowledgeably on any number of topics: traditional art, coffee picking, and the importance of local food, to name just a few.

Without people like Rafael Ramos Carmona, the question “Que nos pasa?” will take on disturbing relevance. Fortunately, Ramos Carmona is an easy enough antidote to find: he holds court under his tent in Old San Juan’s Plaza Colon several days a week. Want to meet him? Drop him a line at tabacaleraramos@hotmail.com.

Community Connection:

Learn more about current politics in Puerto Rico in this article, “US House of Reps Approves Proposal to Consider Puerto Rico’s Status.”

If you’re planning your own trip to Puerto Rico, check out our Green Guide to Puerto Rico and The Best Hikes in Puerto Rico.

Photo: Seamus Murray

1. Using Urban Space Smartly.

As a city-dweller, I’m always interested in stories about how urban designers, policy makers, politicians, and activists collaborate to think of innovative ways to optimize space, so it’s no surprise that this short piece from The Stimulist about San Francisco turning curbs and other public space into mini farming plots grabbed my attention.

2. Developing Alternative–Real Alternative–Fuel.

In the US, we say we’re committed to developing alternative fuel, but as oil prices soar then drop, soar then drop, our interest in alternative fuel fluctuates accordingly. There are lots of reasons why–not the least being major infrastructural overhauls that would be necessary if we implemented a massive alternative fuel system–but that shouldn’t keep us from continuing research and innovation in this important area.

Over at The Atlantic, correspondent Lisa Margonelli muses about the true economics of conventional fuel (not to mention the environmental economics), and then references a couple articles about the urine-powered fuel cell being developed by researchers at Ohio University. For the quick and dirty lowdown on pee power, check out this article, which explains how a single cow can produce enough pee to supply hot water for 19 houses.

3. Telling “Convenient Truths”: Urban Transportation Reform is Easier Than We Think

I first read about Curitiba, Brazil and its former mayor, the visionary Jaime Lerner, a few years back, so I was excited to receive a screener copy of the documentary, “A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil,” by mother-son team Maria Terezinha Vaz and Giovanni Vaz del Bello.

The filmmakers interviewed Lerner and other Curitiba urban designers and planners, all of whom affirmed that urban redesign is a whole lot easier than most politicians and decision makers claim it is. It’s an inspiring model for the most sustainable design for cities, and though it would be naive to think that Curitiba’s solutions are one-size-fits-all blueprints for the rest of the world, there are lots of lessons to be learned from this Brazilian city:

If you’re interested in seeing the full documentary, purchase information is available here.

4. Rachel Maddow Proves Lots of People Want to Make a Difference… They Just Don’t Always Know How.

Last week, popular political TV talk show host Rachel Maddow did a segment on the Iraqi national baseball team (yup, there is one) and its struggle to get basic gear and uniforms. Within 48 hours, the segment had generated enough attention to result in donations that more than outfitted the team and got them fully geared up. The take-away lesson? Lots of people are ready to pitch in to help others– they just need someone to bring an issue to their attention and provide them with the means to make a meaningful contribution.

5. Matador’s Own Misty Tosh Gets Ready to Expand 4th World Love.

I’m always inspired by Matador members and someone who consistently makes me stand back in amazement is Misty Tosh, founder of the NGO, 4th World Love. If you’ve missed the work she’s doing in Indonesia, check out this article. And then get fired up about her next project: She’s taking 4WL on the road–to Mexico’s Baja California–and she wants you to come along with her! Read up on all the details here.

Matisyahu rocks the mic. Photo: Daniel Zana

1. Matisyahu’s Music:

“Up next, Hasidic reggae pioneer….”

It sounded like the beginning of a bad joke rather than the intro to an upcoming segment of the WNYC radio show, “Soundcheck,” but when Matisyahu started rocking the mic with studio performances of “One Day” and “So Hi So Low,” I was wondering how I hadn’t heard of him before.

Check out these spiritually and socially aware lyrics:

and then go to Matisyahu’s YouTube channel and try to find a single negative comment.

2. Will Allen, Businessman & Urban Farmer Extraordinnaire:

Will Allen teaching urban farming. Photo: mjmonty

I first learned about Will Allen and the work he’s doing in Milwaukee when he was awarded a 2008 MacArthur (”Genius Grant”) Fellowship, and I was happy to see him profiled in this feature-length article in last weekend’s New York Times Magazine.

Allen seems to have the perfect balance of business smarts and hands-in-the-dirt energy that urban agriculture initiatives need if they’re going to have widespread success.

3. Activist Architecture:

I’ve been interested in the role architecture can play in activism, environmentalism, and social change since reading about the late Sam Mockbee in an article in BOMB Magazine in 2001.

Since then, I’ve come across Architecture for Humanity and the group Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility, both of which are fascinating collectives of professionals who are using their skills for socially conscious design and construction.

To really get inspired, check out ADPSR’s Prison Alternatives Initiative, which invites architects, designers, and planners to “not participate in the design, construction, or renovation of prisons.”

4. Farmers’ Markets and “Food, Inc.”

One of my favorite summer pastimes is shopping at my local farmers’ market. This week alone, I’ve come home with bunches of lemon basil, scamps (those are the tops of garlic), lettuce, green beans, sugar snap peas, and peaches–all grown within a 100 mile radius of New York City.

If you’re not near a farmers’ market, though, maybe you’re near a theater showing “Food, Inc.,” a documentary about the production of food in the US. Despite its sobering and seemingly nichy topic, the doc is getting some incredible reviews, praised for helping movie-goers begin to look at their food and their own eating habits more critically.

Here’s the trailer:

5. “Heart of Jenin”:

It’s not easy to watch “Heart of Jenin,” a documentary about a Palestinian man whose son is killed and decides to donate his child’s organs… to Israeli children.

But it’s an important reminder, first of all, to consider organ donation, and, secondly, to try working through our prejudices even in the most extreme and painful circumstances.

You can watch the full video online here.

Community Connection:

Need more inspiration? Check out last Friday’s five inspiring stories here!

1. “For every child fortunate enough to live in a home like The Miracle Foundation…there are a thousand more the orphanage cannot afford to take in.”

2. “They ask for nothing from me other than being here. [T]hey are just like other children I’ve known with homes and families of their own–except for their neediness, their raw hunger for affection, love, belonging.”

3. “[T]here were stories behind each one of these children.”

4. “I began to discover who the kids were–their individual personalities and dreams.”

5. “‘The meaning of life is to love all. The purpose of life is to serve all.’ It was a simple prayer, reminding me that life need not be complicated unless we made it so.”

6. “I desperately hope we will not be too late for these children…. We owe it to them and to the world. And ultimately, we owe it to ourselves.”

Community Connection:

Brave New Traveler contributing editor Christine Garvin interviewed Shelley Seale about her experiences in India. To read the interview, click here. If you’d like to order Seale’s book, The Weight of Silence: Invisible Children of India, click here.

Feature photo: Casey J.; Photo: Crystl

If you ever step back from the crazier news of the world for a minute, you’ll find plenty of feel-good stories about incredible people quietly working on projects with a purpose.

Here are five of my favorite finds from the past week:

1. Fabulous Farmers:

Who knew that New York City was producing so much produce (and pigs)?

Though community gardens have long been a feature of urban life here, I came across a few stories of folks taking urban gardening and farming to a whole new level this week.

This article from The New York Times featured the city’s only pork farm, raising “fattier and tastier” pigs at the Queens County Farm Museum, which is located on grounds that once belonged to the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center.

And this article was one of two I found about Ben Flanner and Annie Novak, who have installed a 6,000 square foot organic vegetable garden on a Brooklyn rooftop.

Who said cities aren’t sustainable?

2. Alternative Energy: The Next Wave:

We were already thinking about alternative energy this week when we came across this article about wave energy from Smithsonian Magazine. Electrical engineer Annette von Jouanne is developing prototypes that will feasibly harness the power of waves without destroying the marine environment.

The potential payoff?

“Waves could fuel about 6.5 percent of today’s electricity needs,… the equivalent of the energy in 150 million barrels of oil—about the same amount of power that is produced by all U.S. hydroelectric dams combined—enough to power 23 million typical American homes.”

3. Sustainable Jewelry:

Last weekend, I stopped by the Makers’ Market at Socrates Sculpture Park, where I met West Coast jewelry maker Eric Silva.

Photo courtesy of Eric Silva

Not only are Silva’s pieces–rings, chunky bracelets, earrings, necklaces–unique, stand-out wearable art, they’re also sustainable. In addition to recycled wood and rescued/reused metals, Silva’s coolest pieces include shed antler (animal horn, shed naturally during annual molting).

4. Sharing is Caring:

Over at GOOD Magazine, the creative director of Creative Commons, Eric Steuer, interviews Chris Hughes, one of Facebook’s founders and the online campaign strategist for President Obama, about the value of sharing. It’s the first article in GOOD’s “We like to share” series, in which Steuer interviews people in a variety of fields who use sharing as a key approach to the work they do. We’ll definitely stay tuned for the rest of this series!

5. Crisis is Good! (Really):

I don’t know about you, but more people I know and love have lost their jobs in the past month than the past 12 months put together. It doesn’t seem like the economic crisis is getting any better anytime soon.

But if you’re a glass half full kind of person, then you’ll probably appreciate this thoughtful reflection by David Korten about why the economic crisis may be the best opportunity for us to build a new economy. It was published in YES! Magazine, which also offers 31 ideas about how you can jump start your local economy.

Community Connection:

Need more inspiration? Browse through the profiles of Matador members to read about incredible projects being launched around the world!

All photos by David Ranc

But the actions of a few can change the world. Two people who firmly believe in the power of “just doing it” are 25 year old Sebastian Lindstrom and 29 year old Evan Fowler, who teamed up to create the What Took You So Long Foundation.

The movement aims to help grassroots NGOs by giving them publicity and access to a global network of unskilled and skilled volunteers. The WTYSL Foundation also wants to inspire young people by example, beginning with a 14,200 kilometre trip from Marrakesh to Johannesburg, which kicked off yesterday.

In the spirit of true international cooperation, Lindstrom and Fowler are traveling with five young colleagues, all 25 or under, from Japan, the USA, and Hong Kong. They will be using public transport and visiting 20 small NGOs en route.

An experienced documentary film maker, Fowler has his own media company and will be filming the journey. There will be updates on the website, blog, and Twitter as well as the team’s photos and journals, where the group will document the efforts of people who make a huge difference in the lives of locals but who are unknown outside their own small circles.

“I met an amazing Dutch guy… when I took a group of Hong Kong students to Ghana recently,” says Fowler. “He is virtually a one-man band, living and working in a tribal community on the border with Burkina Faso. He has set up a small charity to help kids who’ve been abandoned because their parents died of HIV/AIDS. I asked him if he had applied for any funding and he told me the paperwork would take up too much time which could be spent with the people he needs to help. And they probably wouldn’t give him funding anyway. It’s people like Eric that we want to tell the international community about.”

Lindstrom, a former Swedish Special Forces soldier, has already set up one NGO, the Light for Children in Ghana, which he founded in 2005 after a three-month stint as a volunteer in the country. Light for Children recruits young volunteers from all over the world to help disadvantaged children in Ghana’s Ashanti region.

One such volunteer is young British lawyer Rhianydd Griffith who ended up getting in touch with Lindstrom and helping in an Ashanti orphanage after Googling “volunteer Ghana.” At 24, she was older than some of the other students, but the experience changed her life. “A lot of young people lack confidence,” she says. “But doing something like this shows you that you really can make a difference.” Volunteering has had a big impact on Griffith, who now works for a corporate social responsibility law firm in London. “I’d tell anyone thinking about taking a gap year to combine travel and volunteering,” she adds.

Lindstrom and Fowler met while studying at Hong Kong University. They hit it off immediately, discovering a mutual interest in environmental and social issues. They both wanted to mobilise Hong Kong students and show them what could be achieved by a group of motivated and determined individuals.

Inspired by actor Ewan McGregor, Lindstrom and Fowler first discussed a motorbike trip through Africa to help small NGOs but decided against the plan. “It wasn’t very environmentally sound,” says Lindstrom. Fowler agrees. “And we wanted to interact with the locals, to live with them and learn their stories. That’s easier to do using public transport than on motorbikes. And it’s cheaper.”

The 10 week trip is the first one for the WTYSL Foundation, but both men hope it is the start of things to come. “We want to encourage other young people to do this,” says Fowler. “To show them an alternative way of traveling. And if a group wants to do something similar in India or South America we are there to give advice and help.”

“We are going to share positive, hopeful stories,” adds Lindstrom. “We are not going to dwell on the stereotyped clichés of misery and hopelessness, because Africa isn’t like that. It’s full of positive, enthusiastic individuals who are striving to achieve their hopes and dreams. We can learn from them as much as they can from us.”

Lawyer and volunteer Griffith has the last word. “Sebastian is totally inspirational. He taught me you’re never too young; you just need to be brave. And I’ve learned that what you do and what your team does, even on a small scale, really can change the world.”

To follow WTYSL’s journey, visit the organization’s website.

Community Connection:

WTYSL isn’t the only group currently journeying across Africa to collect hopeful, positive stories. Read about sisters Chioma and Oluchi Ogwuegbu and their “Celebrate Africa” trip.

Photos courtesy of Journeys Within Our Communities

See a problem – solve a problem. It’s a good mantra to live by, and if you can travel with that mindset, even better.

Andrea and Brandon Ross certainly have taken that issue to heart, doing a world of good in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. The couple runs Journeys Within Tour Company and Journeys Within B&B. Wanting to give back to the Cambodian community in which they were working, they initially started small, collecting donations from guests. The projects grew and, luckily, so did the support. They were able to incorporate Journeys Within Our Community and received their 501(c)3 tax-exempt status in 2005.

“JWOC seeks to create and support projects that reduce poverty levels and increase educational and economic opportunities throughout Southeast Asia,” explains Andrea Ross, JWOC Founder and Executive Director. “Our projects provide training and assistance in the areas of health, education and economic development. As we see new problems develop, we focus resources and attention to solve those problems.”

JWOC’s programs range from a scholarship program in which 70 students from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are currently attending university, plus donating volunteer hours back to their communities. They run three free schools in Cambodia and Laos that are open six days a week and there are more than 300 wells providing clean water to villagers in the Siem Reap area. Microloans have also been given out to more than 200 local people living below the poverty line.

“By working at the local level and focusing on basic needs such as clean water, education, health, emergency relief and other community based issues, JWOC helps to develop projects that start small, but with outside support, gain momentum and change lives,” says Andrea.

Hurricane Nargis hit Myanmar hard in 2007. JWOC quickly went to work, and the organization was able to get into the country to aid stranded villages, often when bigger aid organizations were still struggling for permission. Past guests and donors were a huge part of this effort, and the organization eventually raised more than $30,000 in emergency relief.

“Our managing director was soon on his way to a small village that had been devastated with much needed supplies of rice and oil. We were able to continue supporting this community until major relief supplies started arriving,” says Andrea. “At the same time he visited Mingalar Parahita Orphanage on the outskirts of Yangon. It had been severely damaged and had experienced an influx of children orphaned by the storm. …[W]e were able to provide food and oil until their traditional supplies were re-established many months later.”

If any blessing came out of this tragedy, it was that JWOC continued working with this orphanage, and they are currently sponsoring 16 students at university.

It’s easy to get involved with JWOC, and the organization offers a unique way of seeing your donation at work.

“We believe strongly in active philanthropy. This is the idea of giving to a project before a trip so you can then see the results of your donation during your travels,” explains Andrea. “We have guests donate water wells and then visit the community benefiting from clean water; we have guests donate to our language schools and they then get to participate in a class and meet the students. I think this idea of being a part of the community and integrating giving back in any tour is a really fantastic way to make a tour… much more meaningful.”

If you’d like to do some hands on work, JWOC accepts volunteers on a case by case basis. Volunteers must pay their own way, and need to be self-starters and able to work independently on projects assigned by their directors. Duties may include teaching an English class, working on hygiene projects, or helping with the microloan program.

Judy and Gerry Laird from Fair Oaks, California read about Journeys Within Tour Company in their local paper and knew immediately this was an area of the world where they wanted to visit and volunteer. Among other activities, they helped out in JWOC’s school for younger children, as well as spent a day in four different classes at their school in Laos. The couple was thrilled with their experience.

“We were fortunate to participate in a JWOC finance class for young people where they collected loan payments from small local vendors,” Judy says. “ We rode in a tuk-tuk behind four teens on motor scooters! This was an inside look at the hard working local vendors and the well-trained young people.”

Judy has lots of encouragement for potential volunteers.

“Do it! Brandon and Andrea will find a project for travelers of all ages, experiences, and abilities. They are involved in many activities for the community and will find a match for everyone,” she says. “Volunteering for JWOC gave us a small opportunity to be of service to the world. We are better people and travelers because of this thrilling experience!”

Final thoughts from Andrea?

“Ultimately we want to empower the community to help itself and to educate a new generation with the idea of community action. We like to see how travel can have a positive impact on communities and that development, if done right, can be a good thing.”

All photos courtesy of Peace Action West.

There are a lot of words Westerners associate with Iran, but citizen diplomacy is probably not among them. Your typical news report on anything dealing with Iran might mention nuclear ambitions, sanctions, or Ahmadinejad’s latest display of rhetoric.

But these phrases have little connection to the experiences of Rebecca Griffin, who recently returned from Iran, where she carried messages of peace from American citizens. Griffin is political director of Peace Action West, and I sat down with her to hear about her experiences first hand.

Griffin with an Iranian woman who asked, “Weren’t you scared to come here because of the media?”

In a climate where 35% of Americans named Iran as the number one threat to America, citizen diplomacy might be far from many people’s minds. Rebecca Griffin thinks that just means pundits and fear-mongering media are doing their job well. She believes that is even more reason to engage in diplomacy.

Griffin’s organization, Peace Action West, recently launched a campaign called Citizen Diplomat, which put out an appeal:

“Politicians and pundits in both the United States and Iran build support for an approach to the world based on force and aggression by dehumanizing the ‘enemy’ and exploiting people’s worst fears. But regular people like you and me can take their power away by putting a human face on the US and Iran and showing that ordinary people in both countries support each other and want to build a strong, respectful and peaceful relationship. By demonstrating that Americans and Iranians are more alike than we are different. Share your personal hopes for peace with Iran in a recorded message, and I will make sure Iranians see them. It is much harder to advocate for sanctions when you know a child who will go hungry, or bombings when you know families who could be killed. Thank you for sharing your positive hopes and vision for friendship with Iran.”

That appeal went viral online and Americans from all parts of the country sent in written statements and recorded audio and video of themselves addressing Iranians with messages of peace and good will.

”The responses were very positive and encouraging on all sides,” Griffin said.

Griffin gave CDs of the various messages to people and groups she met in Iran. She found Iranians she met to be very welcoming. For some, she was the first American they had ever met in person.

Griffin interviews Ashkan using a Flip camera.

Griffin said she was motivated because “there is a new window of opportunity” and a new mood in the country. Add to that new media technologies that make it easier to communicate globally.

Her goals were to show Iranians that the average American wants peace, to show both Americans and Iranians another side of each other, and to mobilize citizens to pressure politicians to back away from confrontation and engage in diplomacy.

While in Iran, Rebecca met with American Studies students at Tehran University and with members of a group called Miles for Peace, a group of Iranian citizens who bicycled through Europe carrying their own brand of citizen diplomacy.

Griffin with members of Miles for Peace

They traveled for 70 days through 18 cities and met with European mayors and citizens. Griffin noted that both she and members of Miles For Peace found it uplifting that ordinary citizens of both nations were educating and advocating for peace and mutual respect.

I asked her about President Obama, who just returned from his own tour of the region. “Obama’s speech is significant,” Griffin says, “especially when [compared] with any previous administration.”

Obama highlighted diplomacy without preconditions and a new path forward, as well as Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy, while warning about a nuclear arms race in the region.

Griffin said that it is a step in the right direction with regard to healing relationships with Muslim countries. “But,” she continues, “the people of the region want to see action, not only talk. They are waiting to see.”

There is a lot of mistrust between the two nations. Iranians remember our activities in the region, as Griffin was continuously reminded. For example, while many Americans are probably unaware of the CIA’s (and the British) role in the 1953 coup that overthrew elected Prime Minister Mosaddeq, this information is part of standard history lessons for Iranians.

School girls in Iran.

Iranians also remember the United States’ role in the Iran-Iraq war, a bloody 8-year conflict that injured over a million people and is not far from the minds of even young people, who were just children at the time. The United States played each country off one another, but heavily aided Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, giving him the green light to attack over Iran’s border. The United States not only gave billions of dollars in aid, but also intelligence, weapons, chemicals, technology, agricultural credits, and special forces training.

“All of this still feels very present to them,” Griffin told me.

She also told me a story of a taxi-cab driver who told her group he wants peaceful relations with the United States, and even wants different political leadership. But he added that he would pick up a gun to defend his country, who he called “mother,” if threatened or attacked by the United States.

Griffin said this belies the claim that if we just pressure Iran enough through sanctions, its citizens will turn against its government. The United States has often used the strategy of sanctions as punishment against countries, from Cuba to Iraq, in an attempt to make conditions worse for both the government and the people until—so the theory goes—the people will rise up to force a change of regime or change of behavior on the part of its political leaders.

The path to trust and a healthier relationship between the United States and Iran is an uphill one. There are many obstacles to normalizing relations with Iran. Alongside Ahmadinejad’s and Supreme Leader Khameini’s provocative statements and the fact that U.S. bases, troops, and naval warships are surrounding Iran, Congress is sending the wrong message, sometimes at odds with Obama’s.

At the same time, Obama is making diplomatic gestures and trying to change the tone, Congress is talking about harsher sanctions and drafting bills to punish companies that sell to Iran, actions Griffin sees as counter-productive. Peace Action West and its members are pressuring their representatives to support diplomacy and take advantage of an opportunity to move away from confrontation.

When I asked her how she responds to those who would say she should leave diplomacy to the diplomats, Griffin says, “Of course there has to be high-level diplomacy. But speaking as citizens is a lot less loaded of an interaction. When you speak person-to-person,” she notes, “you realize how similar you are.”

It may not be the solution, but it is part of the solution.

Whatever Obama’s administration does with regard to Iran, Griffin stressed the need to get past the one-sided narrow version of each other that each country has, mostly gained through the mainstream media and the government. Especially in the age of blogging, alternative media, and global travel, Griffin counsels citizens of both nations to “learn more about each other and to facilitate communication.”

If only the pundits and politicians would get out of the way.

To find out more about Rebecca Griffin’s trip and how to get involved, visit Peace Action West’s Citizen Diplomacy.

Community Connection:

To learn more about current Iranian politics, read about the ways in which women in the region are influencing political and social space.

Feature photo via focuspublicationsint; Photo of Panama City, above: Carlos Adampol

Ruben Blades had a distinguished career before accepting his current position as Panama’s Minister of Tourism: he was a famous singer and actor who also happened to hold a law degree and once ran for the presidency of his country.

Perhaps that’s why he’s brought a creative approach to running the country’s Tourism Authority.

Since 2004, Blades has been in charge of stimulating tourism in Panama, a task at which he’s been successful: tourism is currently the country’s fastest growing industry.

But the job was hardly easy at the beginning. Though the country’s eco-diversity rivals neighboring Costa Rica, Panama didn’t have a reputation as a country that was fully committed to exploiting its natural resources in an environmentally sustainable way.

Then, there was the issue of safety. When Blades entered office, the country tended to be perceived by travelers as a dicey destination. The perception wasn’t helped by the American TV show, “Prison Break,” which was partially filmed in Panama and portrayed the country’s capital as a modern metropolis with a seedy, seething underbelly.

And finally, there were economic problems: mass unemployment on one end of the socioeconomic spectrum and mass corruption on the other.

Ruben Blades, far right, with a group of indigenous women

Blades hasn’t been able to solve these problems, of course, though he’s hardly been shy or silent about his opinions on these subjects. But one program he implemented tried–and seems to have succeeded–tackling at least two of these problems with a single initiative.

Blades’ ideas about how the tourism industry should be structured are hardly conventional. Shortly after taking office, Blades convened a group of former gang members to offer them an opportunity most found hard to turn down: earn a stipend and the possibility of a job after participating in a six month training program that would prepare them to serve as local guides.

The training, which consisted of courses in Panamanian history, service and hospitality, safety, and basic English, was so popular that the pilot program was extended and continues today. Though it started in the capital, where trained guides offer tours in the historic district, the program has also been extended to the country’s other main tourism zones.

While Matador hasn’t found any data to quantify the outcomes of the Panamanian tour guide training program with respect to guest satisfaction and guides’ long-term employment success, Blades’ pilot project seems to offer promise and could be a viable model for other countries’ tourism boards.

Community Connection:

Planning to visit Panama? Matador contributor Spencer Klein is our local expert, and he’s happy to answer any questions you might have.

Photo: striatic

As we mentioned earlier this week on MatadorPulse, the micro-blogging website Twitter offers users just 140 characters to communicate what they’re thinking about and what they’re doing… yet they’re finding incredibly creative ways to maximize these bursts of communication.

Matador’s own Honor Dargan (@tokyotopia on Twitter) launched Twitter’s first live travel chat this week along with fellow expat Shane Sakata.

Young people in Moldova used Twitter to send the world real-time updates about a growing political protest.

And now, folks are using Twitter to raise money for a social cause.

Earlier this week, TechCrunch’s MG Siegler reported that web developer and Twitter user Drew Olanoff , who recently learned that he has cancer, has devised a genius way to use Twitter to generate money for cancer research.

Olanoff isn’t the first Twitter user to raise money for a good cause via Twitter, but he may be the most innovative. Olanoff invites people to complain about things that are bothering them on Twitter, using the hash tag– #BlameDrewsCancer– to blame their troubles on… his cancer.

A related website, www.blamedrewscancer.com, aggregates all the “tweets” with the #BlameDrewsCancer tag; for each #BlameDrewsCancer tweet, Olanoff looks for sponsors to donate $1.00 to cancer research.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to #BlameDrewsCancer for the fact that I’m out of coffee.

Community Connection

Are you on Twitter? If so, be sure to add @MatadorNetwork to your list! Our Twitter ninjas, Andy and Nick, not only let you know about new content on Matador, they tweet about some of the best travel content online.

Photo: British MP George Galloway speaks to the media as he arrives in Gaza. ISM Palestine Feature photo: gloucester2gaza

That is George Galloway’s goal–to organize a 500 vehicle convoy with as many people to deliver $10 million dollars in aid and medical supplies for the people of Gaza through the Egyptian border.

Ambitious? Yes. Realistic? Absolutely.

George Galloway, controversial member of the UK Parliament and founder of the Viva Palestina campaign, is on a whirlwind tour of major U.S. cities to raise awareness about the situation in Gaza.

Viva Palestina: A Lifeline from the United States to Gaza, is the second round of a remarkable feat that Galloway and hundreds of concerned global citizens pulled off this spring.

Photo: ISM Palestine

Starting from Britain, volunteers drove a mile-long convoy of over 100 vehicles through Belgium, France, and Spain, ferried across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco, then drove westward across the North African desert. A month later, and over 9,000 miles traveled across nine countries, Viva Palestina arrived in Gaza with 12 ambulances, a fire engine, buses, a boat, and hundreds of trucks full of medicine, food, blankets, clothes, tools, and gifts for children.

This is the material from which epic movies are made.

George Galloway is a leftist MP, elected several times in the British Parliament. The outspoken Galloway is no stranger to taking positions contrary to prevailing political winds. He opposed the Iraq sanctions in the 1990s and campaigned to prevent the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He is optimistic and determined about his new campaign. “There’s a new atmosphere in the US over Palestine,” he says; “the phenomenal response to this tour demonstrates that.”

At a speaking event hosted by MECA (Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance) in Berkeley, California on May 20, Galloway told the audience about the stumbling blocks along the way, including the arrest of nine volunteers detained under British Anti-Terrorism laws even before the caravan got underway.

Photo: Viva Palestina convoy arrives in Gaza. ISM Palestine

Crossing the borders of North African nations was no simple task either. Galloway was struck by how little support there was–even among Arab governments–for the people in Gaza. Egypt– partly because the U.S. gives it billions of dollars in military aid every year– was not very enthusiastic about the trip. But it was through their border at Rafah that the convoy finally reached Gaza.

Libya was the one Arab country that genuinely supported the effort, giving the campaign free fuel and accommodations. The border between Libya and Algeria was opened for the first time in 15 years, allowing the caravan to go through. Galloway told the audience that Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi asked him how many vehicles they had in the convoy.

Galloway answered, “110.”

Gaddafi responded, “Now you have 220.”

In contrast to their political leaders, the citizens of each country displayed solidarity. Galloway described how people went miles out of their way to bring the convoy supplies to carry to the people of Gaza.

Since Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) took control of Gaza in 2007, it has been subject to an international blockade, Israeli restrictions, and a ban on exports, causing a humanitarian crisis for the 1.5 million people who live on that isolated strip of land 25 miles long and six miles wide.

Despite a cease-fire in June 2008, Israel did little to reduce its military blockade. In the context of worsening conditions, the cease-fire began to seriously unravel on November 4, when Israel made an incursion into Gaza and killed six Palestinians, followed by an air strike, calling it a preemptive measure to remove a threat. Hamas fired rockets into Israeli territory. On December 27, 2008, Israel began aerial bombardment on Gaza in response, followed by a ground invasion.

It was the intensification of collective punishment for the people of Gaza. As Karen Koning AbuZayd of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees reported in January, “Gaza is on the threshold of becoming the first territory to be intentionally reduced to a state of abject destitution, with the knowledge, acquiescence and– some would say–encouragement of the international community.”

Organizations ranging from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and UNICEF to the International Committee of the Red Cross have expressed alarm over the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the blockaded Gaza Strip. Tony Blair said in March that Israel must lift the blockade immediately. “I don’t think anybody can come here and not be appalled by what is happening,” Blair declared.

George Galloway and hundreds of others certainly were appalled and are doing something about it. The U.S. convoy is set to depart on July 4, U.S. Independence Day. Co-leading the U.S. campaign is Ron Kovic, long-time peace activist, Vietnam War veteran, and star of the Oliver Stone film, “Born on the Fourth of July,” in which he was portrayed by Tom Cruise. After that, the next convoy is set to depart October 4, traveling via Europe and Asia (about 3,500 miles over 18 days).

The plan: volunteers will fly to Egypt, buy the vehicles and medical supplies in Cairo, and then head for the Egyptian border with Gaza. If things go as planned, the people of Gaza will receive much needed humanitarian aid and international solidarity from the people of the United States.

Talk about travel with a purpose.

For more background information on the situation, visit GazaSiege or ElectronicIntifada. For more information about the humanitarian convoy, visit Viva Palestina.

Photo: David Gilbert, Amazon Watch

How many activists does it take to shut down the main entrance to the headquarters of the 2nd largest U.S. oil corporation?

Six.

Well, six, plus dozens of supporters and organizers of an international campaign called The True Cost of Chevron.

The purpose was to draw attention to Chevron’s environmental and human rights abuses from Richmond, California– the location of one of its largest refineries– to Ecuador, where a judge is set to decide this fall on the long-standing lawsuit that seeks damages of $27 billion for toxic environmental pollution in the Amazon rainforest and its communities.

The setting was Chevron’s annual shareholders’ meeting in affluent San Ramon, California, about 30 miles from its second largest refinery in Richmond. It was too close for me not to miss.

Photo by author

Blocking the entrance was not the goal of the demonstration. Rather, it set the stage for two events that marked the day: First, proxy shareholders came from the many countries around the world where Chevron operates to share the stories and concerns of their respective communities with the Board and Chevron CEO David J. O’Reilly (the 15th highest paid U.S. oil CEO).

Second, the announcement and discussion of “An Alternative Annual Report” entitled “The True Cost of Chevron” that is in striking contrast to Chevron’s own 2008 Annual Shareholder Report, which highlights its remarkable financial success, boasting nearly $24 billion in profits last year. “What Chevron’s annual report does not tell its shareholders is the true cost paid for those financial returns, or the global movement gaining voice and strength against Chevron’s abuses,” reads the alternative report.

Organized by a broad coalition of organizations, including Amazon Watch, Global Exchange, Justice in Nigeria Now, CorpWatch, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Rainforest Action Network, and Crude Accountability, the Alternative Report chronicles abuses in Nigeria, the Philippines, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Burma, Canada, and the USA.

It covers everything from Chevron’s successful lobbying of high-level political connections to air pollution, toxic spills, industrial accidents, discriminatory labor practices, human rights abuses, and environmental and health devastation. Its demands to Chevron are clear and simple: clean up your mess, clean up your act, stop aligning yourself with dictatorships and militaries, pay your fair share, and be transparent.

I was among several dozen activists who accompanied the proxy shareholders to the security gate, where they were sent off with good cheer and warm solidarity. Soon after the shareholders went in, six local activists from Unconventional Action if the Bay Area and Rising Tide locked down the main entrance lane by locking their arms in PVC tubes painted yellow with the words “Chevron kills.”

Photo by author

They were soon joined by myself and dozens of others lined up behind them, claiming a space for speakers to explain why we were there. Chevron security forces and San Ramon police did not attempt to remove us. Perhaps they decided not to take action in order not to draw more negative media attention than Chevron is already getting.

The coalition of organizers also produced a clever subvertisement campaign called “Chevwrong” that mirrored and mocked Chevron’s latest “Human Energy” ad campaign. Images of representatives of communities around the world are shown with a quote, such as “I will try not to breathe polluted air” along with a factoid highlighting a particular abuse in a specific region.

The week prior to the meeting, the San Francisco Bay Area saw the appearance of these images wheat-pasted on billboards and poles around town. CBS Outdoor had refused to sell ad space on its billboards. When contacted, the CBS spokesperson said that it was against policy to have attack ads that were negative in character.

Alongside this was a form of subvertisement theater organized in large part by long-time activist David Solnit, author of Army of None. The alternative campaign is meant to speak the truth about the real effects of Chevron’s actions behind the fancy rhetoric of Chevron’s greenwashing campaign. Instead, Chevron’s “Human Energy” becomes “Inhumane Energy” and the subvertisement images read, “I will expose greenwashing,” and “I will expose toxic pollution.” Activists held the ads up to frame their faces behind the subversive words and chanted in unison, “I will expose–green washing! Will you join me? Yes, I will!”

Photo by author

While the shareholder meeting was taking place, speakers from Amazon Watch, National Lawyers Guild, and individuals like Antonia Juhasz–lead organizer and editor of the Alternative Report–and Rebecca Solnit, author of the much-praised Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities, highlighted the grievances against Chevron and the need to keep putting pressure on the big oil giants. One member of Iraq Veterans Against the War told about how he was reassigned from his communications/intelligence duties in Iraq to protect oil pipelines.

At about 10:30, the shareholders came out and shared what occurred in the meeting. It was reported that Chevron’s CEO David O’Reilly told them that the campaign’s Alternative Report, which he claimed he had seen, along with their grievances “are an insult to Chevron employees, and should be thrown in the trash.”

Speakers ranged from the Mayor of Richmond, Gayle McLaughlin, who reported that “Chevron’s response is emblematic of its approach to local communities—a systemic disregard and mockery of the communities in which it operates,” to Christine Cordero of Filipino/American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity, who said:

“While our communities suffer from Chevron’s toxic emissions, catastrophic spills, leakages, and explosions, David O’Reilly speaks of his hurt feelings. This is about the health of communities and, ultimately, the long term of health of O’Reilly’s corporation if he continues to choose to do nothing and ignore the costs of Chevron’s operations in the Philippines.”

Paul Donowitz of EarthRights International added that “Chevron chose to turn a deaf ear to the communities who bear the crippling consequences of its operations. Chevron’s complicity in human rights abuses in Burma, the billions in project revenues flowing to the brutal Burmese military junta who use these profits to oppress their own people are more evidence that this is a company that cares for only one thing – its bottom line.” A dozen or so people from the Burmese community, including a robed monk, were there to oppose Chevron’s actions in their country.

After the speakers finished their reports, the rally was concluded with the chant “We’ll be back! We’ll be back!”—echoing Ecuador representative Mr. Criollo’s promise that “we’ll keep fighting until the end.”

A student at Escuela Taller’s forge

Mompox, Colombia may be a UNESCO World Heritage site, but if you stopped for a short visit, you’d hardly know it. Located on the banks of the Magdalena River, Mompox is geographically isolated, and for the rest of Colombia–especially the government, Mompox is out of sight, out of mind.

There are some magnificent colonial structures here, and a marker designates the spot where Simon Bolivar (or “The Liberator,” as he’s known) set off on various journeys to secure the region’s independence from Spain.

A local fisherman

It’s rumored this is the town that inspired Nobel literature laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s fictional town of Macondo… and the longer you stick around and the more you observe, the more inclined you are to believe that.

But at first glance, there’s not much to recommend Mompox. The streets are dusty. If the weather’s been bad, staple foodstuffs might not have arrived from the other side of the river, though there’s always plenty of Aguila beer.

Unemployment is high, so lots of men spend their days lounging along the river, listening to the same track of songs spool off the bar’s blaring sound system.

They talk about better days–the ones before the dam was built up river, when their fishing and farming actually yielded something to support their families.

9th graders in Mompox

It’s depressing to think about, really. The kids stare at you blankly when you ask about their future plans. College? Dreams?

Many of their parents have left Colombia to look for work in Venezuela. Some of them don’t have electricity. Despite their incredible intelligence and talent, their prospects aren’t promising.

And yet, behind closed doors, there’s lots of homegrown social change going on, led by people who love their community, don’t want to leave it, and aren’t willing to wait for the government to solve their problems.

People like Alvaro Castro.

Castro, an architect by training, is the director of Escuela Taller (”The Workshop School”), a vocational training program that works with both teens and adults to improve their academic and employment possibilities. Castro describes Mompox as a 21st century town stuck in the 18th century. “From the perspective of an architect, this is marvelous,” he says. “But from a social perspective, it’s a disaster.”

Culinary students

Castro oversees an ambitious and diverse cluster of projects that are intended to help some of the town’s most vulnerable citizens: sexually abused children, adolescents from poor families, and former paramilitary members.

The school has several workshops around town; tucked away behind colonial doors, teens learn culinary arts and hospitality service under the direction of a professional chef; 20- and 30-something year old men learn blacksmithing and woodworking; and young women and men are instructed in the art and science of metallurgy, keeping alive a tradition of filigree jewelry making that has made the town famous in Colombia for more than 100 years.

“The purpose of Escuela Taller’s programs,” Castro says, “is twofold: first, to involve young people in education and work, and second, to rescue and sustain our culture by teaching students our traditions.”

A group of students practice in the school’s forge.

The town’s annual budget of $6 million USD is hardly enough to cover all of Mompox’s basic expenses, much less fund programs like Escuela Taller. When I was there, the local nursing home had been operating without any money for eight months. Keeping such services up and running is a job that nobody envies, but which is fulfilled by people in key positions around town by relying upon good will, creativity, and a long credit line.

Castro’s programs–the cost of which exceeds Mompox’s budget several times over– are largely funded by the Spanish government. The investment pays off: 70% of the school’s graduates go on to find work in their field of study, though their jobs often take them beyond Mompox’s watery border.

There’s lots more Castro would like to do– his most ambitious dream is to collaborate more closely with the local government so students can get hands-on experience renovating their own town through the skills they’ve learned, a goal that seems reasonable enough but which is frustrated by bureaucratic red tape. For now, though, Castro’s happy to go home at the end of each day knowing Escuela Taller’s programs are helping his town and its next generation.

Community Connection:

Some of the most interesting social change programs are projects no one outside the local community has ever heard of. What sorts of projects have you seen on your travels? What are the characteristics of successful social change organizations? Share your experiences in the comments.

Interested in visiting Mompox? Matador’s own Richard McColl owns the guest house, La Casa Amarilla, right along the riverbank.

Photo: Laurie Tighe

Intrepid travelers for whom no corner of earth is considered off limits often discover much more than they bargained for when visiting new locations. Social problems ranging from poverty to hunger to homelessness rear their ugly heads in many spots around the world.

Sharing experiences via blog postings to friends and family is one way of informing people within our own sphere of influence about some of the day-to-day tragedies of our global neighbors.

Collective Lens is another.

“Collective Lens: Photography for Social Change aims to raise awareness of important issues around the world through photographs provided by the general public,” says director Bryan Tighe. He and his wife, Laurie, founded Collective Lens as a news and educational resource.

“Laurie and I have always been interested in photography as well as social issues and volunteering,” Bryan shares. “We wanted to do something to bring attention to the many important issues that we felt were overlooked by the mainstream media in America. Naturally, being so involved with photography led us to try to find ways that we could get compelling photos in front of viewers, and we also felt it was very important to involve people from around the world.”

Collective Lens recently received its 501(c)3 non-profit status in the United States, so they’re hoping for major growth in 2009. The Tighes are also spending a good part of the year delving into parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia to show how people in other parts of the world live and how ordinary people can do something to change their circumstances.

People looking for an easy way to volunteer while traveling will find Collective Lens an excellent organization to partner with.

“The easiest way to get involved would be to submit some photos,” says Bryan. “Other than that, we’re always looking for writers to post articles on a variety of topics…. We’re also looking for people to help with online marketing, as well as someone who would be interested in being an editor/coordinator/recruiter of the articles and blog.”

Shehzad Noorani, a freelance documentary photographer, was recruited by Bryan thanks to her work on Flickr.

Photo: Kathy Adams

“There are thousands of sites that help photographers sell their work, but only a handful that understand why concerned social documentary photographers take pictures in the first place,” Shehzad says. “Collective Lens is amongst the best that bring concerned documentary photographers under one roof and help them reach an audience that cares and wants more out of photography.”

Shehzad recommends working with Collective Lens because it exposes volunteers to meaningful photos and photographers, while bringing people face-to-face around issues that really matter.

Bryan says they have many goals, but realize a new organization also faces many challenges.

“In the short term, we would like to become an online magazine that showcases various issues around the world with regular written articles and associated photography, perhaps on an assignment basis in addition to the user submitted photos that we have now,” he explains. “We also would like to become a source for people to get information about specific nonprofits, NGOs, and charities around the world. We are partially doing this on the site now, where organizations can create a profile for themselves. This area is currently somewhat limited and we’d like to expand it greatly.”

Travel, experience, share. Reveal the world through your photos and words by contributing to Collective Lens.

Community Connection:

If you want to improve your photography skills in order to document your travels, check out this recent podcast by Matador contributor and travel photographer, Ryan Libre.

Photo: willrad

The excuse of waiting until you’re old and rich before making a contribution to the collective betterment of society is a naive and harmful mindset.

Reading stories about the Bill Gates and Warren Buffets of the world persuade us that only after supreme wealth can we afford to give back. However, doing good does not have to involve multi-billion dollar endowments, just like independent travel and seeing the world do not require multi-million dollar trust funds.

I don’t condone embarking on a charitable campaign ill-prepared and halfheartedly. You will cause more harm than good. But, if you’re waiting for riches and career success before starting a non-profit, you are missing the boat and may be waiting until it is too late.

Here are five reasons to give back and start a non-profit TODAY:

1. Social change is an interest earning investment. Start contributing early.

Anyone with a savings account understands the importance of compounded interest and saving sooner rather than later.

Social activism is no different.

The ripple effect of positive change grows exponentially over time. $250 today can fund a reading program in a rural school in northern Laos (see the Big Brother Mouse Program, for example) and teach hundreds of children how to read – doing far more for the education of those children and their future generations than $250,000 will do 50 years from now.

2. Getting started costs $0.

In the world of Web 2.0, the tools of successful start-up companies are free. Web content publishing platforms like WordPress, social networking/media sites like Facebook, and micro-blogging tools like Twitter are part of any successful company’s arsenal.

Photo: Iain Farrell

Non-profits should act no differently. Building a website using Wordpress and marketing it via Facebook and Twitter is simple and a surefire way to start building a successful non-profit. Philanthropic and charitable causes were made to be marketed virally (a message that propagates itself by encouraging others to pass it along, versus paying for advertising) because campaigns that tug at human emotion are easy to sell!

Whether raising money for your own cause or for another charity, online fund raising tools are available and free. When campaigning for your own cause, Firstgiving and PayPal are two excellent fund raising tools depending on your purpose and your non-profit’s status (Firstgiving requires IRS 501(c)(3) status and recognition by GuideStar). Placing a PayPal “Donate Now” button on your website takes you from blogger to social entrepreneur in less than 10 minutes.

Raising money for other campaigns is even easier. Organizations like Room to Read offer users the ability to build their own fund raising pages through Firstgiving to raise money to build schools, in effect, taking away all fiscal responsibility and letting users focus on marketing and rallying support.

3. Start lean and mean, the motto of all successful businesses.

Everyone hates bloated charities that siphon 50% of donations off the top to fund operations and executive salaries.

Starting a non-profit with zero funding alleviates this problem, forcing you to implement effective and efficient processes early on. As your organization grows, these processes translate into a higher percentage of donations making it to the root cause, thus ensuring greater success for the lifetime of your non-profit.

4. Prevention costs less than correction.

Loaning a man $500 through a Kiva microloan to start a successful business today costs far less than supporting his entire family for decades on end, not to mention the cost of social degradation due to collective poverty. Success is contagious; it’s better to start early and let social change compound itself.

5. Life is an uncertainty. Leave this world with no regrets.

Any traveler knows the importance of living without regrets. It is the core of his or her desire to see and experience the world. There are rarely any guarantees in life, except this. You may never become rich, but you will most definitely become old. "You must be the change you wish to see in the world," as Gandhi said . . . before it's too late.

Community Connection:

For more tangible tips about starting your own non-profit or NGO, check out Roll Your Own Peace Corps and How to Start a Successful NGO in 10 Steps. If you’re not quite ready to tackle your own NGO-building project, check out Five Ways to Raise Money at Home for Your Causes Abroad.

Photo: Fuseman

But films, when well-done, can be carried to all corners of the world, raising viewers’ awareness of problems and audacious social change projects and inspiring them to get involved.

This is one of the core values of the Global Oneness Project.

I’ve written about the Global Oneness Project before, but this time it’s to announce some free community building events coming up in the Pacific Northwest.

If you live in Olympia, Seattle, Portland, Bellingham, Eugene, or Victoria, BC, you’re invited to Global Oneness Project’s film and conversation series, the New Narrative Project, which kicks off this week. The series promises engaging short films, good conversation among people who care about the same things you do, and the chance to meet filmmakers.

The full schedule and more details can be found here.

1. “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.” -Audre Lorde

2. “We must not allow ourselves to become like the system we oppose.” -Archbishop Desmond Tutu

3. “When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” -Eleanor Roosevelt

Photo: Sepperer Markus

4. “Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.”- Paulo Freire

5. “People must take a modicum of public responsibility for each other even if they have no ties to each other.” -Jane Jacobs

6. “We have a world to conquer…one person at a time…starting with ourselves.” -Nikki Giovanni

7. “We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Photo: meanestindian

8. “It is not enough to be compassionate – you must act.”- His Holiness The Dalai Lama

9. “The people are the only ones capable of transforming society.”- Rigoberta Menchu

10. “Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good; try to use ordinary situations.”- Jean Paul Richter

11. “There will be no Homeland Security until we realize that the entire planet is our homeland. Every sentient being in the world must feel secure.” -John Perkins

12. “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it.” -Helen Keller

13. “Take your easy tears somewhere else. Tell yourself none of this ever had to happen. And then go make it stop. With whatever breath you have left. Grief is a sword or it is nothing.” -Paul Monette

14. “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.” -Reinhold Neibuhr

15. “During times of universal deceit telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” -George Orwell

16. “To be human, at the most profound level, is to encounter honestly the inescapable circumstances that constrain us, yet muster the courage to struggle compassionately for our own unique individualities and for more democratic and free societies.” -Cornel West

Photo: Amor Ministries

17.”If you are trying to transform a brutalized society into one where people can live in dignity and hope, you begin with the empowering of the most powerless. You build from the ground up.” -Adrienne Rich

18. “Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two.” -Octavio Paz

19. “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” -Elie Wiesel

20. “The more you move, the stronger you’ll grow….” -Ha Jin

h.koppdelaney

Feature photo: eneas

Photo: mikeemesser

10,000 miles. Three mountain ranges. Two deserts.

Each year, teams from around the world come together to cross one-third of the earth’s surface in the philanthropic adventure of a lifetime.

The Mongol Rally was formally organized by Tom Morgan in 2004, after he and some friends got the crazy idea to buy a few diminutive second-hand cars and see how far they could make it from London to Mongolia.

They didn’t succeed, but that idea spawned the formation of The Adventurists, what may now be the world’s premier charity rally organization.

In order to participate in the Mongol Rally all teams are required to raise at least £1000 for one of three official charitable organizations (in addition to the funds needed to actually complete the journey itself). Each organization has a part in improving the lives of Mongolian people through the provision of medical care, education, training programs, and/or water and sanitation programs. Any money raised over and above the initial £1000 may go to the charity of your choice.

Photo: Antonio Bonnano

Teams set off from one of three departure points: England, Spain, or Italy. All teams have two days to reach a set location in the Czech Republic, where they are treated to an official send-off party—a full day and night of live music and general carousing. After this single checkpoint the teams are on their own for the next 9,000 miles or so until they get to the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar.

Want to take a trip through the sweltering deserts of Iran? How about the reclusive dictatorship known as Turkmenistan? Go ahead—there’s no set route!

There are also no support teams. You are truly on your own.

Photo: Antonio Bonnano

That would be hard enough, but that’s not all.

There are rules in this rally. Number one is the 1.2 liter rule. The car you take mustn’t have an engine over the size of 1200CC’s*. 2009 is also the first year in which your car may not be over 10 years of age—a rule that has unfortunately raised the cost of entry for many participants.

The other major rule is no GPS systems. Not that they’d help you that much—roads as most know them are few and far between once you hit the deserts of western Kazakhstan. Add to that the fact that many of the roads that do exist were last mapped by the Soviets in the 1960s, and that rivers tend to appear out of nowhere due to seasonal snow melt, and you can see why such a device would be little more than a drain on the vehicle’s battery. Old school paper maps and an analog compass all the way.

Photo: vmiramontes

If you’re part of the lucky 70% who actually make it all the way, you will be treated with a pint or two, and have a chance at perhaps the best reward of all: a clean place to sleep (indoors!) and a warm shower. You also get bragging rights for having completed such an amazing journey, as well as the fact that you have helped change the lives of those in need.

Most teams stay for at least a few days to recover and do some sight-seeing, choose to donate their vehicle to charity, and fly back home from there.

I’m lucky to be a part of one of the teams competing in the 2009 rally. It’s not an easy task to prepare for a journey of this magnitude—I’m spending dozens of hours getting ready, and will be devoting about three months of my life and just about every cent I have to doing this. But no matter what the up-front cost, I’m betting that it will all be worth it in the end.

Wish me luck! To follow along on my journey, check out my team’s website.

*You may technically go over if need be, but there will be a fine of £100 for every liter, and you’ll hear no end to the mockery from fellow ralliers. An exception to this rule is if you are taking a vehicle with sufficient comedy value (e.g. an ice cream truck or double-decker bus), or a vehicle that will be useful to the local populace once donated (e.g. ambulances).

Community Connection:

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done for charity? Or the longest road trip you’ve taken? Share your memories below!

Photo: paulmannix Feature: Alex Pears

But the world’s largest turtle species is in trouble. Populations have declined 90% since 1980 due to pollution, run-ins with commercial fishing operations, poaching, and unchecked development along their favored nesting beaches.

On the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, a handful of people are working on an ingenious and effective project to get more leatherback hatchlings safely to sea.

Photo: mattkk

Photo: Todos Tortugueros

Leatherback mothers lay their eggs from October through March. The beaches north of Los Cabos, near the towns of Pescadero and Todos Santos, while as yet undeveloped, are too chilly through most of nesting season for the eggs to stay viable—only the early October nests have a chance.

That’s where Project Todos Tortugueros comes in.

In the course of her master’s degree research, biologist Elizabeth Gonzalez designed what is essentially a turtle greenhouse—a structure that raises the temperature of a chunk of the beach just enough for optimum leatherback nest incubation.

A Los Cabos-based turtle rescue group, ASUPMATOMA, donated the greenhouse to the small group of locals and expats who make up Todos Tortugueros.

Twice and sometimes three times a night during nesting season, members of the Todos Tortugueros team patrol the local beaches. As soon as a nest is found, trained volunteers move the eggs into the cozy greenhouse.

As the hatch date approaches, volunteers keep a close eye on the nests. The hatchlings are released on the beach to make their way to the sea, where they’ll confront both natural and man-made dangers. The females who survive to adulthood will return to these beaches to lay their own eggs.

In 2009 alone, more than 500 eggs—eight nests—have been protected. Hatch rates have been high, and local schoolchildren, fishermen, and community members are catching the Todos Tortugueros team’s enthusiasm for turtle conservation.

Photo: kretyen

But even as hundreds of baby turtles make their way out sea to the cheers of much of the community, three resort hotels and a luxury housing complex of over a hundred homes are either being constructed or are in the works along this stretch of coast. Building on the dunes is frowned upon, but the ban goes largely un-enforced.

Is the Todos Tortugueros project enough to keep the leatherback from extinction? Probably not on its own. But it just might be able to buy these incredible animals enough time, and enough fans, for us to do something about the other threats to their continued existence.

Want to volunteer? Adopt a hatchling? Visit the project? Check out the Todos Tortugueros website for contact information.

Community Connection:

Interested in saving turtles in other ecosystems? Check out the profile for Matador member organization, Caribbean Conservation Corporation. Founded 50 years ago, the organization has outposts in Costa Rica and Panama. Its website offers numerous resources for volunteers interested in lending a hand.

But like Oliver, whose poems vibrate with such close attention to ordinary objects and experiences that they become extraordinary, I am also fully open to being consumed with gratitude and admiration for people’s courage and commitment to their ideals.

Photo: Elvire.R.

Here are a few stories that moved me this week and which, in sharing, I hope will have the same effect on you:

The Super Sherpa

This story came to me via Ian MacKenzie, co-editor of Brave New Traveler. From the AFP article:

“Apa Sherpa has stood on top of the world more times than anyone in history, and now he is heading back up Mount Everest, not for the fame or glory, but in the name of environmental protection.

Apa, 49, has become increasingly concerned about the damage inflicted on the world’s highest mountain by both climate change and the waste left by careless climbers.

This spring season he hopes to conquer Everest for the 19th time, and he will use the trip to focus attention on how climate change is affecting the Himalayas — and also bring back down as much rubbish as he can carry…. ‘I want to see Everest clean and safe,’” Apa Sherpa said.

You can read the full story here.

The Roads Scholarship

Often, we don’t have to look far and wide for incredible stories; they’re right in our own community. Matador Trips co-editor, Hal Amen, tipped me off to the Roads Scholarship being offered by Matador member Digital Vagabond.

If you’re over 18, have summer 2009 free, and love to travel, you might just want to get some more information about this scholarship, which Digital Vagabond is offering as a way to pay forward the love of travel that was instilled in him by a literary mentor.

Read more about the scholarship here.

The Voluntary Traveler Project

Nola Lee Kelsey, editor of, The Voluntary Traveler: Adventures from the Road Best Traveled (THE definitive resource on all aspects of voluntourism), inspired me with this soon-to-be-published book project in which novice and seasoned writers share publication credits.

But besides all the work that goes into editing and preparing a book for publication, Nola’s been busy building an active community of people who are passionate about using travel as a means of helping others. If that description applies to you, be sure to visit the Voluntary Traveler Project’s Facebook page and sign up as a member if you’re interested in learning more about voluntourism.

The Congressional Black Caucus Members’ Visit to Cuba

Photo: t-bet

And, specifically, this interview with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who noted that the only true barrier to change is our own stubbornness that causes us to cling to outmoded ideologies.

When asked by PBS News Hour’s correspondent Ray Suarez whether she thinks the American travel ban can be lifted quickly, she replied:

“I think we could lift the travel ban today.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And that’s how many of us, especially in the Congressional Black Caucus, have always lived our life. When we believe that there’s something right to do and remembering that members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the CBC as a body have been known as the conscience in the Congress, when we believe that there’s something we need to do that is right and that’s just, we always have to have that hope that that can happen.”

What inspired you this week? Share links and stories below!

On May 12, 2008, a devastating earthquake in China’s Sichuan province claimed almost 70,000 lives and injured countless others. Youth from all over China quickly took action to help in the recovery effort, including volunteers from the national student environmental movement, the “Green Long March.”

“The Sichuan earthquake only lasted about a minute but the rebuilding process will take five, ten years or even more,” says volunteer Wang Wei from Sichuan University. “Our generation and the next must continue this rebuilding work.”

In July 2008, Green Long March volunteers from 10 universities traveled to six earthquake-affected communities in rural Sichuan. Recovery work included teaching environmental education classes in tent schools and temporary youth centers, delivering donated supplies, and participating in key rebuilding projects.

“We hoped to help with reconstruction efforts by promoting and educating people about green building and offering our hands to strengthen the villagers’ efforts,” explains Kuili, the Green Long March Sichuan volunteer coordinator.

In the fall of 2008, Green Long March volunteers gathered substantial donations for books, school supplies and winter clothing from local businesses and aid organizations; including thermal underwear for primary school students and over 23,000 books on environmental topics for “Green Bookshelves.”

“Life must start again from the beginning. If environmental awareness can be raised now, then the rebuilding process will be influenced by conservation awareness, and communities will develop more sustainably,” says Kuili.

The Green Long March Sichuan Project is currently supporting approximately 3,000 villagers and has impacted an estimated 1 million people. In 2009, the projects will focus on economic recovery and “sustainable livelihoods,” including coordinating more effective sales channels and marketing for local organic produce and textile products.

For more background on Green Long March, please visit: www.futuregenerations.org.cn

Doctors Without Borders provides medical assistance in areas where health care is limited or non-existent. Share Our Strength is just one of many organizations whose volunteers and paid staff make sure people in need receive food. And the International Red Cross tries to ensure that displaced people are given shelter.

But what about other needs–the ones that aren’t so obvious because they’re not considered basic to our survival? Who’s making sure these needs are met?

One answer: Clowns Without Borders.

Photo: Nai.

Clowns Without Borders was founded in Spain in 1993 by Tortell Poltrona, a professional clown who had been invited to perform at a refugee camp in Croatia. While clowning before an audience of more than 700 children, Poltrona had his “Aha!” moment: he realized that laughter could be just as powerful and necessary a force as medical and food aid.

Today, Clowns Without Borders has branches in nine countries, including Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the US, and its members have performed in refugee camps in Europe, South and Central America, and Africa.

According to the organization its mission is to:

…offer laughter to relieve the suffering of all persons, especially children, who live in areas of crisis including refugee camps, conflict zones and territories in situations of emergency.

We bring levity, contemporary clown/circus oriented performances and workshops into communities so that they can celebrate together and forget for a moment the tensions that darken their daily lives.

To see the clowns in action, take a few minutes and enjoy this video of CWB clowning around with kids in Africa:

Community Connection:

Clowns Without Borders isn’t the only organization spreading laughter and fun as a form of relief. Check out Matador organizational member, Free Flight, a Brazilian-based circus school project that works in conjunction with the Rotary Club. Their mission? “To involve youngsters from the age of 6 – 18 to practise circus arts, with the objective of taking them off the streets away from the dangers of drug trafficking and prostitution, and returning to them a childhood long forgotten or never lived.”

Photo: Matthew Oliphant

A micro-blogging platform that restricts users to 140 word bursts of communication, Twitter is a social media tool that permits people around the world to connect with one another in real-time.

A search function lets you plug in topics that interest you–travel, food, business, technology, social change, whatever– and turns out a list of “tweeters” (people using Twitter) who are “tweeting” (writing) about these topics.

Though some users of the service worry aloud about how much time they fritter away on the site, Twitter can be used to make powerful connections to help others and yourself.

Twitter has been incredibly useful for travelers–check out Pam Mandel’s post about how Twitter landed her a blogging gig with Conde Nast (she’s @nerdseyeview on Twitter), or Paul Smith’s article in the Guardian about how he planned his travels as they were unfolding using Twitter as his only guide (he’s @twitchhiker on Twitter).

I’ve been on Twitter for a few months (I’m @collazoprojects), and in addition to following some fascinating travelers, I’ve populated my follow list with international aid workers, bloggers living in countries where mainstream media never dispatch journos, and social entrepreneurs working to save the world.

Here are seven of them to add to your list:

@bloodandmilk: Alanna Shaikh is a global health blogger for Change.org and maintains an insightful blog of her own in which she critically examines international aid and development projects. She has plenty of experience to do so–she’s worked for almost 10 years in international development, heading up programs in East Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

@frontlineblog: Frontlineblog is the Twitter handle for the Frontline Club, a London-based club that brings together independent journalists. Follow their Twitter stream to learn more about independent journalism around the world; they’re regularly posting tweets that will keep you up to speed with news you won’t hear anywhere else.

@globalvoices: Another Twitter feed being tweeted by a group of independent bloggers filing reports from around the world. A must-follow to keep up with the world’s news and community-based stories totally ignored by mainstream media.

@insideislam: The University of Wisconsin at Madison effectively leverages digital media to engage followers in thoughtful conversation about Islam and Muslims around the world.

@scarlettlion: Currently based in Monrovia, Liberia, Scarlettlion is the Twitter handle for Glenna Gordon, a photographer, writer, and reporter blogging and filing articles about Africa. Her recent tweets have prompted followers to her portfolio of powerful photos taken while collaborating with UNICEF to lead workshops with Liberian girls.

@theroadto: A self-described “addicted traveler, serial expat, and passionate aid worker,” theroadto’s tweets are as much worth following as his blog.

@zyozyfounder: zyOzyfounder, aka Steve Jennings, is a humanitarian entrepreneur whose tweets are as inspiring, thought-provoking, and conversation-starting as his international non-profit zyOzy.

Community Connection:

Are you following Matador on Twitter? If not, add us to your follow list! We’re @MatadorNetwork. Have any travel twitterers you’d recommend? Share your favorites below.

Songs that spoke of revolutions, war and peace, of possibilities, change, and a better, most just world.

And they are songs that remind those of us who haven’t had to struggle so much just what it took to get where we are right now.

Here are 9 of those songs–personal favorites pulled from my own iPod and presented in no particular order–and the reasons why they’re still relevant now:

Photo: uwdigitalcollections

1. “What’s Going On?”

This song was the title track on a 1971 Marvin Gaye album of nine songs linked into a single cohesive narrative, all told from the point of view of a soldier returning home from the Vietnam War.

Gaye articulated the sentiments of many vets when he sang, “Picket lines and picket signs/Don’t punish me with brutality/Come on talk to me/So you can see/What’s going on.” It’s a message that remains fresh today.

2. “If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)”

It’s hard to believe this song was written in 1949 by American folk star Pete Seeger because it wasn’t until Peter, Paul, and Mary sang the song in the early 1960s that it became a hit. Since then, the song’s message has continued to resonate both in the U.S. and abroad– it’s been recorded in French, Spanish, and Italian, and transcended the folk scene…a recent reincarnation of the song is in reggae style.

3. “La Maza”

Written by Cuban folk musician, Silvio Rodriguez,
one of the best, most moving versions of this urgent song with an insistent beat was sung by Argentinean singer Mercedes Sosa. “What would it be,” the singer demands, “if I didn’t believe in those who listen to me, if I didn’t believe in what hurts, if I didn’t believe in what lasts, if I didn’t believe in the struggle?” They’re questions she asks herself, but which she also asks the listener.

Photo: webg33k

4. “San Quentin” and “Folsom Prison Blues”

More important than these two songs is the album on which they’re found: “Johnny Cash at San Quentin.” The album, recorded at Cash’s 1969 concert held at San Quentin Prison, includes the country star’s between-songs commentary about the inadequacies and hypocrisies of the U.S. prison system, as well as inmates’ roaring appreciation of Cash’s authentic empathy. If you buy the album, spring for a hard copy rather than a download–the liner notes help contextualize just how radical this album was.

5. “Across the Lines”

Tracy Chapman is better known for her 1988 song, “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” which I also love, but “Across the Lines,” a more obscure song in her collection, confronts the complexity of racism in a lyrically simple way.

6. “Hello, Birmingham”

Photo: anyalogic

Everything about indie folk rocker Ani DiFranco is political, including her record company–Righteous Babe (which was bucking the big label system before Radiohead made doing that cool).

She’s sung openly about her sexual identity (in “In or Out” she sings “Their eyes are all asking ‘ ‘Are you in or are you out?’ And I think, ‘Oh man, what is this about?’”), and she tackles American history, rape, and corporate America with biting wit and guitar-hammering chords that let you know she means what she’s singing about. (During concerts I attended in my college years, she always wrapped her strumming fingers with electrical tape).

But in “Hello Birmingham,” her in-your-face style is toned down almost to a whisper and DiFranco manages to work voter disenfranchisement and a prayer for “the next Dr. Martin Luther King” into a song that’s ostensibly about the murder of abortion doctors killed by pro-lifers.

And somehow, she pulls it off in a way that’s compelling enough to make you listen again.

7. “Let It Be Me”

The Indigo Girls’ music has been part of my collection for more than 15 years now, and this list could easily be comprised exclusively of their songs. Atlanta-based folk rockers Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are so convincing in the songs they sing because they’re living the lyrics they write and the sounds they lay down. One of my very favorites, though, is “Let It Be Me,” which is a musical version of the Gandhi quote, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” If you listen closely enough, you’ll hear a breath that turns into a smile towards the end of the song–yes, you can actually hear a smile.

8. “Di Que No”

The most recent song on this list, “Di Que No” is a war protest song sung by Cuban hip hop group, Hoyo Colorao. The lyrics unapologetically condemn the war in Iraq and criticize the U.S. for treating poor people around the world like enemies. Underlying drum beats reinforce the militaristic theme, but what really helped this song gain traction was its video, which laid animated characters atop strong footage of war, the burning World Trade Center, and starving children:

9. “A Change is Gonna Come”

Another song from the mid-20th century that ended up being a sleeper hit, Sam Cooke’s powerful “A Change is Gonna Come” really only became one of the most iconic songs of the Civil Rights Movement after Cooke’s early, tragic, and somewhat mysterious death. The most recent version of “A Change is Gonna Come” is sung convincingly by Seal on his album of R&B and soul music covers.

This list is clearly arbitrary and partial– what songs are on your list? Add your favorites by leaving a comment below!

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

Social entrepreneurs are changing the world with music. Learn more about Sonidos de la Tierra, an organization saving children through music in Paraguay.

Musicians aren’t the only people who build professional lives around beats and rhythms. Read about an ethnomusicologist’s work in this article from our archives.

feature photo: activefree

Steve Rhodes

I was at the grocery for seltzer and spinach.

I wasn’t planning to buy the Oprah Magazine,and my husband rolled his eyes when I grabbed it impulsively and added it to our basket.

But Michelle Obama was on the cover with Oprah and that was a big deal because Oprah has appeared on the cover alone (or with her dogs) for 105 issues.

“EXCLUSIVE FIRST INTERVIEW from the WHITE HOUSE,” the cover read.

And I was sold.
*
And so that’s why I’m on the subway, reading O’s interview with Michelle– I don’t have to call her First Lady, do I?; I feel like we’re on familiar, less formal terms–and I don’t know it yet, but I’m about to start crying.

She talks about White House pie (sinfully good, available at any hour) and furniture (needs to be livable–gotta be able to build a fort out of White House pillows!), but most of all, she talks about people.

And what she says sounds familiar and moving because it’s the refrain of the Obama campaign that we know was more than a sound bite: “This–all of it– is about the people.”

“How are you a different woman today than you were when Barack Obama announced his candidacy in 2007?” Oprah asks.

Michelle replies:

“I’m more optimistic. More hopeful. It comes from traveling all over America and connecting with so many different people…. This was the kindness of strangers. I think we should all have to get to know one another around kitchen tables. It changed me. It’s helped me to give other people the benefit of the doubt…. I saw our shared values. We fundamentally want the same things for ourselves and each other….People value their communities. They’re rooting for one another….”

*
And that’s what makes me cry. I know that feeling of traveling and connecting–over hot tortillas in Teotitlan del Valle, Mexico, over thimble size shots of coffee and compact, hand shaped arepas steaming on almendra leaves on the side of the road in Mompox, Colombia, over a hot pot in Fuzhou, China, where 7 people I don’t know are all dipping their chopsticks into the bubbling broth.

It’s why I travel, I suppose–to sit down with people over food and connect, and in that act, to be changed.

Photo: Dawn Endico

I finished the interview, closed the magazine, and tucked it into my bag. I smiled at the woman sitting across from me and she returned the smile. I thought about what it might be like if we all met around kitchen tables…with a good slice of pie to share between us.

Community Connection:

What’s a travel moment that has changed you, compelling you to give other the benefit of the doubt or recognize your shared values and needs? Share your experiences below.