A baby from Seva Jyothi Leprosy Colony in Andra Pradesh, India. Photo: jcandeli/ Feature Photo: amanderson2

Every day thousands of people across the world are diagnosed with leprosy. But what exactly is leprosy? And why should we care about World Leprosy Day?

What is Leprosy?

Leprosy is a chronic condition caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium Leprae. First identified by Norwegian physician G.A. Hansen in 1873, it is also known as Hansen’s disease.

Leprosy affects the nervous system, damaging the nerves and eventually manifesting in deformities along the hands, feet, and face. In extreme cases, patchy skin is accompanied by loss of sensation, clawing (of hands and feet), and even loss of limbs.

Leprosy Treatment

Leprosy treatment consists of a very effective multi-drug therapy (MDT), a cocktail of three drugs: dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine. Early detection and treatment ensure infection is stamped out within no time; if leprosy has progressed, treatment will cure infection, but not the resulting deformity.

Global Spread and Stigma

Given the easy availability of medication, leprosy should be a thing of the past, yet it remains a problem, especially in poverty stricken regions of the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and Latin America.

This continued prevalence of leprosy is a result of historical stigma, traced back to a time when patchy skin and clawed hands meant isolation in leper colonies. Leprosy continues to instill fear and discrimination; even today leprosy stigma devastates social and economic ties, along with healthy living.

It is this very stigma that obstructs early reporting, effective treatment, and recovery.Stigma leads to progression of the disease and deformity, causing further isolation.

A number of local and global agencies, including Seva Life Project, WHO, LEPRA and ILEP are attempting to address these very issues to eradicate leprosy worldwide.

World Leprosy Day – Eradication through Awareness

World Leprosy Day aims to increase awareness and make treatment more accessible to those in need. As stated on the ILEP website:

World Leprosy Day was created in 1954 by Raoul Follereau “so that people affected by leprosy could be cared for like all others who are ill and so that those in good health could be cured of their absurd and often criminal fear of this disease and those who are affected by it.”

In other words, leprosy eradication requires the changing social perception of leprosy; by recognizing leprosy as just another curable illness, social stigma can be eliminated, thereby increasing chances of early reporting and cure.

The process also includes monitoring availability of medication and training personnel in proper diagnosis and patient care. Patient rehabilitation – social, economic and physical – is also important, allowing them to reintegrate into society. These very points form the crux of WHO’s “Final Push” strategy for the elimination of leprosy.

How can you help?
Organizations fighting leprosy are constantly in need of support, donations, and volunteers to eradicate leprosy and improve lives worldwide.

Community Connection:

Read more about India, one country where leprosy rates are high. “India, Poverty, and the Fear of Traveling to Poor Places” is just one of many articles in our archives.

On January 14th, these celebrities (along with a team totaling 16 people) summited Mt. Kilimanjaro in an effort to raise awareness for the more than one billion people worldwide without clean water. Mt. Kilimanjaro rises 19,341 feet above Africa, making it one of the highest peaks in the world.  Getting to the top is certainly no easy task, no matter how many hours per day you have to work with a personal trainer!

Feature photo: activefree/Video found on YouTube

Between monetary donations and gear sales, nearly 6 million liters of water have been donated.  According to the Summit on the Summit website, just 1 cent = 1 liter of clean drinking water.

Even though the hike is over, you can follow @SOTSK on Twitter for news and updates about the water crisis in our world.

There is also a great Summit on the Summit website, with everything from the celebrities’ heart rates and O2 levels  at the top to how you can get involved and support the cause.

You can also watch the documentary of the adventure on MTV (no, not our MTV, the other one!) on March 14th at 9 p.m./8c.

Community Connection:

Read Julie Schwietert’s article, Celebs plan Kilimanjaro cake walk to raise money for clean water, for more about the challenge.

While everyone else was setting more traditional resolutions this month, Charyn Pfeuffer decided to do something a little different- a one-year sabbatical around the world.

In her blog, globalcitizenproject.blogspot.com, Charyn writes about swapping her BlackBerry for a backpack to run what she calls the Global Citizen Project. Her goal is an interesting one – “12 community projects in 12 countries over 12 months”. You may wonder why this odd but even number so often pops up in her project, and the reason is that January 2010 marks the 12th anniversary of her career as a freelance writer (you can read more about her credits as a professional writer on her blog).

In an exclusive interview, I ended up serendipitously asking Charyn 12 questions. We connected in our interests, and not just for mint chocolate chip ice cream, but also in using our writing to promote change. It was obvious that this writer has a true passion for what she is doing by answering each question as if unintentionally thorough.

The idea for the Global Citizen Project came to Charyn late one evening after suffering from insomnia and drinking “a glass of cheap Trader Joe’s white wine”.   “When I thought about what it was about travel that really sparked my enthusiasm,” Charyn explained, “it came down to the people and places whom (by our standards) live simply, yet they’re hardly poor. It’s a different reality than what we’re accustomed to and often times, their simple contentment is enviable.”

When asked about the research and preparation for this project, Charyn replied that there was not much done in advance: “I’m very much a follow-your-gut, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants and make things happen kinda gal.”

She called Twitter an “Ask and ye shall receive” tool, and explains how social media such as Facebook have been greatly effective and far reaching in both her personal and professional life.

“Honduras was first to hop on board in that regard, coordinating a promotion on their Visit Honduras Facebook Fan Page where fans could suggest volunteer projects and programs for a week. Then, I whittled the list down to the top five projects I’d most like to serve, and the public voted with Building a Future winning with 49% of the votes.”

Finally, she explains her dedication to service as, “I’m kinda of a “Go big or go home” kinda gal and I always tend to take the ambitious route in life. I’m well aware of the fact that it is impossible to save the world with bite sized stints of service, but I think I can make 12 small dents and hopefully raise awareness and create interest for others to follow my lead.”

The 12 volunteer projects are concentrated in Central and South America and include the confirmed Karikuy in Lima, Peru; Building a Future program in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and GeoVisions of Costa Rica. Currently, she is awaiting confirmation on other projects also involving youth outreach.

Unfortunately, the project will cease to be unless $20K in donations is met by February 22, 2010, the budget that Charyn has set for her trip. She has set up a reward system for donators, including a major motivator – food. Read all about her homemade slow-roasted pork shoulder, chili, and other benefits to donators at her Kickstarter site.

Even if you are unable to donate, you can support Charyn and the Global Citizen Project by spreading the word via social media.

To read the author’s full interview with Charyn, please visit WorldNewsVine.com.

Community Connection:

Looking to volunteer yourself?  After checking out all of our volunteer tips, try Volunteering in London or Volunteering in Chicago!

Photo via Sovereign Mind Radio

By his own count, John Perkins has lived at least four lives: one as an economic hit man (EHM); one as the CEO of an alternative energy company; one as a reformed EHM and whistle blower who has become an expert on indigenous cultures, shamanistic healing, and sustainability; and one as an author who writes about all of these topics.

Perkins’ most recent book, Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded–and What We Need to Do to Remake Them explores all of these lives and continues expanding upon the insights shared in his earlier books, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and The Secret History of the American Empire: The Truth About Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and How to Change the World.

Perkins spent the 1970s as the Chief Economist of a major international consulting firm. In this capacity, Perkins was tasked with the responsibility of convincing the governments of developing nations to agree to high interest loans provided by bodies like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in order to enrich U.S. businesses and advance the diplomatic, defense, and economic interests of the American government.

As Chief Economist–a fancy name, Perkins says, for an economic hit man–Perkins saw the damage his work was wreaking on the environment and on human communities. Eventually, his guilt led him to leave that work behind, though he maintained a vow of silence about it. It was only after the September 2001 terrorist attacks that Perkins decided to talk publicly about his experiences as an economic hit man.

And he began to actively atone for the damage his work had caused by going back to communities in countries where he had worked–especially Ecuador–in order to begin repairing them.
*
I first spoke with John Perkins in September 2008 after reading Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. I spoke with him again a couple weeks ago.

It seemed an especially fitting time. With the close of one year (and one decade) and the beginning of another, and after 12 months of particularly turbulent world politics– the massacre of indigenous people in Bagua, Peru; the continuing political unrest in Iran; and the coup in Honduras– I wanted to ask John how his experiences as an economic hit man and the knowledge he has acquired over his “four lives” could help us all understand the world better and how we can use our own lives to be the change we want to see in the world.

The first step, Perkins says, is “to change our dreams.”

By way of explanation, Perkins recounted a conversation with members of the indigenous Shuar community in Ecuador:

“More than anything, it’s your dream [that's standing in the way of true progress....] When you give energy to a dream, it happens. [But you've] given energy to a nightmare that’s destroying the world. The way to change it is to change the dream.”

A few months back, in another article, I asked readers, “What’s your exquisitely absurd dream?” With Perkins’ advice about changing the dream, and with the fresh start offered by a new year and a new decade, it’s worth asking the question again.

What dreams do you want to change? What new dreams can you give energy to and make happen in 2010? Share your dream in the comments below.

You can listen to my entire, unedited interview with Perkins here.

Community Connection:

For some more thoughts on change, read Christine Garvin’s article, “Change Is Not a Four Letter Word.”

London Wildlife Trust

Dedicated to protecting London’s wild spaces and engaging diverse communities through campaigning, education, and volunteer programs, the London Wildlife Trust gives you an opportunity to get into nature and out of the urban rush.

The work of the organization reaches far beyond simple conservation, helping adults with mental health problems, running education sessions for primary school children and offering guided tours.

Required commitment time varies depending on which project you choose and in most cases no experience is needed to volunteer. To find out more and to apply visit London Wildlife Trust or email volunteering@wildlondon.org.uk.

Toynbee Hall

Based in Tower Hamlets, one of the most deprived boroughs in the country, Toynbee Hall provides practical, innovative programs to meet the needs of the community.

One of the volunteer programs is their annual residential volunteer program, offering 15 volunteers accommodation and expenses in return for 20-30 hours of work per week. This year, there is also a “subsidized” volunteer option where 11 candidates will be asked to commit six to 12 hours per week and contribute £200 per month towards accommodation and bills.

Residential volunteers are given training and support from Toynbee Hall to enable the volunteer to work in one of many different programs. There are also “specialist” volunteer positions available in the areas of finance, migrations, English as a foreign language, and volunteer management.

The program starts every September and runs for 12 months. The charity will be recruiting for its next intake in May 2010. Volunteers must be fluent in English, although anyone who also speaks Bengali, Urdu or Somali will have an advantage.

For further information on roles and to apply visit Toynbee Hall.

FareShare

This charity takes food discarded by supermarkets and redistributes it to homeless shelters, day centers, breakfast clubs and women’s centers. The food they receive is perfectly edible, but was rejected by retailers for reasons such as faulty packaging, mislabelling and display dates.

Volunteer positions include food sorters, drivers, navigators and office workers. No experience is required as volunteers are given full training in food hygiene, although drivers will need a clean driving record and will need to take a Mini Bus Drivers Awareness Scheme Assessment.

The commitment requires at least one shift every two weeks. There are also opportunities available in the areas of marketing and fundraising. Visit FareShare or email enquiries@fareshare.org.uk for more information.

Sense

Sense is the UK’s leading national charity supporting and campaigning for adults and children who are deafblind, offering advice and practical help. The charity has a number of volunteering opportunities in and around the London area.

In 2010, the organization needs volunteers for three week-long “holiday” placements, which involves assisting people with deafblindness on a leisure trip in return for accommodation and food. There are also occasional weekend events in need of volunteers.

For anyone wanted to volunteer with Sense, planning ahead is essential as all volunteers must pass a Criminal Records Bureau Check which can take between four to six weeks for UK citizens – or up to three months for volunteers from other countries. The charity starts to offer placements towards the end of March.

To request an application form visit Sense.

The Simon Community

This charity provides help and support to the homeless in London by providing shelters where homeless people and volunteers live and work together.

The Community offers both full time and part time volunteering opportunities. Full-time volunteers, who must be 19 years or older and receive accommodations, food and £38 a week for expenses, are expected to stay for a minimum of six months. They will live and work alongside the homeless, helping to “break down the barrier between the helpers and the helped”.

Part-time volunteers don’t live at the house, but help out with a variety of tasks including tea-runs, driving, campaigning, office work and helping out at houses – travel expenses are paid and there is no minimum commitment.

For more information and contact details visit The Simon Community or email info@simoncommunity.org.uk.

National Trust

The National Trust owns and cares for numerous heritage sites in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, focusing on environmental conservation.

Volunteer opportunities involve practical work on these properties in and around the London area for days, weekends or week-long projects. Weekends are the most regular and easily available option, costing £8. Work could involve fencing, building stone walls, tree planting, clearing vegetation and cutting steps into hillsides. Occasionally, it will also involve helping out at events.

For detailed information on opportunities available for 2010 and booking information visit The National Trust.

Community Connection:

Need help choosing a volunteer project? Check out The Complete Guide to Volunteer Tourism!

MatadorU student Dona Francis started the Team 100 Athletic Scholarship Program in August 2008 to help Tanzanian students who show academic and athletic potential obtain full athletic scholarships to top US universities. Says Dona, “We focus primarily on girls from the Manyara region…due to the severe inequities in education, their tendency to have babies very young, and the vast untapped athletic potential in the region….” Francis shares Team 100 photos in this essay about the organization’s work.

1.Although Tanzania has a strong primary education system, girls rarely continue on to secondary school. For young girls who are gifted athletes and good students, the Team 100 Athletic Scholarship Program is changing that.  The girls in this photo have short or shaved hair to prevent lice and make grooming easier to manage.

2. Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in Africa, but it has a long tradition of superb athletic talent. By involving girls in running from an early age and focusing on education, young girls are empowered to realize their dreams and develop skills to shatter a cycle of illiteracy, poverty, and teen pregnancy that has gripped their families for generations.

3. Most young students in Tanzania dream of a university education, while at the same time, coaches at U.S. universities dream of having a talented Tanzanian on their roster. This provides the perfect opportunity to utilize running to forever change the lives of young girls who may otherwise have few other opportunities.

4. Team 100 athletes live at the training camp started by head coach, Zach Gwandu, in 2004. The girls train twice a day, running through the foothills and villages in Mbulu, a small town located in the Rift Valley. The girls range in age from 16-24, and the team’s senior member, Zakia Mrisho, made her Olympic debut in 2008.

5. Local races are held bi-monthly to scout new talent. Girls are recommended by primary and secondary school teachers based on academic potential, and athletic prowess is assessed by coaches during local races and training workshops. Student-athletes who are invited to train with Team 100 are expected to maintain at least a B-average in school and meet stringent running standards.

6. The development of life skills and a strong work ethic are an important part of life at the training camp. Cooking is done in an outdoor hatch over wood fires, clothes are washed by hand, and living quarters are cleaned daily. Preparing meals is a leisure activity the girls particularly enjoy; it’s a time to socialize, gossip, and chat about home.

7. A heaping portion of ugali with a rare treat of bananas and oranges is one of the most popular meals among the girls. Ugali is an inexpensive, carbohydrate rich staple in East Africa that sustains the athletes in their rigorous training schedule.

8. Not used to the glamor of beauty products, three of the youngest girls revel in the novelty of nail polish while getting ready for church.

Community Connection:

Team 100 is excitedly anticipating the departure of three student-athletes to United States universities in the fall of 2010. Team 100 receives support from the generous donations of individuals as well as A Running Start, a New York based organization that helps prepare athletes in East Africa for earning scholarships to US universities. If you’d like to learn more about Team 100 or other projects supported by A Running Start, visit their website or contact Dona Francis at dona.j.francis@gmail.com.

Photo by: Chris Radcliff

Recently, supreme research brains at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science discovered a way to genetically modify a a type of bacterium to consume CO2 and produce isobutanol, a liquid fuel that can be used as a gas alternative.

And the process only requires sunlight to get going, meaning this achievement carries with it all sorts of cleaner, greener, cheaper energy implications.

Revolutionary? You betcha.

The modified bacterium potentially serves as not only a fuel substitute, but also an environmental cleanup agent through its consumption of carbon dioxide, the villain in our global warming story. Researchers say the ideal place for this bacteria is next to power plants emitting carbon dioxide so the plants’ greenhouse gases can be swallowed up and recycled into liquid fuel.

Unfortunately, the research is only in its initial stages, making it still too early to tell whether or not this will be the bacteria that saves the world.

Until then, we should continue doing our part to try and reduce emissions as we watch the infamous emissions clock climb to unfathomable numbers.

You can read more about the research here on the online edition of the science journal Nature Biotechnology.

Stiv Wilson, a surfer and environmentalist from Portland, Oregon, was invited to participate in the mission by Dr. Marcus Eriksen of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation as a Surfrider Foundation Ambassador.  

Wilson is currently the chair of the Portland, Oregon Surfrider Chapter, working on plastics issues and advising Surfrider’s national Rise Above Plastics campaign.

Why does he want to go?

“I’m a surfer and an environmentalist.  I see plastic floating in the ocean every time I surf. Within the past year, media coverage of The North Pacific Gyre has become prolific, but what the greater public doesn’t know yet is that four other gyres exist in our world’s oceans.  This debris collects because of the way in which ocean currents swirl.  We need to study them all.”

What is he going to do out there?

While onboard, Wilson will be shooting a ton of video and photographs, as well as conducting interviews with researchers and scientists.

During and after the voyage, Wilson will publish articles about his findings on the Huffington Post, Wendmag.com, and on the Surfrider Blog.

Wilson will also be creating “media deliverables” for Surfrider to help spread awareness about the plastic pollution in our oceans, including a curriculum for teachers, short videos, and photos for outreach materials (in addition to the press coverage on Huffington Post and Wendmag.com.

How can you help?

Participation in the voyage will cost $5,000 plus an additional $1,000 for a plane ticket.  The fee will also help fund plastic in sediment analysis, fish tissue sampling (checking for toxins), and marine debris density testing in the Atlantic gyre.  The budget also includes carbon offsets.

Surfrider National has agreed to pay $2,500, leaving Wilson to raise the remaining $3,500.

That’s where you come in.

He has set up a website for donations on Kickstarter.com, where more information can also be found.

Community Connection:

Read more about trash, including the Great Pacific Trash Gyre, in Carlo Alcos’ article, The World’s Most Offensive Landfills.

The Salvation Army bell ringer?

That’s so old-school.

This year, people and organizations raising money for charity and community development projects are using the power of Twitter to raise money and awareness.

Here are a few of those projects from travel bloggers we admire:

@Travellerspoint: The Hippo Rollers Project

Maybe you’re broke this holiday season. That’s ok– there’s still a project you can support.

The Travellerspoint travel community will donate a certain number of hippo rollers to African communities for each milestone reached in their crowdsourced wiki travel guide. All you have to do is write: Travellerspoint will buy the hippo rollers.

What is a hippo roller?

According to Travellerspoint, “a hippo roller is a large drum that can hold 90 litres (24 gallons) of water and can be pushed along the ground, making it much easier to transport clean drinking water. It’s a simple technology that has the capacity to make a huge difference in places where water is scarce.”

Read all about the Hippo Rollers Project here.

@travelinggreen: Adopt a Koala

A big supporter of the Matador community, @travelinggreen is a green travel and green living blogger at traveling greener. The site has lots of green gift ideas for the holidays; one of them is the Adopt a Koala program.

@MatadorNetwork: Brave New Travelers Youth Scholarship Fund

We’ve just announced the launch of our fundraising campaign for the 2010 Brave New Travelers Youth Scholarship Fund, which will send as many as 15 inner city students abroad for the first time. No problem if you’re strapped for cash: we’ll accept donations as low as $1.00.

@nerdseyeview, @deliciousbaby: Passports with Purpose

This is the second year that the founders of Passports with Purpose have used Twitter to raise money for a pet project: this year, they’re building a school in Cambodia. Matador has donated free tuition to our travel writing program at Matador U; read all about it in this article.

@joanna_haugen: Karikuy-Haugen Machu Picchu Porters’ Fund

We recently profiled Matador associate editor JoAnna Haugen’s Karikuy-Haugen Machu Picchu Porters’ Fund. There’s no better time than the holidays to help JoAnna realize her goals for this ambitious project. Read about the fund and learn how you can contribute by visiting her blog.

Community Connection:

Do you know about a project we missed? Leave your Twitter handle and some basic details in the comments section below.

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.

Feature Photo: m.a.r.c / Photo above:Frenkieb

I passed by the latest issue of the Utne Reader several times, even flipped through it once before I actually bought it.  It was the story, 50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World that caught my attention.

With the Dalai Lama on the cover, I figured the usual suspects would be on the list – Bill Gates, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Oprah- but was surprised (and a bit disappointed in myself) to find that I didn’t recognize any of the names.

I chose to highlight a few of them here, and you can find the full list at Utne.com.

Will Allen – Founder and CEO of Growing Power

Growing Power is a national non-profit whose vision is to “inspire communities to build sustainable food systems.”  The organization creates Community Food Centers in the city, then provides training, demonstration, and outreach to get it going and get people involved.

Hiroshi Sunairi – Founder of The Tree Project

The Tree Project takes seeds from trees that are still alive from the time period of the Hiroshima bombing and gives the seeds to people who then plant them across the world.  In December 2009, the seedlings will be exhibited at the Horticultural Society of New York.

Daniel Kish – Co-founder and Executive Director of World Access for the Blind

World Access for the Blind (WAFTB) is a non-profit organization that approaches blindness as non-limiting, promoting public awareness and advocating for people with blindness to follow their goals, from biking to hiking mountains.

David Bacon – Documentary Photographer and Journalist

Bacon is a photographer and journalist who tells the underreported stories of average yet inspiring people, mainly focusing on the forces behind migration and poverty.  He has written books, including Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants, Communities Without Borders: Images and Voices from the World of Migration, and The Children of NAFTA: Labor Wars on the US/Mexico Border (also in Spanish).

Patricia van Nispen tot Sevenaer – Executive Director of International Legal Alliances Microjustice for All

International Legal Alliances (ILA) Microjustice for all is a network of lawyers and activists that help people who are unable to fight for their basic social and economic rights, based on the structure of microfinancing.  The organization has also developed a handbook to assist communities in setting up their own microjustice services.

Who would YOU add to this list? Share your favorite visionaries in the comments below.

Community Connection:

Some of our very own Matadorians are changing your world! Read about JoAnna Haugen, who co-founded a fund for Machu Picchu porters, or Anna Brones, who launched a social media start-up.

Photo: rq?

Recently, The Fun Theory, a group promoting behavioral and environmental change, turned an average subway staircase in Stockholm into a giant, musical piano to see if they could motivate people to take the stairs more if fun were a factor. Watch the video of their results:

Additionally, the group is promoting recycling by creating a recycling bin arcade machine that makes the act of recycling ordinary bottles and cans feel a bit like playing skee ball and some serious fun.

The Fun Theory believes that “the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better.” And after watching the videos, it’s easy to see why they are so consistently successful. As BNT Editor Christine Garvin points out in her article “Yogis At Play”, one of life’s most important qualities is play.

Perpetually with one foot in the future, Japan recently brought on board a team of companies and researchers for what has got to be the most astro-ambitious project of the 21st century: the Space Solar Power System (SSPS).

The SSPS project, which Japan hopes to become fully realized as soon as 2030, will put into orbit giant solar panels just outside Earth’s atmosphere to gather the sun’s energy and beam it down to us in the form of lasers or microwaves. In the absence of clouds or that pesky ozone layer, solar energy can be over five times stronger in space than on Earth and according to the report from PhysOrg, Japan has been dead serious about this project since 1998.

Just a svelte island floating in the eastern Pacific, Japan depends on oil imports to run much of its machinery. If SSPS becomes a reality, Japan estimates the electricity produced will be six times cheaper than current in-country costs. “We’re aiming to produce stable, cheap power and hydrogen at a target price of 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour,” research scientist Hiroaki Suzuki was quoted saying in the Scientific American.

But powerful lasers beaming down from space don’t exactly inspire confidence in the court of public opinion and the very twilight zone nature of the SSPS project has got all the science and technology blogs aflutter. Tonic admits that the plan “sounds so very far-flung and fanciful,” while Tech.Blorge refers to it as “as a nod to science fiction.”

And while Matador is committed to greener living (hey, we sent one of our MatadorU students to take on the No Impact Week Challenge), we’re reserving opinion until the 2020 test launch.

Around this time last year, Matador published this article about US commitment to renewable energy, though it is clear that, much like as with cell phones and robot girlfriends, the Japanese have outpaced all others once again.

What do you think about a giant laser beaming super concentrated solar energy down from outer space? Share your thoughts with us!

Photo: Joe Stump

“Russell Simmons has a lot of Buddhas.”

That’s one thought I have as I realize my cup of coffee has tipped over onto the gorgeous Persian rug covering the floor of his ample living room… the rug the moderator has expressly asked us *not* to rest our coffee cups upon.

Oops.

“Russell Simmons OWNS the Shepard Fairey ‘Obama Hope’ painting.”

That’s another thought.

“And a Basquiat.”

That’s the third thought, and the last one I have before I hear John Forte (who, I will later learn, is a rapper and former producer of The Fugees), addressing another member of the group, asking her to “thank your father for granting me a pardon.”

Forte, you see, was just released from prison in January, after President Bush commuted his 14 year federal sentence (of which he served seven years) for a drug-related conviction.

That means he is addressing President George W. Bush’s daughter.

I stop trying to sop up my coffee as Forte picks up the guitar to play his song, “Breaking of a Man”:

*
It’s a rainy Saturday in September and I’m one of about 40 people under 40 years old sitting in the living room of hip hop mogul and philanthropist Russell Simmons, gathered here–directly across from the World Trade Center site–to “create an honest and open assessment of our generation and develop action items that will grow [among group members] and ultimately unite the generation in a more meaningful way.”

The people seated in the circle represent some of the most important thinkers and doers of my generation. Some of them are people whose work I’ve been interested in for a long time, like Jay Parkinson, founder of Hello Health, and Jehane Noujaim, documentary filmmaker and director of “Control Room” and “Pangea Day.”

There are also people I haven’t heard of before, but over the course of the weekend, I learn their stories. Dan Choi, the Army National Guard Arabic linguist and Iraq War veteran who was discharged for acknowledging he was gay. Robert Reffkin, a Wall Street analyst who’s running a marathon in every US state to raise money for underprivileged kids. Debbie Berebichez, aka “The Science Babe,” who takes her PhD in physics to break down the scientific mysteries of daily life (the physics of high heels?) in an accessible way (she’s particularly passionate about getting young girls interested in science).

There are women and men; blacks, whites, Asians, Latinos, and biracial folks; Muslims, Christians, Jews, and agnostics; Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians; people from really wealthy families and those of us from middle or lower class backgrounds; people who are familiar with the polished wood tables of the nations’ most influential board rooms and those of us with more experience in street activism.

I look around and notice all the difference.

*
I find myself in a break-out group with Barbara Bush, daughter of the former president. I’ve made no effort to restrain myself from offering my assessment of her father openly here on Matador, compiling a round-up of his less articulate moments and praising the Iraqi “shoe throw” journalist (and just wishing he had better aim) and I sit in our circle with a concealed dubiousness about what she brings to the table other than her name.

One of the Buddhas is poised in a corner of the room, a benign presence on this overcast afternoon, the day after the 8th anniversary of the attacks, in a penthouse within view of the WTC site. Its golden legs folded easily into a triangle, its forehead relaxed, the Buddha’s eyes look down at us without judgment.

Me?

I’ve judged Barbara before she has a chance to share her ideas, projecting her father’s ideology and his shortcomings onto her unfairly. It’s only when she speaks up about health care and the potential uses of technology that I realize we actually have a great deal in common. She’s articulate, thoughtful, a good listener. The hour allotted for our conversation ends quickly. I’m surprised that I want to know more about her work, to hear more of what she has to say.

*
I don’t know about you, but the big lessons I have to learn in life are the ones that are the toughest to “get.” Being patient? Recognizing that sometimes getting my way or being right will do more harm than good (even if I am right)? Being in the moment? Being non-judgmental? The opportunities to finally get these–and get them right–come up over and over again. I don’t know if that’s the challenge of my generation, but it’s certainly *my* challenge, and it’s what I take away from the weekend, and what I realize I need to work on moving forward.

Photos: jesse.millan

In November of 2006, New York City resident Colin Beavan, along with his wife and daughter, set out to live with no net environmental impact.

Fast forward three years later, add the Huffington Post, and you have No Impact Week. According to the website, the goal is to “demonstrate ways in which small actions in our daily lives can have a profound impact on our world.” Together, they’ve provided a daily guide with steps you can take to lessen your impact over the course of a week. Each day has a different theme.

I’m joining over 4,000 people to take on this challenge to identify what impact my actions (or lack of action) are having, and to find out what areas of my lifestyle I can change to balance out my carbon footprint a bit more.

Day 7: Giving Back

After a whole week of conservation and consumption tracking, the end is in sight! The final day is for giving back.

I volunteer on a fairly regular basis, but today I decided to focus on the little things I could do each day to impact someone else’s life. As step one of the No Impact Guide suggested, I made a list and it looked something like this:

*Give spare change to a tip jar or to someone in need (coins just weigh down your wallet/pocket anyway).

*Go out of my way to hold doors open for people (even if it means they are going to get in line in front of me).

*Help someone else out (this turned out to be babysitting for a few minutes at my friend’s wedding so the bridal party could take their pictures).

*Instead of just walking by trash (and grumbling about how someone shouldn’t have thrown it there in the first place) just pick it up and throw it away.

Step two was to make a list of all the charities I’d like to help, why I feel like I can’t, and how I can address and remove these barriers. The No Impact Guide asks, “Do your barriers outweigh the importance of participating?” Surely the answer to that question is almost always no.

I know I get caught up in the thought of making sure I’m making a difference by helping a lot or working on a major project, but the reality is that I can make a difference by participating in a one day project, by donating money, by playing a minor part within a bigger project, or even by spreading the word about the cause.

For resources and to find volunteer opportunities near you, try Idealist.org or VolunteerMatch.

If No Impact Week inspired you to take action about an environmental issue, try Take Back the Tap, which encourages people and businesses to eliminate bottled water; 1Sky, focusing on climate change; and the Alliance for Biking and Walking, which is working to create walkable and bikeable neighbors all over the U.S.

The final challenge was perhaps my favorite: Take a break from everything. The No Impact Guide suggests taking one day, one afternoon, or even just one hour a week to not buy, cook, answer the phone, use the Internet or anything electric. I’m going for it, but taking a break from everything each week could possibly be the biggest challenge of all.

Community Connection:

Interested in learning how you can make a big difference by making a small contribution to an important cause? Matador member JoAnna Haugen has just launched the Karikuy-Haugen Fund, an initiative intended to provide travel experiences to Peruvian porters who help tourists reach Machu Picchu. You can read more about the fund here.

Photo: jon crel

I was so inspired by the event last year that I wrote an article at Matador Life about Biking to Work. As originally reported in that piece, a large proportion of first time bicycle commuters who take part in National Ride to Work Day continue to do so months and years later.

I’m no exception. One year later and I’m still pedaling to work, waving to drivers I pass while they’re stuck in traffic, avoiding the seasonal flus and colds that get passed around in trains and buses, and just enjoying the exercise and fresh air (especially riding through the park).

So I kind of find it my duty now to promote this fantastic yearly event, aimed to increase awareness of this alternative mode of transportation.

Photo: /charlene

The details

Wednesday 14 October 2009 is the day. Register yourself for Ride to Work Day for a chance to win a Trek 7.6 FX bike, valued at $1999 and also to make sure you’re counted.

Community breakfasts are held around the country as well, so pop over here to find out where the nearest one to you is.

If you’re still skeptical about this whole cycling to work business and have more questions, visit Bicycle Victoria’s New Riders page.

Remember, safety first

A few months after I started riding, I started to notice habits of both cyclists and drivers on the road that didn’t lend at all to the safety of either party.

I compiled a few things drivers and cyclists can do out of mutual respect, in the hopes that, well, we can all get along: How to Be Good (Better) Drivers and Cyclists.

Day by day more cyclists are taking to the streets and National Ride to Work Day is a huge catalyst in making sure that trend continues.

Ride on, Australia!

Community Connection

Matador has published many articles for cyclists. To name just a few:

Cycling Highway 1 in Vietnam

Bike Touring Montana: Classic Big Sky Rides

and

8 Steps for Successful Self-Supported Bicycle Tours.

Will YOU be riding to work?

Costa Rica / Photo: Wha’ppen

In a recent article at Brave New Traveler, I discussed 5 Key Ingredients in the Search for Happiness. What I didn’t take into account was the planet we live on. Can we be satisfied, live a long life, and be good to the earth?

The Happy Planet Index (HPI) doesn’t solely indicate people’s happiness levels. It measures happiness levels in relation to a country’s consumption of its natural resources. Its aim is to prove that you can be happy without raping the planet. From the HPI website:

The nations that top the Index aren’t the happiest places in the world, but the nations that score well show that achieving long, happy lives without over-stretching the planet’s resources is possible.

What is the HPI?

2009 is the second year that the Index was put together. It was started by the new economics foundation (nef) — an independent think-and-do tank — whose tagline is “economics as if people and the planet mattered” and who explains their goal as such:

We aim to improve quality of life by promoting innovative solutions that challenge mainstream thinking on economic, environmental and social issues. We work in partnership and put people and the planet first.

Photo: Uncle Kick-Kick

Obviously, the HPI takes into account several factors and by its nature is subject to debate, given that quality of life is a subjective factor. In the end, the HPI measures well-being delivered per unit of environmental impact.

A country achieving a maximum life satisfaction score of 10, and life expectancy of 85, whilst living within its global fair share of resources (one-planet living), would score 100.

For detailed information about how the HPI is calculated, you can view the full report here.

The results

So just what country is the happiest while doing its fair share in ensuring a happy planet? Costa Rica.

Costa Rica scored a 76.1 on the HPI for its high levels of life satisfaction, long life expectancy and low ecological footprint (one-quarter that of the United States). Second and third go to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, respectively. In fact, nine out of the top ten nations in the HPI are Latin American.

At the other end of the spectrum, rich and developed nations fared poorly. Out of 143 countries, the highest ranking Western nation is the Netherlands at 43rd. The UK sits at 74th. And where exactly is the USA in this Index? 114th. While the Dutch only live on average one year longer than Americans and have similar life satisfaction, their ecological footprint is half that of the US, accounting for the significant difference in ranking.

Photo: Joe Shablotnik

What does it all mean?

I think that many of us living in rich, developed countries already had an inkling that we might not fare well in something like this. While life expectancy may be improving (Canada is ranked number one there) due to medical advances, life satisfaction is on the decline as we sacrifice things that are important to us — family, friends, time — in the chase for money and career progression.

Add to that the enormous amounts of resources we use, much of which is non-renewable, and the low rankings are inevitable.

It’s becoming more and more evident that our current economic models which rely on infinite growth and which don’t factor in the environment aren’t working. If we become rich at the expense of the planet, what good is that? The HPI is a refreshing and practical measurement which balances our health, quality of life, and our effects on the earth. This is the new economics.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Journalist Eric Weiner circled the globe in search of the world’s happiest countries. Read a review of his book, The Geography of Bliss, here.

Photo: gailjadehamilton

What if new media could be the powerful engine for true, meaningful action in the areas of health care, the environment, global development, cultural diplomacy, and opportunities for youth? And what if young social entrepreneurs were the catalysts of such change?

These are the key questions motivating the New Media & Youth Action Conference, scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2009 from 10 AM til 3 PM in New York City.

The event, which is free, will feature keynote speakers, breakout sessions for brainstorming, and a networking “power hour,” where you can meet other like-minded activists and share ideas about issues of mutual interest.

For more information or to register, click here.

Community Connection:

To learn more about how Matador members are using technology to support youth development and cultural awareness projects, be sure to read about the Roads Scholars program, founded by Matador member, Digital Vagabond.

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.

Photo: The author at her NGO in Indonesia.

I recently started an NGO, 4th World Love, that focuses on community development in distant lands and I’ve learned a few lessons on the front lines of grassroots NGO’dom.

Here are a few bullet points to consider after you’ve already got your cause, your website, and your plan.

Start by remembering this one – don’t forget to laugh – because in the end, if there is no laughing-til-you-cry, it’s just not worth it.

1. Communication Is Primo.

Once you’ve got your organization’s base set up, there will come a time when you must get back home to raise money, make money, and ponder new ideas. Once you’re gone, things can quickly go downhill unless you set up a chain of command, with loads of communication.

We appointed a local Field Director and Field Coordinator before we left with very specific instructions (we need a cash flow report once a month, make sure the volunteers sign this waiver before they start the program, always text back confirmation when you get information).

Things like this keep the program from bursting at the seams. It’s hard when the village has no internet, but with texting at the fingertips of most third world’ers, we’ve had no problem staying in touch… even though there are multiple black outs per day.

REMEMBER: You have to set the parameters in order for them to be followed. Period.

2. And, Then There’s The Exact Opposite – Miscommunication.

Everyone from the village becomes a friend; therefore, they want to text and e-mail all the time. This is fantastic because updates and passing information along is crucial to NGO success. What isn’t great is when everyone starts ignoring the chain of command and breaks free of the system to share their trivial issues.

Better to set up a precise method of relaying information before you leave. Better yet, create a job description document so everyone knows who is responsible for sharing what. You wanna tell me that a baby who had cleft palate surgery is doing well– that rocks. But, if you wanna tell me all about the late petty cash report… well, that gets the smack-down.

REMEMBER: Set up proper channels and make sure your appointed directors are clear with everyone involved about the rules and their specifics. If you don’t, expect chaos.

3. Fundraising – The Ultimate Challenge.

This little diddy is the hardest part of NGO’dom. Where do funds come from? You can’t expect people to keep giving cash, especially in an economy like this.

Therefore, one must get incredibly creative.

We came up with an idea for a contest – Donate $100 to win a free trip to Indonesia was the one we ran last year; this year we’re doing the same thing, but in Baja. People really respond to this idea because there’s a chance for them to win something crazy-cool…not just donate a bit of cash.

But just because they did it once doesn’t mean they’ll do it twice.

Again, thinking cap goes on. We started producing Pilates/volunteering retreats in Mexico where all profits go to fund 4WL – and the cost of the trip is a write-off. Pretty brilliant.

We also scour local villages for things we can sell (handmade scarves, cool bamboo bags and boxes, and organic soap). But we’re gonna have to amp it up a level and get more than just individual sales – we’ll have to go gangbusters, and try to sell mass quantities from the samples we currently have. Get the order and then worry about getting them made. All profits fund local projects.

REMEMBER: Most people who say they will donate DO NOT. It’s the random folks who really kick in the dinero. Bless them all.

4. Bring in Volunteers…or Not?

The intrepid souls who traipse the world working for free are the backbone of any NGO. They storm in with good ideas, piles of energy, and the will to get things done.

However, they can be a full time job for those running things back on the home front.

Dozens of e-mails have to be answered from online volunteer shout-outs, money has to be wired, transportation has to be coordinated, home stays have to be arranged, and thousands of questions have to be answered. The key is to develop a system for managing it all.

Let’s say someone e-mails, curious about 4WL. Instead of getting really detailed at the top, I just send them a Volunteer 101 sheet, an article I wrote about the village, a volunteer form for them to fill out, and the permanent volunteer schedule.

If they plow through all that information, as well as the highly detailed website, and then blast back specific questions, then I know they are legit and might actually make the trek to Indonesia. If they just ask evasive generic questions and haven’t taken the time to really get deep with our materials, then they aren’t worth the effort.

They probably just sent out a blanket email to 50 orgs and still have no idea what they want to do. I’m not saying don’t be nice, I’m just saying read between the lines.

REMEMBER: Hold their hand, but only if they hold yours back.

5. Establish Your NGO’s EXACT Cause.

Folks ask all the time, “What is your cause, exactly?” Until my last scouting excursion, I wasn’t able to pinpoint it. But, now I can – we focus on community development. Pure and simple.

Whether it’s through organic farming initiatives, carpentry workshops, cleft palate surgeries, English lessons, a new t-shirt business, opening a small café, or teaching photography and video skills – it doesn’t matter. We do it if the village requests it.

I can’t imagine rolling into a township and hearing all of the various ideas and dreams and then shutting someone down ’cause we just do “healthcare” or “AIDS prevention.” Though both noble causes, we’re about more than one thing. And, getting to that determination took some hard digging on the soul front. Even though we lived it, wrote it, and hatched the very idea, crafting the exact statement that surrounds the sentiment took some time.

REMEMBER: Think hard about your cause before you start promoting, because you will be fronted and you most definitely need an answer. A good, telling, inspiring one.

6. Boil Down New Ideas.

Phase 1 is complete. Now it’s time to take it all to the next level and take stock in your recent progress. What is the next level, especially since everything is running so well? Maybe you want to expand your efforts into another village; perhaps you need more volunteers and on-site facilitators; you might even want to start another fund raising scheme.

At this point, it’s time to take it all to paper because a wing and a prayer might have worked for the first round of goodness, but now, things bear a little more investigating. We just put together our first 4WL newsletter and it was incredible to have all our happenings laid out in one super-fly PDF. Not only did it help all our supporters get the inside tip to all that were doing, it helped us hone in on where we’re headed in the near future…and what might be missing in the right now.

Bottom line, you must share the intel. Take loads of pictures when you are on site. Follow up with volunteers and get them to send you testimonials that you can post on your website and share. Plot, plan, scheme, dream, share– it’s the only way to ratchet up the vibe you’re trying to create.

REMEMBER: Make people proud to be a part of your organization and they will go to war for you…as you would for them.

7. Don’t Forget About Personal Sanity.

All of this work is draining and can be heavy on the soul. Am I doing enough? Where do I get new ideas? Will I ever be able to pull it all off? All these questions keep me and my partner-in-crime awake at night, but the more balance we try to create in our own personal lives, the better off we are.

If I work out every day, my energy soars and I’m off-the-charts productive. If I go out til the wee hours drinking and do a midnight slam down of pizza with ranch dressing, well the next AM ain’t so great.

Finding my own personal level of balance is crucial in making all these great things happen.

You also have to have a level of self-promotion that would make most cringe. I’m certain people get sick to death of my weekly e-mails about new far-flung contests, retreats, and excursions. But, you never know, I might just hit them at the moment they are fed up with their own existence and are looking to make a change.

Be it within you, your network, your village, or your organization’s plans for the future, that’s what it’s all about – making a difference in the world and feeling really, really good about it.

REMEMBER: To a person who makes $20 bones a month, every single penny counts, and if you put your energy in the right place, in the most positive spot, then you will reap rewards like no other. Might not be a penny, but it will shine like one.

Community Connection:

Wondering how to start an NGO? Ryan Libre gives you a primer in How to Start a Successful NGO in 10 Steps.

Photo: bowena

Hari Kondabolu isn’t the only comedian who used the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States as a point of departure to create some powerful stand-up about race, ethnicity, identity, and human relationships.

But Hari, who holds a degree in comparative politics from Wesleyan University, is willing to go out on a limb in his routines by “speak[ing] truth to power with confrontational and personal material” rather than simply poking fun at others.

In this interview by Colors NW, Hari and fellow comedian Ahamefule Oluo talk about the ways comedy can be used as an effective way to raise social consciousness about profound human issues while having a good time:

Community Connection:

For a more philosophical take on how we can be more conscious, check out Matador editor Sarah Menkedick’s article “Travel Is For Idiotic Idealists: Three Americans Held in Iran.”

A group of Peace Corps volunteers in Armenia. Photo: Tommy and Georgie

If you’re ready to sign up, pack your bags, and take off on a 27-month assignment, here are five things you should know before you begin the labor-intensive and heart-breaking process of joining the Peace Corps.

1. Be honest with yourself.

Are you really cut out for living in an underdeveloped country on your own for more than two years? Can you handle being surrounded by poverty for an extensive amount of time? Is using a pit toilet (or less) and taking a bucket bath something you can stand?

Have you taken a close look at your skills and abilities? Consider what your strengths and interests are. Just as you wouldn’t be a teacher if you didn’t care for kids in the United States, you shouldn’t accept any position just so you can live and work overseas.

It may take longer to receive an assignment if you have specifications on what you can and can not tolerate or do, but you’ll find a more gratifying experience abroad if you take the time to evaluate yourself upfront.

2. Prepare yourself to adjust to local culture.

Prepare for meetings that begin with prayers, communal food, and afternoons that drift by when there’s work to be done. The world works on a different plane than the United States, so you’ll need to ease your way into a new mindset. Bow your head, wash your hands, and take off your watch.

There’s a reason why Peace Corps service lasts two years. You will spend the first year settling in, and a whole year working on a project. Don’t be surprised if you leave feeling like you’ve achieved nothing. It’s during those long afternoons and your communal meal chats that cultural exchange happens, and that alone meets Peace Corps’ second and third goals of promoting understanding.

3. Understand that poverty is real.

When you visit larger cities in your country of service, you will encounter street kids and poverty. But poverty isn’t limited to the visible corners of the world’s largest cities. The sad truth is that your friends, neighbors, and co-workers will also be hungry and poor. They won’t have money to pay for their kids to go to school or take their babies to the doctor. When drought strikes, their crops will dry up, and they will go hungry.

You, on the other hand, will still receive a stipend and will be able to eat. Try explaining that to your community when you’ve already told them you live at their means and are equal to them as a productive member of their society. You will be asked for money to cover the cost of food, medical expenses, travel, school fees, and more.

Consider your stance on if and what you want to give, even to your neighbors and closest friends. Your actions will follow you throughout the rest of your service.

4. Remember: You are an American.

It may sound strange, but you will try hard to fit in with your community and trying to shed your American skin can be difficult. Despite every effort you make to fit in to the local culture, you are still an American.

Learning the language will go a long way to break down barriers. Dress appropriately and abide by traditional standards and you’ll begin to make leeway. And while you may convince your neighbors that you are just like them, most people you encounter in your host country will take you for another American tourist.

Use these opportunities to be yourself and educate people about what it is like to live in the United States. Tell them about your interests, dreams and fears. Break down the “typical American stereotype” and put a friendly face on what most people only see in movies and read in the news.

In your attempt to fit in culturally, you may also struggle with your personal ideals and values. You might feel like you can’t say “no” because it’s not the culturally appropriate thing to do, but if you’ve been singled out and harassed because you clearly aren’t a local, then don’t act like one. Stand up for yourself and move on. Letting people take advantage of you because you are an American while you try desperately to fit in culturally will wear you down and make you feel used long before your service is over.

5. Realize that you will change.

The toughest job you’ll ever love does not end when you complete your service. One of the hardest parts begins when you step back onto American soil. People will ask you about your service, but two years are not easily summarized in two sentences, and people don’t have the time to hear more than two sentences.

You will also find that not much changed in your absence. People will still throw away food they don’t finish. They will waste water, be consumed with stuff, and care too much about Hollywood. People will expect you to get an apartment, get a job, and get on with your life, but it’s not that easy.

Many Peace Corps volunteers make extreme career choices based on their service, not on the college degree they got before they left. This often means that they’ll return to school or take jobs in low-paying service and non-profit sectors. To former volunteers, this makes sense, but family and friends may scratch their heads in confusion.

Readjustment will take time. Stay in touch with your fellow Peace Corps volunteers and join your local Peace Corps alumni group. The hyperactive United States can be very overwhelming for a person who just spent 27 months living by the sun.

Community Connection:

Not prepared to make the commitment to the Peace Corps? A short-term volunteer placement also requires planning. Read “Five Expectations to Avoid Before Volunteering Abroad” to prepare yourself.

For tips about coping with reverse culture shock, check out “How to Understand (And Beat) Your Homecoming Hangover” or “6 Simple Ways to Beat the Post-Travel Blues.”

And to really get inspired, real Audrey Scott’s interview with Muriel Johnston, in “Seniors in the Peace Corps.”

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.

Photo: stusev

It was 1992 when the US hip-hop group Arrested Development hit #1 on Billboard’s R&B and Rap Chart and #6 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart with their song “Tennessee.”

I was 15 and dorky and while the black consciousness song “Tennessee” didn’t do a lot for me, I actually liked “Mr. Wendal,” the group’s song about a homeless man who gave the singer cause to ask:

“Civilization, are we really civilized, yes or no ?
Who are we to judge ?
When thousands of innocent men could be brutally enslaved
and killed over a racist grudge.”

“Mr. Wendal” did pretty well, too, reaching the top 10 on several of Billboard’s charts. The group went on to win Grammys for Best Rap Album and Best New Artist; it was also named Rolling Stone’s Band of the Year.

And then, Arrested Development seemed to disappear.

Sebastian Lindstrom caught up with the group recently, interviewing them at a music festival in Essouria, Morocco:

Arrested Development at Gnaoua Music Festival in Essouria from What Took You So Long on Vimeo.

As Lindstrom reported to Matador:

Front man MC Speech is a proponent of “conscious rap” as opposed to mainstream gangster rap. He chooses to write songs with a message to encourage and uplift people faced with… harsh realities….

His music covers many themes he feels passionately about in the US and Africa. He sings about his relationship with God and speaks of incorporating traditional African values into his life. He believes African Americans and Africans can relate to his message of overcoming struggles.

The group is led by elder Bob (”Bob-Bob”). Ishu, a backup singer and dancer, has family in Accra, Ghana. The band is also accompanied by JJ, Tasha, “One Love” and Zay. Each band member gives to African charities of their choice. The group was the first African American group to give to the African National League (ANC) in South Africa and after recently appearing on an ABC program gave to UNICEF in the Congo.

I’m glad to know this group from my adolescence is back on stage… still raising consciousness.

Community Connection:

Read more about Sebastian Lindstrom and the What Took You So Long Foundation in our previous profile of the organization.

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.

Photo: greenforall.org

If you’re between the ages of 18 and 29 and you have an incredible, feasible idea for a clean energy project that can be put into practice, you might be interested in the Focus Roots Fellowships being offered by Focus the Nation, a national climate change awareness project.

Applicants must write a 1,000 word essay detailing the scope and nature of their proposed project, a 300 word introduction to a mentor who will provide expertise and support, and a projected budget for your project. This year’s fellowships are being offered in two categories–sport and art–and should focus on the use of sport or art to move the applicants’ communities away from coal energy toward cleaner energy.

Full details can be found here.

Community Connection:

Read up on “clean coal” in this article from the Matador archives.

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.

Photo: A few of Greece’s many stray dogs. Feature photo: jturn; Photo above: simobran

We are a group brought together by inside/out, a unique adventure travel company that provides humanitourism™ trips for people who want to volunteer on meaningful international projects while pursuing active adventure.

We will be spending the majority of our time in Ioannina, in Northern Greece. Animal welfare in Ioannina has been a hot topic lately due to continuous poisoning of stray animals in the town.

Poisoning is just one of many atrocities allowed in Greece. Hanging is a common practice for disposing of animals no longer needed, especially hunting dogs. Just last month, five dogs were hanged from an olive tree, four bundled together and one by itself. The dogs were hung in such a way that their paws barely touched the ground. The vets who visited the crime scene estimated that the animals experienced eight hours of torture before dying.

Photo: alex kuruz

To fight cruelty and help strays, small grassroots groups are cropping up all over Greece. Many buy food and pay for veterinary services out of their own pockets, help to re-home dogs both locally and abroad, and some are even opening small shelters on their own properties.

Fortunately, young people are taking an interest in the animal rights movement. Organized protests are starting to be utilized and a local TV channel now airs an animal welfare program.

To do our part while we are there, we will spend much of our time working on feeding stations for the massive stray population and providing hands-on care to animals in shelters to prepare them for adoption. We’ll also do community outreach, distributing educational materials on sterilization, anti-cruelty practices, and responsible pet ownership, as well as producing a demonstration with local activists.

As we travel to different to Ioannina, Konitsa, Papingo, and Kavasila, all in the Zagoria region, we will connect with locals. I am excited to meet all these wonderful people who dedicate their time to improve the lives of the animals. Between each of these volunteer experiences, we will be white water rafting, kayaking, and trekking between the villages some days.

Photo: OxOx

What makes this trip more unusual is that the five of us have never met. But we share a common bond– a love for animals– and we refuse to turn a blind eye to the injustice occurring in Greece. We refuse to go on with our daily lives like nothing is happening.

We want to get out there, get our hands dirty, and make a difference far beyond this 10 day trip. I am certain lifelong bonds will be formed and with the collective knowledge of this group of power-hitters, new ideas will be created.

Community Connection:

Interested in other ways you can volunteer to improve the lives of animals? Read about Mexico’s Todos Tortugueros turtle rescue project and Thailand’s opportunities to volunteer for the protection of elephants.

Computer users in Rwanda. Photo: Colleen Taugher

“Gordon Brown claims Rwanda would never have happened if Twitter had been around….”

That was the first tweet I read when I checked my Twitter feed this morning.

“Bold claim,” I thought, before taking my first sip of coffee.

“Utterly ridiculous statement,” I said out loud as I took a gulp and thought about it some more.

*
The tweet, posted by @krishgm, a host for London’s Channel 4 news, referenced an article in The Guardian in which British PM Gordon Brown said the following:

“…the internet era [is] “more tumultuous than any previous economic or social revolution. For centuries, individuals have been learning how to live with their next-door neighbours…. Now, uniquely, we’re having to learn to live with people who we don’t know.

“People have now got the ability to speak to each other across continents, to join with each other in communities that are not based simply on territory, streets, but networks; and you’ve got the possibility of people building alliances right across the world. That flow of information means that foreign policy can never be the same again.

“You cannot have Rwanda again because information would come out far more quickly about what is actually going on and the public opinion would grow to the point where action would need to be taken.

“Foreign policy can no longer be the province of just a few elites.”

*
I agree about the power to “speak across continents,” to form communities and networks that aren’t based on geography, but on common concerns. And that’s why I’m an ardent proponent of Internet technologies as a critical tool of social change.

But to think that the 1994 genocide in Rwanda or the thousands of other atrocities happening in the world right this second could have been prevented or could be controlled simply by exposing them and pressuring governments to take action is an argument I find both terribly naive and untenable.

Brown’s comment reflects a certain elitism that overlooks the fact that millions of people in the world have limited or no access at all to Twitter, Facebook, blogs, or even a basic Internet connection. The people most likely to be affected directly by atrocities can’t tweet about them to the rest of the world– they don’t own the means to do so.

Even those who have access, notes the Digital Divide, tend to be using platforms and tools that are “low-quality and merely ‘localized’ versions of products and services intended for the rich.”

So how are we to reallyinterpret the true significance of technology as a tool for social change? Weigh in with your opinions in the comments below.

Community Connection:

Don’t know what Twitter is? Get some background information here.

Photo: .faramarz

Photo: .faramarz

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei raised the stakes on Friday when he defended President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the rightful winner in the country’s June 12th elections.

The supreme leader threatened “bloodshed and chaos” to Iranian citizens who defy his ban and take to the streets for Saturday’s anticipated protests.

Despite the threats, Iranians who want a better future are planning to rally on Saturday in the face of serious risk.

The stern warning has echoed fear of a massacre resembling the one that left 2,500 dead and 10,000 wounded in the Beijing’s Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

Here are five reasons we should support and applaud Iranian protesters on Saturday:

1) The protesters have the momentum.

Iranian activists have already accomplished much with the massive protests over the past week. They have captured the attention of the world, and posed a formidable challenge to their leadership and the rigged election. They have sent a message to Iranian leaders that they will not follow a government they did not choose.

Photo: mrarasmus

Friday’s harsh threats from the supreme leader are a last resort to quell the unrest and now the ball is in the people’s court.

If they have the courage to call his bluff, risking physical harm to themselves, it will represent a tipping point for the country.

2) The Iranians want our support.

You may have noticed in some of the most prolific photos of the protests this week, many of the signs are in English.

Iranian protesters know that the rest of the world is watching and with English signs, like “Where is my vote?”, they are sending us a message that they are not violent people, they want democracy to succeed and they want the improvements that it will bring to their lives.

3) It’s not about the opposition leaders anymore; it’s about the people.

The supreme leader’s threats are directed at all Iranians, but he specifically said that the responsibility for the chaos and bloodshed come Saturday would be on the hands of opposition leaders.

In other words, he’s ordering the opposition leaders to call off the rallies. Problem is, the time when that was possible has already passed.

Mr. Hossein Moussavi. Photo: Hamed Saber

On Tuesday, Mr. Hossein Moussavi, one of the main opposition leaders, urged his own supporters to cancel their plans to rally and it had no effect.

Hundreds of thousands showed up against his intentions and when the numbers neared a million, he joined them.

This shows that it’s ordinary citizens, not high-powered politicians fueling this unrest. It is the people–and a large section of the Iranian establishment– demanding a fair election.

4) Regime change can only come from within.

As much as Western governments would like to replace the totalitarian regime in Iran, real revolution must come from within. Outside governments like the US will never be able to successfully change a sovereign government like Iran through embargoes and political pressure.

More importantly, in Iran, the single biggest subject that unifies the most radical sects of the government is “outside power”, i.e. America vying for influence. In other words, the more western governments attempt to influence politics from the outside, the more we are emboldening politicians like Ahmadinejad and fueling hatred of America at the political level.

Photo: .faramarz

If successful regime change comes to Iran, it will arrive in the hands of Iranians.

5) There is so much future to fight for.

70% of Iranians are under the age of 30. A change in government now could have dramatically positive results for the lives of all young Iranians. Now is their chance.

The people of Iran have been entangled by the oppression of their government and the prejudice of the West for too long.

Just as many Americans cringed at the thought of foreigners perceiving our people by the measures of our government and foreign policy during the W. Bush years, Iranians too are frustrated by the fact that their people are judged by the decisions made by their government. This is an opportunity to change all that.

Just as we in the United States changed our leadership and elected Obama to open people’s minds back up to what we stand for, Iranians could do the same thing if they succeed in bringing new leadership to Iran.

The time is now.

So I urge you, regardless of where you are in the world, or what country you’re from, support the people of Iran on this fateful day. Make sure everyone you care about knows what’s happening and understands how high the stakes are for these people, who so desperately want a real democracy. To begin, here are six ways you can help.

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.

On Wednesday and Thursday, people in 20 cities around the world–including Denver, Miami, Helsinki, Paris, Madrid, Torino, Stockholm, Ottawa, and Melbourne–gathered to express their solidarity with Peruvian protesters who were attacked by federal special forces in the remote region of Bagua last week.

My husband, Francisco Collazo, was at the New York City demonstration to document the diverse group of people who showed up at the Consulate of Peru in photographs:

1. A homemade sign expresses a protester’s beliefs.

After posting some of the photos on our blog, a commenter remarked: “Some people actually solve problems, others just make signs and pretend to make a difference.”

The comment rankled and I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon.

It’s easy–and important, too–to question the privilege that we have as protesters responding to an episode as serious as the attacks on the indigenous communities in Bagua from a distance. We’re not at any real risk.

Maybe this guy got arrested on a civil disobedience misdemeanor…

2. This man chained himself to a door.

but that’s hardly akin to putting one’s life on the line in a remote area of Peru. And granted, it’s not comparable to the work that Gregor MacLennan is doing in Bagua, gathering testimonies of survivors and eyewitnesses to the attack and informing the international media of what’s happening on the ground there.

Still, I think the anonymous commenter is cynical.

We can’t all be on the front lines gathering testimonies and providing direct aid. We have jobs and families and obligations that keep us tied to where we are. But we can gather together in our own communities with people who share a deep concern for fellow human beings experiencing crisis and injustice to let them know that their tragedy is being witnessed and that we won’t be silent. We can bring our signs and get together to say “We haven’t forgotten you” and to tell perpetrators of injustice “We hold you accountable.”

We can chain ourselves to the doors of our elected and appointed representatives to draw attention to world problems and say, “We expect you to intervene.”

And you know what, Mr. Cynical? Holding signs and chanting “El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido” (”The people, united, will never be divided”) doesn’t just make us feel better.

Today, just 24 hours after it launched an online petition calling the president of Peru to protect and uphold indigenous rights, the activist group Avaaz had collected over 113,000 signatures. In response to this action and the worldwide pressure put on President Alan Garcia by all these crazy protesters with their signs, the Peruvian legislature announced that it has temporarily suspended two of the free trade decrees that provoked the people of Bagua to protest and precipitated the full-on attack by Peruvian Special Forces.

Just look at what a few homemade signs can do.

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.

1. People of all ages…

2. People from all walks of life…

3. People from different tribes…

4. People from different countries…

5. brought together by the same sense of resolve…

6. brought together by the desire to take action.

7. They stood and they sat…

8. and they said, “We won’t be silent.”

Photos 1-5: David Gilbert, Amazon Watch

Photos 6-8: Thomas Cavanagh, Amazon Watch

Community Connection:

To read about the outcome of the Shareholder Meeting, click here. And to get the back story on Chevron, be sure to review Matador’s coverage, which you can access by clicking on “Related Posts” below.

Emergildo Criollo

Avujathse gi ke’ima chiga’bian puiyi’ccu EE.UU suma.

Ja’nu gi va San Francisco kanjen tui gi cundaseya mingae amazonia’su a’indeccu Chevron tson’jen’chune.

I send a cordial greeting to the citizens of the United States in my native language.

My name is Emergildo Criollo, and I am a representative of Cofan village. Today, I am in San Francisco [California] to participate in the annual meeting of Chevron, where I will let the public know the truth about what has happened in my territory since Texaco initiated its operations in the Ecuadorean Amazon, as well as the history-making lawsuit that we are leading in pursuit of justice after 15 years.

The village of Cofan is located along the banks of the Aguarico River. When I was a boy, we drank clean water and hunted animals in the forest. We fished in the river, which was uncontaminated. Before, we lived free of pollution. We had enough food for our families, and enough natural medicine from the forest. With these medicines, we cured illnesses as we’d always done, according to our traditions. But with the arrival of Texaco in 1964, we could no longer use these medicines because new illnesses began to appear as a result of contamination.

It was in 1969 when I saw an oil spill for the first time, which soon flowed into the Aguarico River. Seeing this, we–the members of the Cofan–could no longer live there because there was no place to source clean water. So we moved further into the forest, establishing what is known today as the community of Cofan Dureno.

But the company pushed farther and farther into the forest, drilling more oil wells. We even had a well, Dureno 1, which was inside our own community. That well affected our people tremendously. There were spills and massive water accumulations. The flames of refinery towers were visible day and night. Animals abandoned the forest and fish disappeared from the river.

My two sons died drinking contaminated water. My aunt died of mouth cancer. She also drank contaminated water.

The company is to blame for all of the contamination. They must take responsibility for their actions and begin to clean up the contamination that still exists.

The five nationalities–Siona, Secoya, Kichwa, Huaorani, y Cofán– have organized.

Even now, the people from each of these groups continue dying from cancer. It’s for this reason that I write this letter- so you know how Texaco (now Chevron) affects people with its petroleum operations.

The company entered the Amazon without anyone’s permission, destroying the forest and leaving contamination and unknown illnesses in their wake. Today, the company is hiding the truth, saying that oil spills haven’t caused contamination and that they’re not cancer-causing agents. But I know that’s not true because this illness was never in our community before. And I know that my two sons and my aunt would still be alive today.

Chevron must take responsibility for cleaning up the open pools and sediments in the ground water supply so that my children can drink clean water and breathe clean air. Chevron took natural resources from the Ecuadorean rain forest, but those of us who live here have only received contamination, sickness, and death.

Everything the company says is totally false. I know because I’ve seen and experienced the effects of their actions first-hand. Texaco, now Chevron, wants to maintain a clean image. But for me, the image of this company is stained with oil.

I invite all of you to visit the Amazon where Texaco operated. You can see for yourself. You can see firsthand the contamination. You can say so to Chevron and demand that they accept responsibility.

Today, I’ll be entering Chevron’s headquarters to attend the annual meeting of the company’s shareholders. I’m going to talk face-to-face with the company. I’m going to defend my village and demand justice.

I ask the citizens of the United States to join with the 30,000 residents of the Ecuadorean Amazon in solidarity.

We have been fighting for more than 15 years for the company to clean up the damage it’s done to the environment.

And we’ll keep fighting until the end.

Translated from the Spanish by Julie Schwietert Collazo. To read the original version of this letter in Spanish, click here.

Community Connection:

To learn more about what’s going on with big oil this week, check out this article. And to learn how Chevron’s putting responsibility on consumers (and not the company), read about the company’s most recent greenwashing ad campaign. Finally–and most importantly–to learn how YOU can take action, please visit ChevronToxico.

Photo: albany_tim

As I read the news coverage of the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, I couldn’t help but think about a short piece I came across the other day.

The title was What Should America Become? and came from the blog, A Couple of Things. The author(s) gave these options for the future of the country:

A. A softie nation who invites terrorists to bomb us with immunity?

B. A softie nation on the outside but some thugs ready to beat you secretly (if possible).

C. An angry nation where citizens can be picked on by high taxes so others can get free things.

D. An angry nation where there is no minimum wage and where you can dump dioxin in the river or street.

E. A scared nation who kowtows to any complaints.

F. A bully nation who invades any country it doesn’t like and is willing to have hundreds of thousands of troops dead in order to take over a country.

G. A lawsuit nation where anybody can sue and lawyers can shape the country.

Really, are these our only choices?

Time For Change

Photo: B Rosen

We are at a time in history where many countries throughout the world are having to decide a different course when it comes to their politics, human rights, and environmental choices.

The United States has employed obvious contradictions that are apparent in recent political decisions, such as Prop 8.

Yet I wonder, what is with the black and white mentality? Of course there are no simple answers to dealing with terrorism, economic collapse, healthcare, or turning back time on a polluted Earth.

But what about contemplating how some of our actions have, and continue to, instigate terrorist activities? And what if our taxes went to things like free higher education and healthcare so that a good chunk of the nation wouldn’t be saddled with loan debt?

Or how about a real move internationally toward sustainable forms of energy so the government can’t come out with a bogus reason to go to war?

Buddhist Philosophy At Work

On her blog, Jennifer Jones posted a quote attributed to Buddha that I think fits these dilemmas nicely:

The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops into habit. And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care. And let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings.

What if we moved from a place of concern for ALL human beings, not just the ones in our family, community, or country? That might actually lead to a completely different train of thought as compared to soft vs. hard, angry vs. scared, bully vs. victim. It might lead to a simple respect for all beings.

And I sit with the thought that this respect might reach across the boundaries of faith and belief, and allow that everyone should be able to love – and marry – who they want.

Photo: Dominic DeGrazier

Run-down. A cold atmosphere. Dirty. Desperate.

Apart from being a bit preoccupied with the swine flu, these were my images of a Mexican orphanage before visiting the Door of Faith Orphanage (DOFO) in Baja California, Mexico. Arriving with a group organized by the all volunteer-run network, Be the Cause, we were 10 individuals ready to help a needy establishment full of less-fortunate children.

But the weekend would be giving us a surprise.

Our first insight to this orphanage’s character began immediately after entering its gates. In between brightly colored modern buildings resides a brilliantly built basketball court surrounded by swings, slides and more playground fun. Run-down? My previously-held thoughts had quickly begun to be challenged.

Kristy, an American volunteer living at the orphanage, guided our group through the buildings and layout of the site. We learned that the orphanage currently houses 105 children ranging from ages of four months to 23 years old. Each dormitory sleeps no more than 15 children, and has a mother and/or father figure living within each building (whom the kids call “Mom” and “Dad”). The rooms and common areas feel like a kid-hotel with their bright walls, drawings, and comfortable-looking beds and couches. My “cold atmosphere” vision happily expired.

Another of the colorful buildings we passed had 30 or so articles of clothing hung up outside. “That is our laundry facility. We have just recently hired a lady to wash the kids’ clothes– about 80 loads a day.” After walking through a litter-free playground area, a few spotless mini-kid hotels, and now learning that a person was employed on site to do nothing more than wash clothes, the dirty thought had become entirely extinct.

At this point, I was confused. Here was a barber shop, a medical facility, an aerobics class, a full dining hall and kitchen, a new nursery being built, and more. “What have we come to help here?” went my selfish, silent thoughts. Kristy then explained that in Mexico, it’s costly and takes a tremendous amount of time to adopt children, especially if they are with siblings. Most of the kids remain at DOFO until they’re 18 years old.

This orphanage is not a conduit for foster parents-to-be to meet their future children. This is a home, a family.

Administrator DJ Schuetze described DOFO’s purpose:

1. Family: With the small dorms housing children and parent figures, the aim of DOFO is to provide a family environment, to raise these children knowing that they are loved and provided for.

2. Education: DOFO believes it’s important for children to attend school outside of the orphanage. This way, the children can learn from another social setting and gain invaluable educational knowledge to hopefully guide them for further studies.

3. Service: Once a month a charity service is performed, with the children reaching out to others who are in need.

Beyond learning about the solid structure of DOFO and its purpose, the children who live here are extremely welcoming and made the trip worth the time.

“Do you have any gum?” I was asked by five year old Juan. Despite my, “No, sorry,” he promptly grabbed my hand and lead me to the swings to enjoy a few minutes of horsing around. The kids value contact with people who come to them to spend a day, or longer, together. A few of the volunteers confirmed the children have memorable connections with visitors who they remember for years. The word “desperate” had faded now as well.

Photo: Dominic DeGrazier

DOFO requires a healthy amount of funding to operate for its 105 little citizens and their community. 70% of DOFO’s funding actually comes from individuals sending in small donations.

If you’re in Baja California and would be interested in donating time or money to DOFO, contact the organization through its website.

And no one in the group experienced any flu-like symptoms, in case you were wondering.

Feature photo by Oran Viriyincy. Photo above by Claire L. Evans

The average person in the US receives nearly 11 pieces of junk mail each week, or 560 pieces a year. This amounts to 4.5 million tons of junk mail yearly, of which 44% goes straight to the landfill unopened and unread.

Here are some more facts:

100 million trees are cut down each year to produce junk mail.

1 million trees offset 48,000,000 pounds of carbon emissions.

Eliminating junk mail in the US would offset 480,000 cars.

Conclusions

These numbers only reflect the amount of carbon emissions offset by the raw materials alone. They do not take into account all of the carbon emissions created in transporting the trees from the forest to the pulp mills, much less the emissions generated in manufacturing the paper. Nor do they take into account the carbon emissions created in distributing the junk mail via mail-trucks, planes, and cars nationwide.

It’s safe to say that were we to include those factors in our equation, the actual emissions created through junk mail would easily be in the millions of cars, perhaps in the tens of millions. Anyone want to work on that formula?

How to Stop Receiving Junk Mail

For a quick and easy guide to stop receiving junk mail, please visit the Native Forest Network.

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: Half Chinese

Whether you’re talking with someone in person or online, having a conversation with a friend or a complete stranger, or whether you’re talking about changing the world or what you’re going to have for dinner, try out these tips for improving communication with others.

1. Don’t assume you know the other person’s story.

A few years ago, I sat in a Boston courtroom to observe a day’s worth of drug cases. In the course of several hours, a couple dozen men–mostly young, mostly Black or Hispanic–took their turns before the judge to explain why each had drugs and what was at stake if the judge decided to send him to prison.

And every single time, the judge, exasperated, cut the man off midstream with a variation on the same dismissive theme: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know your story.” He’d bang his gavel and pronounce a sentence. Each man shuffled off, head down, looking years older in a span of seconds.

Granted, these men weren’t there to have a conversation with the judge. But the anecdote bears an important lesson: Never assume you know the other person’s story.

We’re all complex beings, shaped by numerous people, places, and life experiences. Our stories are similar, but there’s always some difference that distinguishes us. And often, that difference means everything.

When talking with someone, I like to keep these lines from an Adrienne Rich poem in mind:

“if you think you can grasp me, think again;
my story flows in more than one direction.”

2. Don’t put your conversational partner into a category.

We pigeonhole each other all the time. Classification is a convenient way for us to manage and understand the world and to try to engage with each other: Liberal/Conservative. Traveler/Tourist. Activist/Apathetic.

Photo: NancyCoop

But when we think about each other in these dualistic categories, we’re setting up our conversations in a way that’s sure to be unproductive. If I think about you as an ultra-conservative, I’m already building up the defensive arguments I’m going to use to persuade you to adopt my views. And that means I’m not at all prepared to listen to what you have to say. I’ve already scripted your words for you.

3. Stop trying to fill the space.

One of the hardest lessons for me to learn as a psychotherapist was how to become comfortable with silence. If a patient was talking and seemed to be struggling for words or fell silent, it made me uncomfortable and my first impulse was to fill the quiet space. I’d fill in the blanks with words I thought the person would want to say, or chatter on about nothing in particular until the patient picked up the conversation again.

As I learned more about the art of conversation, I saw how I tended to fill the space in all of my conversations– at work and in my personal life.

Conversations aren’t always about words. In fact, the most important part of a conversation is often what’s going on in the pauses between what we say. Don’t rush to fill that space–and whatever you do, don’t try to fill in someone else’s words. Practice becoming more comfortable with silence, and let your conversational partner experience discovering what he or she really wants to say.

4. Don’t pretend or assume you understand what the other person is saying.

If you’re not following the conversation, say so. This skill is called reflective listening, and it’s as useful in everyday life as it is in therapy. When your partner has finished saying something, and you’re not sure you understand or you want to confirm your interpretation of what’s just been said, say something like, “So, what I think you mean is….” This gives the other person the opportunity to confirm that you interpreted the message correctly or to clarify the message so you understand it.

5. Get rid of distractions.

Photo: billibala

I was recently at a restaurant and noticed that the couple at the next table kept their cell phones on the table for the entire meal. Every few minutes, one or the other would pick up the phone–while the other was talking–and start messaging.

If you don’t have time for a conversation, say so politely and let the other person know when you have time to talk. But when you do, put the cell phone away. Really.

6. Ask yourself: Am I advancing the conversation?

What this means is simple: Are you contributing to the conversation in a meaningful way? Are you engaging the other person? Are you leaving them intact? This is a particularly relevant tip for online communication, where we’re prone to fire off messages that make us feel good, but which hurt the receiver.

7. Ask questions. Let your conversational partner shine.

Two tips rolled into one. Most people love to talk about themselves. And most people want to be recognized. There’s nothing that improves your conversational skills more than cultivating a genuine interest in other people and providing every opportunity you can for them to talk about themselves. And don’t worry– if they’re good conversationalists, they’ll give you the opportunity to talk about yourself, too.

Community Connection:

Travel provides some incredible opportunities for conversation. Traveling alone and want to start a conversation? Check out Eva Holland’s advice for “gutsy girls” who are on the road solo. Or if you need some advice about how to deliver difficult messages to people you care about, check out “How to Tell Your Partner You Want to Travel…Alone” and “How to Tell Your Family You’re Leaving for a Year to Go Travel.”

Feature photo: mark sebastian

Photo: David Reece

If your RSS feed or Reader includes the usual online travel mag suspects–World Hum, Gadling, and Vagabonding–then you’re probably already aware of National Geographic’s Geotourism Challenge 2009, a

“global search for innovative ideas in tourism that celebrate the distinct destinations of the world by honoring culture, cherishing history and enhancing the environment.”

You can find the full details of the contest here, and submit your own nomination for geotourism hero.

But as long as you’re online, take a few minutes to visit Nat Geo’s partner in the Geotourism Challenge: Ashoka Changemakers.

In a nutshell, Ashoka’s Changemakers program is “the world’s first global online open source community that competes to surface the best social solutions, and then collaborates to refine, enrich, and implement those solutions.”

Photo: giarose

What that means concretely is that the Changemakers website offers lots of practical tools, resources, contacts, funding sources and competitions to get your own creative changemaking juices flowing.

So… if you’ve read our articles about starting your own NGO or non-profit, of if you’re inspired by stories like this one by Matador’s own Misty Tosh and are ready to tackle your own big international project, head on over to the Changemakers site to meet other people like you!

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.

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.

Photo: woodleywonderworks

Today is the 39th anniversary of Earth Day, founded in the US in 1970 and widely recognized as the birth date of the modern environmental movement.

While environmental consciousness, both in the US and abroad, is arguably more widespread today than it was back then, our environmental problems are also more profound.

The call for each person to play his or her part to live a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle has never been more urgent.

Yet many of us (myself included), ignore the call or respond to it selectively, reluctant to make a bigger commitment to environmentalism.

Here are six easy ways you can celebrate Earth Day today and start moving toward a more sustainable lifestyle:

1. Buy rechargeable batteries.

We’ve known for years that disposable batteries are a serious threat to the environment. When disposed in landfills, dead batteries leach toxic metals into the soil, often creeping into groundwater supplies… and, eventually, into the water you drink.

Rechargeable batteries, though not without their environmental hazards, do offer a more environmentally friendly option than conventional batteries. Rechargeables can be used up to 1,000 times, meaning that you’ll need to buy fewer batteries and fewer will end up in landfills. You’ll spend less money on batteries over the long run, too.

Rechargeable batteries–and even their chargers–are sold practically everywhere: drug stores, grocery stores, and even convenience stores.

And if you insist on buying disposables, consider recycling them after they die. If you’re in the US, visit this website and plug in your zip code to find the recycling facility closest to you.

2. Unplug the appliances you’re not using.

I just did a quick walk through my apartment to check the number of items I currently have plugged into outlets.

Photo: tomsaint11

The report, I’m sad to say, isn’t pretty. There’s the cell phone charger, two laptops, a shredder (which I use about once a week), a clock, a stereo, two lamps, a blender, a coffee maker, and a toaster oven (I don’t even remember the last time I used this).

If I unplugged the items that don’t see daily use, I’d be eliminating what scientists and environmentalists refer to as “standby” energy waste. Besides being better for the environment, a 2001 study by Berkeley researchers indicated that I might save as much as 25% on my monthly energy bill.

3. Carry a canvas or reusable bag.

Fortunately, it seems that many of you live in areas where plastic bags have been banned or where their use is increasingly limited. If you don’t, try to remember to carry a canvas or other reusable bag on your trips to the grocery store and for other purchases. There’s an economic incentive here, too– many stores, such as Whole Foods, deduct a small percentage from your total bill for bagging your goods with a reusable bag.

4. Use your coffee travel mug or your Nalgene bottle.

Photo: Ants4Pets

You’ve heard this a million times. You have a collection of reusable mugs and bottles. And you still leave them at home every time you go out.

I know- me too. This is quite possibly the easiest step I could take to reduce waste, and yet I never quite seem to commit to it. Today’s the day to break the disposable cup/bottle habit.

5. Plant a window garden.

Feeling really ambitious? If these other actions seem like baby steps and you’re ready to graduate to something bigger, test your green thumb by planting a window garden. Don’t be deterred if you live in a small apartment in the middle of a city. Matador contributor Theodore Scott has given step-by-step directions for four easy apartment garden projects, which you can find here.

6. Get outside.

Photo: atreeisnice

It’s easy to forget how much you love the land and how important it is to you if you’re always inside. So get out. Plan a picnic, go for a walk, or try a new outdoor activity you keep putting off… but just get outside!

Community Connection:

What are you doing for Earth Day? How can you take a simple step to be a better steward of the environment? Share your opinions below.

The highlight of opening night at Havana Film Festival New York was the presentation of Freddy Vargas’s 12 minute film, “Hispaniola,” which won HBO’s Best Short Film Competition Award in 2007 at the New York Latino Film Festival.

Vargas, born in the Dominican Republic and currently living in New York, returned to Santo Domingo to shoot “Hispaniola,” a docudrama that ambitiously–and successfully–tackles a number of themes relevant to Dominican society today, including racism, relations between Haitians and Dominicans, immigration, and economic challenges in the developing world.

The film depicts two families from drastically different economic, social, and cultural backgrounds. There’s the well-to-do family of a gruff Dominican politician–all light-skinned–who live in a beautiful home, albeit one that’s enclosed behind a gate. Right across the street is a family of Haitian immigrants, who have come to Santo Domingo to work. While they construct the home of a verbally abusive Dominican, they cook and sleep on the worksite and worry constantly about being deported by immigration, as they’re in Santo Domingo without papers.

The families, of course, would never cross paths were it not for the young sons of each group. While playing with the family’s maid in his back yard, the baseball of the politician’s son bounces outside the gate and across the street, into the hands of the excited young son of the workers. Remarkably, the politician’s son hasn’t yet been indoctrinated by his father’s ideology, and he invites the Haitian boy to play.

When the father comes home, though, he explodes. What is a black boy–a Haitian!–doing in his pool, in his yard, in his home? In the final scene, immigration swarm onto the worksite, picking up the Haitian family and carrying them away. Implied is the possibility that the politician called to report them.

It’s a tense, explosive 12 minutes, and one that accurately portrays painful truths about current social problems on the island.

Yet as interesting as the film is, so too is Vargas’s story of making it.

Vargas confronted a number of obstacles for such a short film. Following the screening, he explained,

“There was opposition from the government. The producer chickened out. A couple of the actors dropped out the night before we started filming. And then, a top filmmaker in the Dominican Republic said ‘I’ll help you out, but don’t put my name on it.’”

For someone who doesn’t know much about the Dominican Republic, the issues depicted in “Hispaniola” might not seem to warrant so much opposition from so many different sources.

But race in Hispaniola, the name of the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is anything but simple.

As Vargas explained to me after the screening,

“During the dictatorship, Trujillo [the Dominican dictator who ruled from 1930-1961] denied that Dominicans had any African heritage. He emphasized our European roots instead. And this ideology continues to influence Dominican society in many ways.”

Vargas’s goal in making “Hispaniola” was to raise consciousness about identity and race relations in the Dominican Republic, and to advocate social change by inviting conversation about these issues.

You can watch the full version of “Hispaniola” here.

Photos: Francisco Collazo

Photo: muha…

As Kate Sedgwick’s article about the “Ausencias” exhibit in Argentina suggested, the power of photography is profound.

Photos help us see places we’ve never been, empathize with difficulties we can only begin to imagine, and document the facts of history.

There are a number of organizations around the world using cameras as instruments of social change.

From Disparando Camaras Para la Paz (Shooting Cameras for Peace) in Colombia to Matador member Ryan Libre’s Documentary Arts Asia, NGOs and non-profits are using cameras to teach people tangible skills while letting them narrate their own stories.

Cameras are also being used for the same purposes in the United States. The Skid Row Photography Club is an organization dedicated to teaching people living on the streets how to use cameras, then setting up exhibits of their work for public viewing.

If you’re about to upgrade to a new camera and would like to give your old one to a good cause, most organizations accept donations. In the US, working cameras can be sent to the Skid Row Photography Club at this address:

Dave Bullock
Skid Row Photo Club
121 E 6th St #701
Los Angeles, CA 90014

To donate gear to Documentary Arts Asia, contact Ryan Libre.

Community Connection:

Looking to improve your own photography skills? Be sure to read photojournalist Lola Akinmade’s “The A-B-C-D-E of Travel Photography.”

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: helgasms!

One day in late January 2009, some young women in a pub in the city of Mangalore, in Karnataka, India, were beaten up by members of the group that calls itself the Sri Ram Sena. This political group, headed by a man named Pramod Muthalik, felt the women were degrading traditional Indian values by being in a pub where alcohol and the company of men were easily accessible.

The name of the group literally means “The army of Ram” – Ram is a Hindu god – and the men subsequently threatened to marry off any couple found in public celebrating Valentine’s Day.

By early February 2009, Nisha Susan and her friends initiated The Pink Chaddi Campaign against the moral policing of Indian women by Sri Ram Sena. The Pink Chaddi Campaign is a non-violent protest that has received tremendous support from people in India and the world over.

Photo: krinish

Hailed by many members of the press as a brilliant Gandhian political strategy, the Pink Chaddi Campaign urged people to mail pink underwear to Muthalik and the members of Sri Ram Sena as a Valentine’s Day present.

It also urged a nationwide pub crawl on Valentine’s Day, where women and men were requested to walk freely into pubs and raise a toast to Indian women and their rights.

On Valentine’s Day, Pramod Muthalik was taken into preventive custody by the government. Meanwhile, pink panties arrived by the dozens in the Sri Ram Sena office.

The Facebook group for the movement, A Consortium of Pub-going, Loose, and Forward Women, has played a major role in raising awareness about the campaign in urban India. The group and the fan page for the campaign provide a forum for active discussion and debate about the issues involved – the campaign has been thoroughly dissected and analyzed, celebrated and reviled, criticized and praised all over cyberspace.

The Pink Chaddi Campaign has also sparked many discussions offline among people who enthusiastically support it, violently oppose it, or are somewhere in between. Those in between question the political efficacy of such a campaign; some express support for the intentions but disagree with certain methods. Some conservatives also express their distaste for women who like to go to pubs, citing reasons with phrases such as “traditions” and “corrupting innocence” and “culture” bandied about.

As a young woman in urban India, I sent in a pink chaddi without delving too deeply into the political repercussions or analyzing the effectiveness of the strategy of the campaign. As someone who faces the pressures of street sexual harassment and other forms of woman baiting and suppression, I joined the Facebook page and sent in a note along with the underwear to play my part in the movement.

Photo: jaroslavd

I sent in the panties with two other friends, a man and a woman. We all signed our names, and my male friend put in “Woman Lover” beside his signature, while I scribbled the highly imaginative line “I am not afraid of you” after staring at the paper for a long time.

After all, what do you say to a group that thinks a woman’s right to be wherever she wants is against Indian culture, and beating her up is acceptable to and good for this so-called culture?

Young Indian people often find the dichotomy of their culture proclaimed by certain politicians and the actual nature of this culture ironic. This is the issue addressed by the new steps being taken by the Pink Chaddi Campaign– video testimonials inviting participants to define Indian culture.

As Nisha Susan says in her article in The Observer, Indian women are aware of the fragile nature of their rights and it looks like the political agenda of certain bigoted groups citing culture as a justification for their atrocities is now being challenged by thinking young Indians all over the country.

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.

Photo: Zanini H

The organization, based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, offers assistance and shelter to kids who have been living on the streets, and provides volunteer opportunities to travelers who’d like to help educate the kids and provide them with stability they’ve lacked in their families.

Casa do Caminho has just announced a new service that might interest travelers: Portuguese language courses. Just three blocks away from the beach, the Casa’s language school offers regular, intensive, and customized language courses for all levels of learners. Courses are 150 reais, about $65 USD, a month, and profit from the classes goes to support the organization’s services for kids.

For more information, visit Casa’s website.

Viktoria Orizarska, however, decided to do something different.

This interview is about how she’s combined backpacking and charity with incredible results.

Photo: Viktoria Orizarska

(MC): What led to the decision to quit your job and backpack for charity? How did your previous experiences as a traveler influence this decision?

During my short breaks from New York, I’d go down to South America and meet all those Europeans… on sabbatical and traveling for three, six, nine months.

I was so jealous. I even asked my boss in New York for 3 months unpaid leave… so I could go to Australia. He said no way. So when I saved enough, I just quit my job and started planning a long trip. The charity part of it came shortly after.

I happened to pick up a book called Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. … [T]he author of the book left his high flying executive job to build schools and libraries in impoverished parts of the world through Room to Read, the non-profit… he established.

Photo: Viktoria Orizarska

The organization also provides long term scholarship to girls in those regions, thus giving them opportunity for education, which very often is denied to them because of economical reasons and cultural prejudice. The idea to help other gals reach out for their dreams through education resonated with me. Before I even finished reading the book, I had a plan how to raise money while traveling.

What kind of response did you receive throughout your travels?

The response has been either huge enthusiasm or indifference. I still can’t quite guess who is going to be excited and who wouldn’t care. It depends more on life experience than on gender or nationality.

Many of my white male ex-co-workers, who were also keen travelers, made generous contributions, while my appeal fell on deaf ears with the professional women’s association I was involved with in London.

The most enthusiastic and generous response came from New York, partially because I have so many friends there. But the photo show/fundraiser last December was also attended by supporters of Room To Read who I didn’t know. During the photo show, Elsa and David Brule made a very generous offer to match…every dollar raised on the evening. Their gesture inspired everyone and the total for the night (match included) was $8,500.

I just learned that after their visit in Laos this February, the Brule Family has made the incredible commitment to match every dollar raised worldwide for Laos until June 30th, 2009, up to $1 million. On the upcoming April fundraiser / photo show in Sofia, I will be raising funds for girls scholarships in Laos.

My fund raising target, when I started traveling, was quite ambitious – to raise enough to help 100 girls get education. For now, I’ve raised enough for almost 100 girls to go to school for a year, but it takes 10 years to go through the full course of education. I am not giving up, though. My travel project transformed into a life project.

Photo: Viktoria Orizarska

In your writing, you often mention the privilege you feel as a (comparatively) wealthy traveler in very poor countries. Do you think travelers have an obligation to give something back to the places they visit?

I don’t think giving back is an obligation, but it would be awfully nice if people don’t just go to places to drink cheap beer.

I felt terrible in India – I was, spending money to travel, to fulfill a life long dream, while people around me were surviving on a bowl of rice a day. At the same time, there were so many beggars – if I gave one rupee to everyone who begged, I would have spent all my money and wouldn’t have changed the world the slightest.

At the end of the day, everyone decides for themselves how much to take and how much to give to the world.

Why did you choose the charity (Room to Read) that you did, and why did you choose to help young women?

First, Room to Read has an established track record – they have been around since 2000. They are very efficient and keep low overhead, so more of the money I raise goes to the people that really need it. Also, Room to Read is respectful and works with the local communities…. Last but not least, everyone I met that works with RTR is incredibly motivated and very impressive… and I met people in 5 different countries – UK, US, Australia, Nepal and Vietnam.

Most importantly, I chose RTR because they were addressing an issue that I deeply cared about – young women’s access to education. I come from Bulgaria, an ex-communist country – for me school was a birthright. Young women in Bulgaria were encouraged to pursue whatever career they chose. Yet, after communism fell and the country was propelled into economic mayhem for many years, it was a scholarship that I received from a US university that made it possible to further my education….

As a professional woman in full control of my life it is impossible to not be outraged that so many women around the world are still being discriminated based on gender.

How do you think your fund raising work contributes to the societies you have visited?

By helping young women get education, you target… two problems – illiteracy and discrimination against women. I do believe that education is the only way to lift the world from poverty and 2/3rds of all illiterate adults in the world are female.

Mothers tend to pass their knowledge to their children more than fathers. So by educating women, you achieve two things – help erase inequality, and increase the amount of knowledge… passed down the generations. It is a win-win situation.

Photo: Viktoria Orizarska

How could other backpackers follow in your footsteps? What advice and what warnings might you give another backpacker who wants to backpack for charity? Were there any books, websites, or people in particular who aided you?

Just do it…. It is only positive – fulfilling,empowering, a great way to meet local people, and experience you can one day use in business. I did look at some volunteer opportunities before I started working (without pay) with Room to Read. There are so many non-governmental organizations out there – just pick one that you really believe in – be it for the people or for the cause, or for both.

How has this experience changed you as a traveler? What are your plans for the future?

I have become more compassionate to strangers. If you keep telling yourself that this is not your problem, and that is not your problem, you will end up traveling in a bubble. People recognize when you care, and so they are more open with you as well. On this trip I met a lot more local people than on others.

Planning to settle down somewhere (still debating on the place), maybe start a small art business – something I have been thinking about for years, and of course to keep up with the charity work.

Community Connection

Support Viktoria’s efforts to get one hundred girls back to school here. Keep up with her adventures on her blog. Learn more about Room to Read on their website.

Photo: Hal Amen

During the last six weeks volunteering through the Cochabamba-based Sustainable Bolivia, I’ve come to know its small but friendly and dedicated staff, some of the 30 local foundations it supplies with funding and volunteers, and a bit about its business model.

Less clear to me, though, is how the organization developed. What makes people devote their lives to the pursuit of improving others’, and, more importantly, how do they go about this?

I sat down with Sustainable Bolivia’s executive director, Erik Taylor, to find out.

HA: It’s obvious from your background that you’re an avid traveler. How are travel and the volunteer spirit related?

ET: I think unfortunately they’re often not related. Travel is typically a consumer item, a form of consumption. You’re purchasing an experience, and most people when they travel aren’t really thinking about helping others along the way. I don’t mean to pass judgment…that’s just what travel is, traditionally.

Photo: Sustainable Bolivia

But there are also new forms of travel emerging—voluntourism, ecotourism. A lot of people now are looking to travel in a sustainable way and give back. That’s one of the reasons for the formation of Sustainable Bolivia, to help promote this trend.

HA: Can you pinpoint the moment when you decided founding a nonprofit was the right path for you?

ET: It was something I’d thought about off and on during my studies, but actually when I came to Bolivia initially, it was to work for a different nonprofit. Unfortunately, after being here for about six weeks, everything fell apart. The organization shut down without warning, there was tons of chaos….

That was the impetus for really playing with the idea of starting my own. It was either that or go back to the U.S., or look for a job somewhere else in South America. So I thought, “I’ll give this a shot and see what happens.”

HA: What education or life experiences best prepared you for the challenges involved in building a nonprofit from scratch?

ET: I earned a master’s in social science through the Global Studies Program…the ultimate international program. In my year, there were 30 students from 19 countries. You study for three semesters in three different countries: Germany, South Africa, and India, completing a research project in each place. And you’re at the universities as a local student, so that’s nice.

For the fourth semester, everyone splits off and does an internship. Mine was in Ecuador, which was great because I got to work for two different organizations concentrating on ecotourism. A lot of what Sustainable Bolivia is, what it’s designed after, is based on my experiences there.

Another thing I carry with me that’s really helped me was being an athlete. You have to know when it’s time to lead, when it’s your turn to do what you can, and then when it’s time to be a part of the team. And I’ve been very fortunate to find myself a part of such a wonderful team here.

HA: How did you account for Bolivia’s and Cochabamba’s unique characteristics of need when mapping Sustainable Bolivia’s mission?

ET: The organizations already operating here, our 30 or so partners in Cochabamba, they’re doing good work. They know what’s needed. What they lack are resources, both human and financial, and the idea is that we can provide those…hopefully in a sustainable manner.

I see us as an intermediary between the global and local, because these organizations just don’t have the resources or the time to do what we’re doing, to both attract and then provide for the day-to-day needs of volunteers.

HA: Did you find it difficult to establish meaningful contacts with these organizations?

ET: It wasn’t that difficult; actually, I was surprised at the initial willingness. Of course, there’s a history of nonprofits and NGOs throughout the world, and especially in Bolivia, making promises and then not following through. That was one of the things we were concerned about at first, and we tried to limit our promises in terms of what we offered initially.

Photo: Sustainable Bolivia

But what we provide isn’t that hard of a sell. We approach an organization and ask them what they’re looking for—they set the standards. And on top of that, because we receive a fee from volunteers, we can provide some direct financial support. So from their standpoint, they’re not in a position to lose.

HA: Is there anything you see as setting Sustainable Bolivia apart from other similar organizations?

ET: I think we offer a more serious internship. All sorts of people come through the program, and we enjoy the presence of all of them. But we offer certain positions here that are more serious, that require a longer time commitment and some manner of expertise.

Another thing is I like to think we’re a lot less expensive for what we offer. We try to keep our overhead as low as possible while still giving money back to our partners. There are similar organizations doing similar work, of course, but then there are some with different…priorities.

HA: Have there been any disappointments along the way? What about adversities you’ve overcome?

ET: Anytime you want to start a business, it’s a difficult process…especially with a nonprofit because of the legal ramifications—stuff I’m still trying to familiarize myself with. All the costs, it’s shocking—insurance costs and other things that initially maybe you don’t see.

On top of that, it’s more difficult starting a business abroad. Little tasks can become big endeavors…things like trying to locate a gardener or something. Obviously in the U.S. I could open the phone book and find one, call them, and they’d come. Here, it’s never that simple. Or setting up meetings and no one showing, people being late….

In overcoming issues like that, you have to have cultural sensitivity and keep a positive attitude. Understand that things work here, but they work according to different cultural guidelines.

HA: Where do you see Sustainable Bolivia in five years?

ET: The goal is to offer all this at no charge, or close to it. Right now it’s reasonably inexpensive, but it should be even less expensive, in my opinion. Sustainable Bolivia is a nonprofit, registered 501(c)(3) in the U.S., and we’re actively seeking grants and individual donors who believe in our mission.

If we can achieve this, we’ll be able to attract more qualified people, and people able to make longer commitments. We can be more selective, which of course will benefit our partners.

And there are other fields we can enter—fair trade products, community-based ecotourism. We’re developing a program right now dealing with fair trade. A lot of our partners produce different handicrafts, but they have no market. So, through its intermediary role, Sustainable Bolivia can hopefully help connect their goods to a global market.

HA: What advice would you offer someone who’s considering starting a nonprofit?

ET: I’d recommend finding a good lawyer. That’s really important. Then, surround yourself with people who’re committed to what you’re trying to do. As an individual you can only do so much, but if you find people that share your vision, they’ll in turn provide you with more motivation, and obviously a ton of assistance.

Here’s another thing—it always comes down to money, to finances. Rather than relying solely on donations and grants, look for a way to generate funds. That doesn’t mean you’re not a nonprofit. Harvard University is a nonprofit and it’s sitting on billions of dollars of reserves.

As long as it matches your mission, try to make some money. If you want to be sustainable, you’re going to need some sort of…ingresos. Sustainable Bolivia has a language school, and… the volunteer program, and these are the two main things that allow us to operate.

HA: What about people out there who’d like to volunteer but maybe need a little push? Any words of advice for them?

ET: Just do it. I mean, there’s so much need throughout the world. You’ll benefit personally and professionally from the experience, but most importantly you’re in a position to really help those who are less fortunate. Honestly, what are you waiting for?

Community Connection:

Find more advice about starting your own NGO here.

Photo: Zanini H

We’ve published several articles about Brazil recently–from the lighthearted and fun to the devastating and disturbing.

If these pieces have stimulated your interest in learning more about Brazil and what communities and organizations are doing to promote social change, meet some of Brazil’s changemakers:

Coletivo Mulher Vida/Women’s Life Collective

Founded in 1991 by Cecy Prestrello and Marcia Dangremon to help survivors of domestic violence, the organization has expanded its work to help at-risk kids and teens. You can learn more about the Coletivo on their website or by watching the documentary, “Hummingbird,” which features the Coletivo’s work in Recife, Brazil.

Matador Member Organizations

Within the Matador community, eight organizations are doing work in Brazil ranging from conservation to youth development and education. Many of these organizations, like CARF, are actively seeking volunteers, so if your next trip involves a visit to Brazil, be sure to check them out and see how you can help.

“All lives have equal value.”
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Julien Harneis

Photo: World Economic Forum

Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates and his wife Melinda are well-known around the world for the philanthropic work of their foundation.

Focused on education and health care–the two basic building blocks of any viable society–the Gates Foundation has become a leader in initiatives intended to prevent HIV/AIDS and to eradicate malaria.

In addition to these well-publicized campaigns, though, the Gates Foundation is hard at work on various other projects around the world. Here are five fascinating–and necessary–projects spearheaded by the Gates Foundation that you’ve probably never heard of:

1. Housing in the United States

Photo: Diego Cupolo

Homelessness has long been a problem in the U.S., but with the mortgage and foreclosure crisis affecting so many families, homelessness is threatening people previously insulated from this particular social problem.

Though the Gates Foundation has been committed to fair and affordable housing initiatives in the Washington State region since 2000, it has stepped up efforts to prevent homelessness, assist in rapid placement of homeless families, and work with partner agencies to provide newly homeless with employment opportunities that will help them recover economic stability.

2. Tobacco Prevention Around the World

Tobacco… it’s not a sexy issue. Though anti-smoking campaigns were popular in the U.S. a couple decades ago, tobacco-related initiatives have moved away from the purview of special interest groups and have become the concern of local governments, which have banned indoor smoking from Mexico City to Manhattan.

Photo: NeilsPhotography

Gates, however, isn’t interested in sexy issues; he’s interested in interventions that save lives.

10 million deaths a year are attributed to tobacco exposure–and with 80% of these deaths occurring in the developing world, it’s clear that tobacco education remains important in many areas.

3. Emergency & Disaster Intervention

Hurricane Katrina is a case study in developed countries’ emergency efforts gone awry, and the Gates Foundation is fully aware that no country is ever fully prepared to respond to emergencies and disasters, regardless of its infrastructure.

Photo: Bart & Jill

Partnering with aid agencies that have demonstrated track records in disaster response, the Gates Foundation has provided emergency grant money to respond to flooding in India, the cyclone in Myanmar, post-election violence in Kenya, and–yes–Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

4. Internet Connectivity & Access to Technology

As the man who was at the helm of Microsoft for more than 30 years, it’s little surprise that the Gates Foundation invests time and money in Internet-related projects. The Internet is a powerful resource and tool, yet a deep digital divide exists between developed and developing countries, and the Gates Foundation is working hard to bridge that gap.

Photo: Manuel Ebert

With projects in Latvia, Bulgaria, and South Africa, the Gates Foundation hopes to democratize the Internet by making access free and as widespread as possible where government budgets are unable to build technological infrastructures.

Community Connection

What do you think the Gates Foundation’s priorities should be? What needs have you seen on your travels that philanthropic intervention might help solve? Share your insights below. ]]> http://matadorchange.com/4-gates-foundation-projects-youve-probably-never-heard-of/feed 1 http://matadorchange.com/seniors-in-the-peace-corps-an-interview-with-muriel-johnston http://matadorchange.com/seniors-in-the-peace-corps-an-interview-with-muriel-johnston#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:56:20 +0000 Audrey Scott http://matadorchange.com/?p=76

“The [Peace Corps] application process has been a challenge, but it has given me an opportunity to examine my life and future goals.” – Muriel Johnston

Muriel Johnston. Courtesy of Ms. Johnston

At 84 years old, Muriel Johnston is not your average Peace Corps applicant.

She’s beginning her Peace Corps service this spring in Morocco with a lifetime of achievements and experience to share with her host country and fellow Peace Corps colleagues.

Yet she’s just as focused on what this adventure will teach her and how it will enrich her life.

I had some difficulty tracking down Muriel for this e-mail interview; she was traveling around South Africa for a few weeks. Upon returning home, she kindly took time out of her final week before departure to answer a few questions.

What first attracted you to the Peace Corps? And made you decide to serve for two-plus years as a Peace Corps volunteer at this time in your life?

When I learned the Peace Corps had a special office for 50+ volunteers and that age was not a deterrent, I called the 50+ Office in Washington, D.C. for particulars. I was intrigued by the opportunity to add more meaning to my life.

Why do you feel that the Peace Corps is reaching out to attract more mature volunteers? What do you think more mature volunteers offer Peace Corps and the host country?

I feel that the Peace Corps is working on presenting a more balanced picture of American culture by including a greater variety of its citizens. Mature volunteers can offer the “getting along” skills they’ve developed as well as experience with negotiation and compromise to members of the host country and to traditional volunteers.

Passing Peace Corps’ medical exams is no small feat for people of every age – congratulations! Does Peace Corps make special arrangements for mature volunteers once they are in-country?

The Peace Corps is very careful of its volunteers, regardless of age, in every aspect of life in-country. Safety and health concerns are paramount. Attention to special requirements demanded by local customs is emphasized. For instance, the drinking of alcohol is a taboo, and modest dress and behavior is required.

What will your work as a Peace Corps volunteer entail?

My assignment as a Peace Corps volunteer has not been defined precisely. The title given to me is “Health Educator,” and my understanding of the job description is basically mothering, i.e. stressing good personal hygiene, encouraging better sanitary practices, and observing preventive measures for good health. A “glorified” mother, indeed!

Moroccan children. Photo by jfgornet

Peace Corps’ goals are as much about learning about the host country and yourself as they are about sharing your knowledge and experience. What do you hope to learn and bring home from this experience?

Learning more about other countries dissolves some of the mysteries surrounding foreign cultures. I believe helping to eliminate this mystery will encourage peaceful solutions. Sharing my experiences with my circle of family and friends will enable them to better understand that the challenges others face are similar to our own.

How does your family feel about your decision to join Peace Corps?

My family has been supportive of my decision to join the Peace Corps. Of course there have been some reservations about my being so far away, but there is always e-mail. Some family members are already planning visits to Morocco.

Anything else you’d like to share or add?

The amazing response of family, friends and acquaintances to my decision to join the Peace Corps has been overwhelming and encouraging. I’m sure all the good wishes I’ve received will help sustain me for the 27-month commitment.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

President Obama has called for greater engagement and commitment to community service from America’s youth. What do you think? Are we ready to step up and serve under Obama? Read our article on the subject, and join in the discussion!

I met Thien on the second day of my volunteer assignment at the Thuan An boarding school for the hearing impaired in Vietnam. The school yard was filled with the noise and energy of 300 excited children hard at work making art and flower baskets in anticipation of Teacher Appreciation Day.

Hands fluttered as the students communicated to each other in sign language. I was taking in the swarm of activity around me when I suddenly felt a tap on my elbow. “Chau Co,” the greeting came with a smile from the clean-cut teenager with glasses standing next to me.

“My name is Thien,” he wrote in perfectly scripted English on a pad of paper. When I responded with my own name, he flashed me a smile and excitedly began to write some questions.

Word about our ability to communicate shot around as it only can on school playgrounds. I instantly became an A-list celebrity on campus.

Over the next few weeks, I spent a lot of time with the kids in the three English classes I taught and in stolen moments between class, after dinner, and during weekend activities.

Students ranged from 5-20 years old, and came from diverse backgrounds and life situations, but the boarding school environment and the uniqueness of their disability bonded them into one large family.

They were as interested to learn about me as I was about them. We shared stories in a linguistic cross between written English, simple Vietnamese, and international sign language.

The questions posed to me ran the gamut: from “What do you eat for breakfast?” to “Did you vote for Obama?” to “What animal do you want to be in your next life?” to my favorites: “Does snow taste like sugar?” and “How long does a boy have to wait to kiss a girl in America?”

I admired the passion and tenacity of the teachers to help these students in spite of meager resources, limited training, and outdated technology. The town where Thuan An is located is gritty and desolate, but hope and love are very much alive in this special place.

A lot of that has to do with Thuy, the executive director. She has devoted her life to the school since she arrived almost 20 years ago. Thuy has a quiet peace about her and the kindest eyes of anyone I have ever met.

Thuy and I had many deep conversations about the challenges facing deaf education in Vietnam and where help is needed.

Bright, highly capable kids like Thien are fated to become field laborers or factory workers because the system does not provide the handicapped with an education beyond the seventh grade.

Thuy and others are working to increase awareness about the issue and to change the perception that these kids are limited in their ability to learn and become productive members of society.

Thuy and I bonded on a personal level as well. She would call me into her office, close the door, and break out a bowl of peanuts or a large piece of fruit. For the next few hours, we would share stories about our lives while the rain fell outside.

When I first learned about this volunteer assignment, I thought it would be a great opportunity to give back. This experience was better than any plan to simply visit Vietnam and its tourist attractions. I helped to make a difference at Thuan An, and left a changed person in the process.

Community Connection

Frequent Matador contributor Hal Amen has just begun a year-long volunteering journey. Follow along with his regular column, Volunteer Voice.

All images courtesy of Rafael Smith

A few weeks later, he stumbled upon an article about the need for better shelter solutions in refugee camps. It was then that Smith knew he wanted to focus his design on refugee shelters.

“From the beginning I knew I wanted to get away from consumer products, which is a grand majority of what we concentrate on as industrial design students. I knew I wanted to do something that addresses the basic needs of the living,” Smith said. “I wanted to design a project that would impact people’s lives.”

Conceptualized as Smith’s senior undergraduate thesis project, Über Shelter is quickly gaining national attention for its innovative and philanthropic attributes.

Primarily made of recycled aluminum, the refugee shelter Smith designed utilizes lightweight materials and focuses on sustainability. The Uber Shelter is collapsible and intentionally designed to be erected with few tools, minimizing potential transportation and construction complications. Additionally, each structure is stackable, which can help cut the size of refugee camp sites in half.

As a base unit, Über meets the immediate need for shelter after an initial crisis. But Smith is also focused on providing the most beneficial design for refugees. After speaking directly with a Sudanese refugee about camp needs, Smith decided to incorporate the three modern conveniences of a stove, electric lights, and a refrigerator in his design.

These conveniences are shipped and distributed in a separate upgrade package after basic shelter needs have been satisfied. For Smith, Über is a “shelter solution that meets the needs of emergency response but also provides refugees with a more personal place to live.”

While the Über Shelter is the recipient of designer, environmentalist, and activist acclaim, it still has a long road of refinements ahead. Smith is currently focused on reducing the shelter’s weight and cost for easier shipment and maximum dispersion.

“I think the base idea is very strong; however, there are several improvements that need to be made before this idea will be a serious candidate for replacing other shelter solutions,” Smith said.

“My plan is to create the best possible product with the resources I have. If the idea is good enough, I have no doubt that along the way the right people will help take this to the next level.”

Among those who have taken an interest in Smith’s project is Josh Messmer, who offered his civil engineering skills to help refine Über’s structural stability and engineering issues. Smith knows that for Über to become a truly useful shelter solution, he needs the input of other professionals.

With this in mind, he elicits opinions and criticism from other designers and engineers; he also presents his project in front of panels of competition judges. Smith also admits to the personal need to experience poverty first-hand in order to design truly effective products to help combat it.

“I come from a middle class western culture,” Smith said. “A dream for me would be to live or volunteer somewhere in the developing world, in order to better understand certain environments and situations. My goal is [to design] products that assist the developing world, especially products that will assist people living in extreme poverty.”

For Über, Smith ultimately hopes the final product can be shipped all around the world by being able to adapt to different climates. Once a crisis is resolved, the shelters can be cleaned out, packed up, and shipped to the next location that needs them.

“I realized how much potential and need there is for design as a means to address poverty. The separation that exists between rich and poor nations and individuals became very real to me during this project,” Smith said. “If [my] idea is truly good enough, I can’t imagine any better feeling than seeing people benefit from this product in a refugee camp or after a disaster.”

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Learn more about refugee situations by reading “Waiting for Life to Begin in a Burmese Refugee Camp.” If you’d like to make a direct difference in the lives of refugees, be sure to peruse more than 350 organizations in Matador’s community, many of which provide services to various refugee groups.

Feature photo by joiseyshowaa. Photo above by Tim Hussin

It’s all rendered a green blur as I fly down a zipline 150 feet above the ground. Just ahead hangs a two-story house in the trees where I’ll spend the next two days.

Walking into the tree house, I finger the smooth walls, made with local and sustainably-harvested teak. After washing my hands with piped in rainwater and organic soap, the waste water is flushed into a biodigestor, where it’s converted into fertilizer and given back to the cycle.

Bellavista founders Matt and Erica Hogan are setting new precedents for sustainable living as they forge a community here. “If you had told me this is what I’d be doing three years ago, I would have laughed,” Erica says, tiny dimples accentuating her smile.

Photo by Tim Hussin

The former newspaper editor and her husband came to Costa Rica in 2006 in search of a small piece of land for a surf shack or bungalow, but fell in love with 62 acres overlooking the Osa Peninsula, which has since spread to 350.

After spending just a short amount of time in the property’s almost eerie majesty, I find it hard to believe it was on the market as a timber harvest site.

Below the primary rainforest that stretches high into misty mountains, secondary growth now flourishes. Over 1,000 native trees have been planted by the community to help heal past wounds inflicted by industry. “Fifty years ago, this whole area was clear cut,” Matt says.

After writing up the concept for the Bellavista community, Matt showed it to his brothers, who work as conventional developers. “They said we were eco-Nazis and that it would never work, but that’s exactly what I expected to hear. Nobody’s ever done something like this before.”

Building regulations are demanding. All structures must be either arboreal or stilt built. All electricity currently used is harnessed from the sun, while a hydroelectric turbine will be installed alongside one of the two whitewater rivers flowing through the farm.

Photo by Tim Hussin

Rather than tearing through trees to construct roads, the lots are connected by footpaths and a sophisticated network of zip lines, dubbed the SkyTrail network. “I can’t complain about my commute to work anymore,” Matt says.

The response to Bellavista has been overwhelming. While their business plan estimated three to five years to sell out phase one, all 30 parcels were spoken for within eight months, and phase two is moving quickly.

People from all walks of life are moving to Bellavista, and everybody involved seems to have a role in the emerging society. In the future, a vegan chef will film a cooking show from his tree house as a retired couple lives out their golden years and young parents raise babies.

Living off the grid in the jungle is no easy feat, though, particularly while preserving creature comforts like Wi-Fi, electricity, and international cuisine. The tree house currently uses propane for cooking while the hydro grid awaits installation, and gasoline fuels vehicles when residents venture out for supplies.

“Nothing is insurmountable, but we have to be realistic,” admits Erica. “People expect everything on site, but it takes years to develop.

“We use organic soaps, but is shipping down soap from North America sustainable? I don’t think so, and we’re exploring local alternatives. Within five years, we hope to grow all of our food here, and when technology allows for it, we want to have a few communal electric cars that we charge with our hydro grid.”

Although each lot has plenty of privacy, a sense of community is central to the Bellavista philosophy. There’s already a communal kitchen and lounge; soon, a health and wellness center will float high in the canopy for yoga sessions and massage therapy.

The couple is also working with their alma mater, Western State College of Colorado, to establish on-site higher learning facilities where students will have hands-on experience in subjects ranging from canopy construction to biology to Spanish.

Photo by maveric2003.

Even with the ambitious plans already in motion, the untapped potential of Bellavista seems limitless. Matt envisions a bungee cord playground à la “Tomb Raider,” white water kayaking, rock climbing… the list goes on. “We have so many ideas,” Erica says. “We have no idea what this place is capable of.”

As the sunset reflects off the clouds we all feast on Erica’s savory veggie and chicken dish doused in a soy peanut sauce. I listen to giddy future residents gush over plans for their parcel until Matt invites me to the hammock lounge up the hill for an after-dinner drink, where we watch insects and discuss everything under the sun.

Finally, we take to the SkyTrail and zip to the tree house, Matt howling into the stars like Tarzan. I drift into sleep with the chorus of insects and surging water below.

Community Connection:

Have you ever visited a sustainable community, or attempted to develop one at home? Tell us your story in the comments!

Photo: The Pocket

The toddler cradled in his mother’s arms on a cold Shanghai street corner, pink hand outstretched. The family overflowing from its Chalco slum home on the fringes of Mexico City. Emaciated children, kindergarten-aged, hawking cheap souvenirs in front of Angkor Wat.

Common tableau to the seasoned traveler.

Photo: asalexander

We’ve seen so much. We’ve felt the steady accumulation of shock, sympathy, outrage, and intimacy such scenes engender. We’ve looked into others’ lives and tried to fathom the kind of help they need.

And then we reach the point where we’re ready to act, to engage. We’re ready to give back.

I’ve been at that point for a year now. But in grappling with how to respond to the volunteer impulse, I’ve come to realize that feeling compassion and doing something about it are two very different things.

It takes a flexible work schedule and some measure of financial stability, not to mention a fair bit of courage and determination.

And even when these factors align, there’s still the matter of selecting a compatible organization, one that works where and how you want to work. For me, that task was the most difficult.

Location

I’ve lived and traveled in Asia and witnessed stark poverty on that continent. Perennial stories of African impoverishment have nearly defined what it means to volunteer.

But need is non-geographical.

Therefore, you’re able to throw some personal preference into the mix. In my case, the desires to learn Spanish and visit South America directed my attention to that part of the world. Idle online browsing further narrowed the destination spectrum to three contenders: Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.

Photo: NeilsPhotography

From the beginning, I knew Bolivia would likely win, being by far the poorest. But researching opportunities elsewhere allowed me to learn by comparison, develop a plan B, and ultimately decide that I’d like to participate in two projects over the course of a year instead of one.

Vocation

I’m not good with kids, nor am I a capable teacher. This automatically cut my options in half.

Photo: kiki-bolivien

Instead, I was most interested in community organizing, economic development, and sustainable practices. I have no formal background in these areas, so finding an organization open to providing some training was essential.

Such restrictive parameters, strangely enough, made my hunt easier. Searching by process of elimination proved more efficient than trying to track down exactly what I wanted.

Over time, I accumulated a shortlist of webpage bookmarks for programs that met the majority of my criteria. Now all I had to ask was, “Can I afford this?”

Cost

Frustratingly, the answer was often “no.” No, I can’t cough up $1,000 dollars a week to conduct glacier research in Patagonia or staff a homeless shelter in Chile, no matter how many perks are included.

The more of these opulent price tags I found, the more I wondered, “How could it cost so much to give back?”

If you find yourself asking this question, chances are you’re paying a middleman—a most decidedly for-profit company—to place you with the actual non-profit with which you’ll be volunteering.

They do all the legwork for you: assess your skills, identify a suitable organization, arrange local accommodation, and provide orientation resources and language lessons. This assistance isn’t cheap, even if your placement company is honest and knows what it’s doing.

Obviously, then, if you can arrange something directly with the group you want to work with, costs plummet substantially. But this is much harder to accomplish armed only with Google; likewise, small-scale charities may not have the time or manpower to help you acquire everything you need on the ground.

So what does this mean? In my experience, the equation goes like this: more research = happier (and cheaper) results. If you invest sincere effort in the search process, the right opportunity will present itself.

Resources

Sites like Idealist, Volunteer Abroad*, and other volunteerism search engines are good places to start.

(*tip: Search by country and examine the end of the list first. The smaller, cheaper operations get pushed to the back of the returns.)

But nothing compares with testimonials from people like you who’ve been there, done that. Post a query here on Matador and to the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forum, and check out Transitions Abroad to see what people are saying about the organizations on your shortlist.

Led by the resources above, I came in contact with Sustainable Bolivia, a Cochabamba-based nonprofit that both runs its own programs and places volunteers with local partner groups.

I’ll pay only for my housing and volunteer my time with an institute called Energetica in the area of renewable energy development. I start in two weeks.

While in many ways I have no idea what to expect, I feel confident that I’ve done my homework and uncovered the right position for me.

Now all that’s left is to go and see.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Did you know that more than 350 organizations from 35 countries are Matador members? Check out their profiles–and their volunteer needs–here.

Photo: StormeTX

I work for a Canadian non-governmental organization in Guatemala, high up in the mountains of Comitancillo, San Marcos.

According to the Human Development Index, Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in the Americas, and has one of the worst rates of literacy, maternal mortality, and unemployment.

Canada ranks fourth.

Guatemala ranks 118th.

While Comitancillo is the poorest municipality of Guatemala, the women with whom I work are radiant and strong. A few weeks ago we went to a nearby village to participate in the closing ceremony of one of our leadership classes. I met one of the most empowered women I have ever known, a bright and motivated mother of 12 children, 10 of whom are living.

Meeting Cleofa

Photo: L.S. Doron

Cleofa has been receiving non-formal education classes for the past eight months. While not everyone in her class has learned as much as she, Cleofa is a model of change in her community.

She told me that her husband said if he couldn’t attend the classes, which are run for only women, then she should go and learn as much as she could about health and cleanliness, sexuality and menstruation, and human rights.

She told me women have rights to participate, to speak out, and that she tries to share these messages with her family and neighbours. Cleofa said the important thing isn’t just to listen and talk, but to do.

Change comes through action, she said.

Looking around the mud house in which the class is led, I saw many brilliant, hopeful women.

They had been arduously saving what little money they could scrape together for the last eight months as part of the class, and were about to have their savings matched by my organization. The 1000 quetzales (about $150 USD) they were about to receive was probably the most cash they had ever had at one time.

But looking around the house at their beautiful smiling faces, I also saw signs of intense malnutrition in the women and their children. Cracked, dry skin, bloodshot eyes, discoloured hair.

And I remembered that this is one of the poorest villages in the poorest municipality of one of the poorest countries in the world.

Malnutrition is a huge problem in these communities. Access to potable water is extremely limited. People don’t have access to the food they need and even if they had access to it, they wouldn’t afford to buy it.

While many of the people in this community dedicate their lives to growing nutritional foods like brussels sprouts, their produce all gets imported to the United States and Canada.

Making Conscious Choices

Photo: AIDG

In the city, we sometimes get disconnected from the food we eat. It is easy to forget where our clothes come from.

But no matter how many water projects we do and how many savings matches we hand out, until we are ready to pay what our clothes and food are worth, these communities will continue to live in poverty.

So here is my holiday message to you: don’t buy things you don´t need, and think about what is behind everything you think about buying. Chances are those shoes or that purse or those jeans were made by small children in Asia.

Chances are the food you are buying was grown by farmers who weren’t paid enough for their produce to buy food for their family, let alone a holiday dinner.

Buy fair trade.

Fair trade ensures that the people on the production side are being paid a fair wage. Fair trade products sometimes cost more. But the reason they cost more is because someone in a completely different part of the world was actually paid for their work in the creation of this product.

Check out stores like Ten Thousand Villages or your local fair trade shops. We won’t save the world by buying fair trade, and far greater change is necessary, but if the movement picks up, larger companies will eventually have to start paying workers a fair wage.

Consumer pressure has forced all kinds of multinationals to go green. Consumer pressure could also force multinationals to go ethical.

It’s not a lot to ask. As Cleofa said, change comes through action.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

If you’re interested in learning more about where your clothes come from, check out Matador member Kelsey Timmerman’s book, Where am I Wearing: A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People that Make Our Clothes.

Feature photo by Julien Harneis

I sat down with Pam Mandel of Nerd’s Eye View to discuss her latest venture, Passports With a Purpose.

Pam Mandel of Nerd’s Eye View
Photo above by WGBH

She, along with three other Seattle-based travel bloggers – Beth Whitman of Wanderlust and Lipstick, Michelle Duffy of Wandermom, and Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby founded the nonprofit as a way for travel bloggers to raise donations for Heifer Project International, an organization dedicated to ending poverty and world hunger worldwide.

So, what was the inspiration for this? Was a sort of syncretism between you guys or more of a bolt out of the blue?

The four of us get together for coffee on a semi regular basis. We talk about blogging and travel, of course, and what we’re using our blogs to do. We all have somewhat different goals, but we all live and breathe travel. As you might imagine, we have a lot to talk about.

How did the idea of a travel-blogger fundraiser come into being?

Debbie mentioned she’d seen something similar done in the food blogger’s community – they raised over $90,000! We started talking about our respective networks and our potential reach. It took us a while to pick a cause – we wanted something global and something that would make a difference in the poverty we’ve all seen while traveling – and we were all excited about Heifer.

Once we’d decided what cause we were going to support, the next steps were easy. Companies we’ve worked with before wanted to give once they heard what we were doing, and the bloggers we contacted could relate to our cause.

Picking up household kits in Kibati camp.
Photo above by Julien Harneis

Was there a particular experience you had on your travels, or, if you can speak for them, the other founders that narrowed the decision down to help end world hunger and poverty?

It’s not really fair for me to speak for the others as our travel experiences have all been different. Though I do know we’ve all seen things that made our hearts break in one or a million ways.

For me, it was my travels to Cambodia earlier this year – I had to take a deep breath and pull myself together so many times and once in Phnom Penh, my husband had to take me by the hand and sit me down on a bench while I fell utterly apart from the desperation of Cambodian history.

I wanted so many times to give, but we were repeatedly faced the decision of how to do it right, how to decide where our money would make the biggest difference.

What made Heifer your final choice?

We liked Heifer because the program isn’t just a bandage; it’s a path out of poverty. Forgive the “give a man a fish” cliché, but Heifer does a great job of teaching people to fish.

We were noodling with a lot of different causes and for a while, we’d considered raising money for four different organizations, but we all had the same immediate reaction to Heifer International: “Let’s do THAT!”

Picking up household kits in Kibati campCommunal erection of a market.
Photo above by Julien Harneis

So, from what I understand, each participating blogger hosts a raffle of some nifty travel-related prize that the readers buy into at $10 a ticket through Firsgiving – and then a raffle committee will pick a winner for each site? How are you guys organizing the fundraiser?

That pretty much sums it up. We’re organizing at we go along, mostly – we haven’t done this before so almost every day we have something new to figure out.

Here’s how it’s gone so far. Once we decided we were going to go ahead and had picked our cause, we each contacted people we know who are doing travel blogging to ask for their help. This could be one (or all!) of three things – provide a raffle prize, promote the raffle, or buy raffle tickets – make a donation, really.

Between the four of us, we have an amazing amount of contacts. The travel bloggers we know are generous and social – the support has been amazing – and we’ve had some really generous sponsors give us wonderful prizes. Once a blogger or sponsor has committed their prize, we add them to the list.

Kibumba, a displaced persons camp about forty minutes north of Goma, close to the border with Rwanda.
Photo above by Julien Harneis

When the raffle sales start, you’ll go to our Firstgiving page and make a $10 donation – or more, as long as it’s in $10 increments. As part of the checkout process, you’ll specify what prize you want to be in the raffle for.

We add your name to the list for that raffle prize and then, after Christmas, the four founders will get together to draw the winners. (There may or may not be champagne.)

For the duration of the raffle, we’re also asking bloggers to help drive raffle donations by posting our widget. Firstgiving handles all the money – they issue receipts for the donation and get the proceeds to Heifer International. We get the pleasure of notifying winners and giving stuff away.

Do you guys have plans to keep Passports With a Purpose going? Can we look forward to more fundraisers in the future?

I hope so. We snagged “Passportswithpurpose.com.” And some of the bloggers who feel like they’re too small to pitch in or don’t have the reach have already asked if they can join us next year. (You’re not too small. You should see my stats before you say you’re too small to me!)

But we’d like to get through this one successfully before we decide what’s next. We are absolutely asking ourselves and each other “What’s next!?” but first, we have some fundraising to do.

Workers in a warehouse create kits containing blankets, tarpaulins, sleeping mats, cooking sets and soap.
Photo above by Julien Harneis

Want to learn more or enter your own travel blog? Click here
or here.

Community Connection

The Matador Team has put together a super secret prize pack for the Passports With a Purpose raffle! Make sure to buy your ticket before the Dec. 30 deadline and you could be the winner of some awesome travel goodness.

Madeira, Portugal. World class surf break, before construction of a seawall. Photos courtesy of Will Henry

At any given spot along the coast, various factors–wind direction, swell, tide level, and underwater features–all determine how a wave will break.

But out of the almost infinite number of waves around the world, rarely do these factors combine in such a way as to produce a wave of true quality for surfing. And as with every other ecosystem, these factors exist in an easily-corrupted balance.

Photo by Will Henry.

Case Study: Jardim do Mar

In 2001, the existence of a beautiful wave, Jardim do Mar, a classic right point in Madeira, Portugal was threatened by a proposed government project to construct a marina.

American surfer Will Henry and friends knew that if if the marina were built, this special wave would be lost forever. In the process of organizing a fight against the project, they formed the Save the Waves Coalition .

Through a combination of alliances with local surfers, organizations, and politicians, their fight was successful. The new marina was moved to a different location.

However, out of the prolonged media campaign and protesting that ensued, the resulting “victory” would be something Henry later called bittersweet.

“One of our first big mistakes was taking a very American approach,” he says. “Making so much noise embarrassed some of the politicians, and any future hope of negotiating with the government was destroyed.”

After moving the marina, the government still came back later and hastily constructed a seawall [see photo below, left], severely limiting the days and conditions when the wave is ridable, and making it extremely dangerous to surf.

Since this first campaign, the coalition has learned “to avoid words like success and victory,” and to remember that a wave–even once saved–may always be threatened again.

Madeira, after seawall. Note limited wave.

The coalition documented the story of Jardim do Mar in their film Lost Jewel of the Atlantic. A few Madeira locals tried to prevent the film from being shown, threatening lawsuits and even bodily harm. It was eventually shown however, drawing sold-out crowds in the first two weekends.

La Herradura

Over the years, Save the Waves has learned to adapt. They now operate around the world, protecting waves on the coasts of almost every continent. Among their key missions are creating local “surfonomics”reports demonstrating the inherent economic value of an undisturbed surf spot for its local economy.

For example, four years ago in Lima, Peru, a developer wanted to build a marina to enhance the land value near a large housing development. This marina would have destroyed a classic wave called La Herradura.

Instead of protesting in person, Save the Waves wrote letters to the executives of the company, contending that a world-class wave may be more financially beneficial than a marina, citing how exceptional surf spots cause local real estate value to increase dramatically in the US.

The CEO eventually promised that the wave would never be harmed, however, as is usually the case, the wave is being threatened again.

Challenges

Save the Waves faces many challenges. One of the most sensitive is dealing with corrupt foreign governments. The projects which threaten waves are oftentimes born out of illegal back-room deals.

This makes the coalition’s challenge doubly difficult. For obvious reasons, politicians involved in the deals do not want to cooperate, nor do private companies wish to implicated.

Secondly, although the internet optimized communication, Save the Waves staff is spread thin. Projects are started only when local people and surfers who know about the organization reach out for help.

Finally, funding has been the coalition’s single biggest challenge. Regarding the minimal support they’ve received from most large surf companies, Henry’s frustration is evident: “Here we are, protecting the future of their market, and we’re barely surviving. We could be doing so much more.”

Photo by Will Henry.

The main reason for limited support is that most large surf apparel and accessories companies are publicly traded. Shareholders are the top priority and want to see their stock price go up, making it difficult for CEOs to donate money to non-profit organizations.

Even so, Henry is quick to thank the companies Save the Waves has received support from: Patagonia, Clif Bar, Newman’s Own, The Surfer’s Path, Quiksilver, Billabong, and Volcom.

Upcoming Documentary

Save the Waves is currently producing their third film, All Points South, a documentary about pulp mill pollution in Chile. The film demonstrates how consumption of products here in the US can causes environmental degradation in distant lands.

‘All Points South’ Trailer – a new documentary by Save the Waves Coalition from Philip Kao on Vimeo.

Along with battling the polluters themselves, it is important for Save the Waves to educate and influence the consumer market. All Points South features some of the world’s best surfers, and will be released summer 2009.

The people of Save the Waves are world citizens, committed to making a difference by protecting the environment and preserving waves (and healthy marine ecosystems) not just for surfers, but everyone.

Community Connection

Visit www.SaveTheWaves.org for more information and to see how you can help.

Feature photo by Andris Bjornson. Photo above by got80s.

Photo by Andris Bjornson.

Whether it’s the trekking guide who shares a closet-sized apartment with his sister, the homestay host who can’t scrape together the cash to repair her leaky roof, or the bright-eyed children who study in a thatched-roof schoolhouse, people in developing regions bring you face-to-face with the massive gaps in standards of living.

Confronting this economic divide can generate powerful emotions ranging from shock to shame to outright anger at the state of the world.

Point these emotions in a constructive direction, though, and you may find yourself planning your next big trip around finding a way to help.

The only question is how to make it happen.

Local voluntourism organizations can arrange every detail of your volunteer experience from placement to lodging. This can be ideal if you’re on a tight schedule.

Fees vary from reasonable to downright extravagant, and may leave you wondering why you’re paying for the privilege of volunteering. Often, organizations won’t put much thought into how best to leverage your professional skills, which can be frustrating if you’ve been in the workforce for a while and feel you have a lot to offer.

Photo by Andris Bjornson.

International long-term volunteer organizations like VSO, Peace Corps, and UNVolunteers do a better job of matching volunteer skills with specific needs.

Living expenses will be covered, and you may even receive a small stipend. However, you won’t have much control over what country you end up in, and the application process is lengthy. You may have to plan a year in advance or more.

If neither of these options works for you, there is an alternative: find a local NGO and plan your own volunteer experience from scratch. This is no small feat, and can be frustrating, rewarding, or both. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Assess your skills: What can you do? Are you a writer? Foreign NGOs often need help writing grants. Are you an IT person?

  Most NGOs need computer help and can’t afford it. Are you an athlete? Run a sports program for kids. Your creativity is your only limit. Presenting organizations with a list of your skills makes it easier for them to imagine how they can put you to work, especially if they haven’t collaborated with western volunteers before.

• Assess your goals: As much as possible, visualize what you hope your experience will be. Are you looking in a specific country, or will the best opportunity to use your skills choose your location for you?

  Do you want to work full-time, or do you want part-time work with more time to explore on your own? Do you hope to work directly with local people, or do you see yourself working in an office? Do you needan organization that will cover room and board, or are you okay with paying for your accomodations?

• Research: Now you’re ready to start your search. Matador and Idealist are good places to start, but there are many small local organizations that those sites miss.

  Google will prove invaluable here. Come up with search terms based on your skills and goals. An IT person hoping to volunteer in Nepal might try “Nepal computer vocational training,” “Nepal rural computing,” and “Nepal computer lab” for starters.

  Begin a list of contact information for organizations you find. Keep in mind that the organizations needing the most help don’t have the resources to even be on the web.

• Look in your own backyard: Seek out community organizations of immigrants from your target country. Though hard to find, these groups are often the most useful to know. They’ll be excited to meet someone who wants to help people in their homeland, and they may provide you with local contacts you wouldn’t have found otherwise.
  

  Photo by Andris Bjornson.

  Other organizations at home may be interested in what you’re trying to do. Some Rotary clubs provide a small amount of travel funding if you’re willing to give a presentation at a chapter meeting or write an article for their newsletter when you return.

• Get in touch: Write up a friendly e-mail articulating your skills and goals, and send it to the organizations you’ve identified. Don’t patronize, but use easy to understand language.

  You can recycle the same letter, but tailor it a bit each time. Don’t be afraid to cast a wide net; it never hurts to have too many options. Also, always ask if organizations can suggest other people you should contact.

• Prepare for uncertainty: People in developing countries often take a different approach to e-mail. Don’t despair if your well-crafted letter elicits one line responses inviting you to discuss options over tea when you arrive.

  These organizations do need your help, but they may not have the written language skills to explain why. A second e-mail or even an international phone call via Skype may prove more enlightening, but be ready to not have all the answers.

If you’ve done your homework, you’ll likely find yourself sitting on a plane to a developing country with a list of organizations you’re excited to meet, but with no mental picture of what your life will be like once you get there.

Breathe deeply, and remind yourself that opportunities exist that you can’t even be aware of from a distance. Be patient, and you’ll almost certainly find a way to fit in once you hit the ground. You’ve set yourself up for one hell of an adventure; now just hang on for the ride.

This is the first installment in a three-part series. Stay tuned for more!

Community Connection:

Matador member MST is currently running a contest that combines volunteering with tourism. Check out her website for contest details.

All you young people, I want you to know what I’m going to be asking–I’m going to be asking for all of you to serve this country [silence], serve in the military [a lonely whoo!], serve in the Peace Corps [silence], serve in the homeless shelters [silence], serve, in some capacity, for your community [silence], and in return, we will guarantee that every single one of you can afford a college education. [crowd roars].

The need for young people to serve their country is among Senator Barack Obama’s least articulated issues, and yet it seemed to be the most necessary. The above transcription differed from his prepared notes, which simply outlined his commitment to young people who serve.

Faced with the roaring crowd of college and high school students, he deviated from his notes to speak to them in a manner that was almost pleading. The crowd seemed dumbfounded by a promise that requires action on their part.

It is a strange coincidence that Republican President George Bush and Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama find a common ground on the issue of community service. After all, Obama is planning to sweeten the college tuition pot with $4,000 per year, per student, in exchange for 100 hours of community service. This after Bush’s 2002 call to double the enrollment of the Peace Corps has fallen on largely deaf ears.

In both instances, it remains to be seen whether the American student—really, every American under 30—is truly ready to answer the call. In a weakening American economy, do we want our youth to work only for financial incentive?

Photo by Army.mil

Strangely absent from both Obama’s and Bush’s statements is any reference to AmeriCorps, the domestic community service initiative that provides approximately $4,000 in tuition vouchers in exchange for 10 months of service. AmeriCorps positions also include a nominal stipend and—in some instances—housing. The interest on student loans is also paid during an AmeriCorps volunteer’s service.

The Peace Corps offers even better benefits in return for an international tour. A $6,000 cash award follows the 2-year commitment. Students may also see 15% of Perkins Loans canceled in a year, or as much as 70% canceled by three and four years of service. This comes in addition to a living stipend “…that enables [volunteers] to live in a manner similar to the local people in their community.”

The U.S. Army pledges an enlistment bonus ranging from $25,000 for all jobs, to over $51,000 for certain specialties on a 3-year enlistment. This is in addition to tuition reimbursement, a steady paycheck, and housing stipend for those with a spouse and/or children.

Photo by DavidAll06

Our government leaders’ policies seem to imply that the problem lies with a lack of incentive, but current initiatives suggest otherwise. Sign-on bonuses, tuition reimbursement and monthly stipends are all tangible rewards built into the myriad of youth-oriented federal service programs. Are our leaders fighting an uphill battle with apathetic youth, or are they simply fighting the wrong battle?

Military and Peace Corps enrollment continues to dwindle in spite of increased incentives. Since its inception under Democratic President John F. Kennedy, the Peace Corps has seen a drop from approximately 16,000 members annually to just half that number.

Military recruiters have been struggling to not only bring in new recruits, but to keep the ones who have already signed up. Even organizations such as volunteer fire departments all over the United States are suffering from rapidly declining numbers. Food banks, such as the Rio Grande Valley, can barely muster donations much less the labor needed to package and deliver them.

The growing number of youth who are speaking out suggests that a desire for cash, coupled with youthful naivete, is what is causing this rift. Young men like James “Corey” Glass, a former California National Guardsman who abandoned his unit in Iraq and sought asylum in Canada, speak of an innocence crushed by the half-truths of the government.

“I signed up to defend people and do humanitarian work, like filling sandbags if there’s a hurricane,” said Glass in a May 21, 2008 media conference. “I had no conception that I would be deployed to fight on foreign shores.”

With many non-military organizations available to “defend people and fill sandbags,” Glass’s comments seem disingenuous at best. Such antics convey the image of youth who only serve as much as their expectations will allow.

Are the youth truly turning away from community service? Not if you listen to the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that says volunteering among college students has grown more than 20% between 2002 and 2007. This seems to be in stark contrast to the falling rates seen across federal programs.

What’s most telling is that the study finds a growing trend of “episodic” volunteering, where students are participating in different projects for less than two weeks at a time. This may suggest something bigger—that today’s youth may not even be looking for financial gain, but rather for an opportunity to make a difference.

But demanding a short term emotional benefit may turn out to be more selfish than demanding compensation. Many programs have suffered from a lack of long-term dedicated volunteers who bring skills and expertise not found in short-term volunteers.

Volunteer programs such as Casa Do Caminho, demand six months from their volunteers. Anything less, and the expenses incurred by the organization–which only include simple housing, a ride from the airport, and meals–fail to outweigh the gains.

Photo by greenjobsnow

While both presidential candidates have well-argued plans to tap energy resources from coal to switchgrass, neither seem to have a plan to tap the renewable resources of youth. It’s clear that this generation wants to make as big a difference as any generation prior, yet all of our leaders want to relegate these efforts to a simple bid to get college loans forgiven.

As Obama asks the youth of the greater La Crosse area to serve, I’m left feeling embarrassed. The people with the courage to serve without incentive seem to be a dwindling minority in a time where we need them to be the majority.

It’s clear from their silence that the youth will not hear the call to service coming from even the most personable of federal legislators. The next generation needs to hear that call from those who have served—those who have recently given their time to the Peace Corps, the armed forces, and to volunteer organizations at home and abroad. They need young leaders to demonstrate just how much of a reward virtue can be.

No president can single-handedly repair the damage that has been done to our national interests, foreign and domestic. We need articulate young people to bring critical thinking to pockets of dangerously narrow-minded ideologies. And in a struggling economy, we need them do it with an incentive that goes beyond money.

What this crisis has taught us is that at the end of the day, there is no real separation between Main Street and Wall Street. There is only the road we’re traveling on as Americans – and we will rise or fall on that journey as one nation, as one people.

Can we afford to sit lazily in the back, staring out the window? Or are we going to pitch in for gas or offer to take a shift at the wheel?

10. Address the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

According to the 2008 UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic, an estimated 1.5 million Africans lost their lives to AIDS in 2007.

The international community must listen to people like Stephen Lewis, former special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, who, in his most recent book, Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS-Ravaged Africa, demands a call to action on a number of issues, including sexual education, generic drug production to make medicine inexpensive, and a commitment of resources to assist in social welfare of child orphans.

www.avert.org

9. Improve Food Security

World Food Day is October 16, and the Food & Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates there will be over 923 million malnourished people around the globe. The international community must act to ensure local food production to reach communities in need.

Bill Gates just announced that he will work with the World Food Program (WFP) to promote local farming in less developed regions, noting, “Developing new ways for WFP to purchase food locally represents a major step toward sustainable change that could eventually benefit millions of poor rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa and other regions.”

It is not just a matter of planting crops or sending food aid into these areas; more work must also be done to encourage an African solution to address the soaring costs of food that have hit both farmers and consumers.

www.fao.org/getinvolved/worldfoodday/en/

8. Protect Internally Displaced People (IDP) & Respond to Human Rights Conflicts

Thousands of people are fleeing from genocide in Darfur, Sudan. SaveDarfur.org states that “one-third of the troops are deployed, critical gaps exist in equipment and logistical support, and the force has been repeatedly attacked.”

In addition, the “Sudanese government systematically obstructs full deployment with total impunity.” The international community must call for the “Full Strength” of the African Union (AU)/United Nations peace-keeping mission, plus renew funding for refugee camps to protect exposed citizens from further violence.

www.savedarfur.org

photo by angela7dreams

7. Rehabilitate Children Soldiers

The 2007 Hot Docs International Documentary Film Audience Award in Toronto was War Dance, an epic tale of children soldiers recovering by using dancing and education in Uganda.

The website of the U.N special representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict states, “Children are uniquely vulnerable to military recruitment and manipulation into violence because they are innocent and impressionable. They are forced or enticed to join armed groups.” Basic rights and freedoms of children must be protected by ensuring African countries sign on to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.

www.wardancethemovie.com

6. Fight Corruption

Kofi Annan stated: “Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a government’s ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice, and discouraging foreign investment and aid.”

The international community needs to use December 9th, Anti Corruption Day, to listen to Transparency International and their call for African countries to focus on the core elements of fighting corruption: access to information, increased visibility of spending, a corruption-free judiciary, and working on stronger communication in education.

www.transparency.org

5. Improve Educational Equality

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has brought attention to the issue of education by creating “Education for All by 2015.” This mandate articulates key concerns regarding “the needs for basic education of all children, youth and adults by offering them a fair chance to receive quality teaching and to acquire skills that are crucial for developing their full potential.”

The international community must strive towards achieving this goal and being innovative in their strategy.

It must embrace “outside the box” thinking such as programs created by Nicolas Negroponte and the One Laptop Per Child program that delivers educational programs faster and cheaper than traditional textbook publishing.

photo by futureatlas.com

4. Expand Information Communication Technologies (ICT)

The International Telephone Union (ITU) 2007 “Connect Africa” conference that took place in Kigali, Rwanda, committed $55 billion USD to Information Communication technologies (ICT) by 2012. Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs stated: “I am confident that with the entrepreneurial spirit of the African private sector working with their international partners, the support of the international community and the commitment from governments, universal connectivity in Africa is no longer a utopian dream.”

It is crucial for the international community to push forward with mobile phone and broadband communications. They must encourage governments to have dialogues and begin to work together on cross-boundary projects that will have a direct impact on electronic communications for people, governments, and businesses across the African continent.

www.itu.int

3. Protect the Environment

The African continent is losing the battle of sustaining local watersheds and ecosystems due to rising green house gas emissions, desertification, and rampant urbanization. The U.N. Habitat Secretary states that “unplanned urbanization in Africa has led to unnecessary depletion, wastage and pollution of water resources.”

The international community must encourage African countries to ratify the Kyoto Protocol for the transferring of environmental technologies. They should also follow the lead of organizations such as the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and its “Climate Change Adaption in Africa” program. It allows for environmental education plus local solutions to be created by people who live in these communities.

photo by mknobil

2. Promote Fair Trade & Cancel Debt

Bono, Bob Geldof, and Peter Gabriel raised awareness of poverty across many African nations. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), The World Bank (WB) and other financial institutions must correct the absurd “credit crunch” that African nations faced due to Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP).

This is important for countries to move their economies forward. They must see African countries as viable trading partners, continue to forgive the most outrageous loans, and not scourge their natural resources. Fair trade principles must be introduced to ensure that people on the ground are getting fair value for their labor and the money they need to survive.

www.data.org

1. Address Gender Inequality

In June 2008, the new director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, Inés Alberdi, turned her attention to Africa. She announced that “UNIFEM will build on initiatives that it is currently undertaking and step up its advocacy and support to enhance African women’s economic security and rights.”

Gender equality encompasses many areas, including violence against women, denying political and economical rights to women, plus responding to traditional medical practices that are harmful to women. The international community must encourage African countries to sign on to the “Say No to Violence Against Women” campaign.

www.unifem.org/campaigns/vaw/

Community Connection

Grassroots organizations active in Africa include Dynamic Hands Youth International (Ghana), the Oyugis Self Help Project (Kenya) and Beyond Sport (Zambia).

For an in-depth look at a unique volunteer opportunity in Africa, check out Wrangling Rhinos In Mkhaya, Swaziland.

In late September, Congress passed the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008. The new and extended tax credits associated with this bill have meant the go-ahead for solar plants such as the one being built by companies New Solar Ventures and Solar Torx in Deming, New Mexico and the Solana plant funded by Abengoa Solar and Arizona Public Service Company in Arizona which will be the largest solar plant in the world. Together, these two plants will be capable of producing over 580 megawatts of electricity.

Traditionally, most solar power plants have used PV technology to generate electricity, but these new projects will utilize new and more efficient ways of harnessing energy. Rather than simply capturing the sun’s rays through PV cells on a larger scale, companies such as Ausra are using solar thermal technology to create industrial amounts of electricity. Solar thermal plants use large mirrors to reflect and focus sunlight onto a central tower, where water is heated to boiling point. The resulting steam drives a massive turbine, creating electricity.

Photo by Valerie Everett

The three largest solar power plants in the world are currently being built in the Mojave Desert, and when operational in 2011, will be able to collectively produce over 1500 megawatts of electricity. While this amount is modest in comparison with fossil fuel power stations, plants like these are a vital step towards energy independence,

The AUSRA project not only looks set to be one of the largest solar plants in the world, but also one of the most cost-efficient. That gave two ‘green’ reasons for venture capitalists such as Vinod Khosla to invest in the project.

Khosla’s company has a history of investing in cutting edge research into renewable energy, but this is the largest investment made to a single project. Khosla’s $25 million investment in the plant shows a confidence that solar power is here to stay. The company claims it will be able to match the price of electricity generated from fossil fuels within 1 – 3 years. (Current solar plants produce energy which is roughly 3 times the price of electricity from oil or coal burning plants.)

A low energy price is not the only ambitious claim that the company has made. In an interview with VentureBeat in 2007, Khosla and Executive Vice-President of Ausra, John O’Donnell, boasted an ambitious plan that would enable their technology to produce enough electricity to provide power for the entire US.

Photo by afloresm

With the US Congress extending its tax credit program for solar power for another 8 years (and only 1 year for wind power), and more efficient solar thermal plants being built across the world, it looks like solar power may well be the light at the end of the energy-crisis tunnel.

Feature photo by aka Kath. Photo above by aka Kath.

Organization Overview

Let’s be blunt: There are many families living in the garbage dump in Guatemala City, eating and selling people’s trash. It’s not surprising, then, that these children do not go to school.

Enter Safe Passage, whose motto is: “to create opportunities and foster dignity through the power of education.” Since 1999 Safe Passage has been working with poor, at-risk children of families working in the Guatemala City garbage dump.

The organization believes the key to overcoming poverty is education and health, and currently has 550 children enrolled in school. With help from a staff of teachers, directors and volunteers, Safe Passage is changing the lives of children born into very harsh circumstances.

Photo by AIDG.

Opportunity Overview

Volunteers are needed to work directly with children in Guatemala City at the Safe Passage school and in Antigua in the organization’s offices. Starting in January 2009, Safe Passage will be recruiting a Volunteer Coordinator Assistant and a Classroom Teaching Assistant. They are also looking to fill a number of other volunteer positions immediately, such as English teachers, infant care givers, and curriculum developers.

Most volunteer positions are from a month to a year long. People who want to volunteer but don’t have much time should not hesitate to contact Safe Passage.

If a trip to Guatemala is not in the cards, then sponsoring a student may be the way to go. For $50.00 a month sponsors can help a student buy shoes, a uniform for school and other basics.

Sponsoring a child is an effective way to contribute at Safe Passage. Most people who sponsor a student do so for many years, thought the minimum commitment is one year.

Photo by mayaguatemalteca.

Ideal Volunteer Profile

Age and gender is not important for Safe Passage Volunteers. Some Spanish is a must because the kids don’t speak English and neither do many of the teachers. Depending on the volunteer position, different skills may be required.

People who want to volunteer but have basic Spanish and limited experience should not hesitate to contact Safe Passage; everyone can help!

Bonus Points for Safe Passage

Working at Safe Passage is a chance to volunteer with an inspirational team of people while helping Guatemalan children. Some perks to volunteering in Guatemala include the fantastic weather, the fascinating Maya culture and the opportunity to travel on the weekends to exotic places like Chichi, Rio Dulce, and Tikal.

Some long-term volunteers receive a housing stipend, but this is unusual and most volunteers should be prepared to finance their own experience.

Photo by mayaguatemalteca.

Details

All the how-to’s are on the web at: http://safepassage.org/. It’s also possible to sign up for the Safe Passage newsletter on line to receive monthly updates.

An inspirational story

I met Hanley Denning a few times when I lived in Antigua, Guatemala. She was a positive, friendly woman who never stopped working for her cause. I’d often see her out jogging near my house and we’d wave at one another.

Hanley was the founder of Safe Passage and a real inspiration for many volunteers and children, and it was because of her vision that Safe Passage thrived. She was killed in 2007 in a car accident in Guatemala City while traveling from one project site to another.

The Hanley Denning Fund was set up in her memory and has raised more than $3,000,000 in memorial gifts for Safe Passage. She is missed but her dream lives on.

community connection

Interested in learning more about Guatemala? Check out matador’s Guatemala page for a comprehensive listing of organizations, travelers, local experts, blogs, and more.

What better way to get a feel for the local scene than to hop on the public transit system? For most budget travelers, public transport is the only way to get around.

Even though we may not speak the language of a foreign country, or even recognize the local alphabet, travelers quickly learn how to move about efficiently on public transport. Buses, trains, ferries and share taxis are not something travelers see as low-class or inconvenient or disgusting. They are necessities, cheap and simple ways to get from A to B.

Why then, when we return home, do most of us never entertain the idea of giving up our cars and using public transit?

With congested roads, global warming and ever-increasing gas prices, there’s no better time than now to reconsider your transportation options.

The Big Decision

Photo by smokingpermitted

A few years ago, my wife and I traveled around Europe for three months. When we returned home to Vancouver we were itching to travel again, so we decided to save up for a year and hit the road.

Selling our vehicle was a no-brainer, considering the high costs of gas, monthly payments and car insurance.

I’ve been driving for fifteen years and had always owned a car. How would I cope with the switch to public transit? Well, the short answer is: It was easy, and I’m glad I did.

Just Getting Around

Photo by Citizen L

After a tearful goodbye to my sweet ride, I got on the bus.

“This isn’t so bad, ” I thought. “It’s actually kind of nice.”

I felt no agitation from the heavy traffic, no anger towards the driver who just cut me off. I eyed the other passengers. They were normal people, my fellow residents on the way to work.

For many car owners, there’s a stigma about people who take public transportation, as if they’re a class below. I saved a lot of money by taking the bus, but I actually enjoyed it too. I shook the stigma of not owning a car.

Unexpected Benefits Of Public Transport

Photo by Matt Honan

After a few days of riding the bus I had a strange feeling. I felt like I belonged, that I was a part of my beautiful city. I felt more connected to Vancouver than I’d ever felt before.

I realized that while driving I was in my own little bubble and completely oblivious to the real world. It was a very pleasant surprise.

Photo by ngader

I was amazed by how little I missed driving; my daily forty minute commute to work turned into my free time to catch up on reading. It was amazing how fast the money piled up; in less than a year, my wife and I were able to save up to travel very comfortably for eight months in Europe and Asia.

We are now living in Melbourne, Australia and have opted not to buy a car. Some think we’re nuts to live in such a big city without wheels, but it’s a breeze with the comprehensive network of trains, trams and buses.

On those rare occasions when we do need a vehicle, we rent one. A compact car from Budget costs under $40 per day; even if you do rent a car a few times a month it‘s still much cheaper than owning or leasing one, not to mention hassle free. Car sharing is also an option.

Does Making the Switch Make Sense For You?

Photo by Burning Image

I’m not so naïve to think that going without a car is suitable for everyone. Of course, there are circumstances where owning a car is a necessity.

Maybe you live in the sticks, beyond the reaches of the public transit system. Maybe you have kids you need to ferry around to their different activities.

Even if you need a car, though, there are ways to cut down on your amount of driving. How about a combination of driving and public transit?

If you’re working in the city, take public transport and avoid idling in peak traffic and paying through the nose for parking.

Pros and Cons Of Public Transport

Is public transportation all that and a bag of chips? Of course not. Sometimes the train is late or, more annoyingly, it leaves early. Sometimes the bus can get quite crowded; sometimes a gang of foul-mouthed teenagers tests your tolerance for profanities.

Convenience is a factor for owning a car. But how much are you willing to pay for a little convenience? Or, a better question, what are the benefits to you and to the earth for a little inconvenience?

Sure, you have to plan more without a car. You have to check schedules and work around them. You have to walk more…but wait, is a little exercise and fresh air a pro or a con?

Photo by André Gustavo

Give It Some Thought!

There is no better time than now to pour some serious thought into this. You’re resourceful enough to travel around the world and make good use of foreign transit systems.

Why not use public transport at home?

Community Connection!

Are you fired up on sustainability? Check out Matador’s archive of inspiring stories about green innovation and people passionate about being part of the solution.

Feature Photo: Foraggio Fotographic

Photo by Ryan Libre .

I’ve worked with NGOs for most of my life, and even helped start a few. Now, I’m venturing out to start my own NGO, Documentary Arts, Asia.

The following steps will help get your own NGO up and running:

Step 1: Test the waters.

Many new activists are ready to commit their lives to “the cause.” Some are even willing to die for it. Most of these enthusiastic newbies are nowhere to be found a few months later.

There’s no need to turn down the volume of your enthusiasm, but before starting your own NGO, consider joining one that does similar work for a while.

If starting your own NGO really is right for you, the experience of working for an established NGO will only strengthen your resolve and direct your passion.

Maybe you’ll find that NGOs are not your life calling after all. Better to learn that early on, before making a big commitment.

Photo by Ryan Libre .

Step 2: Start on the right foot.

“The leader’s main job is to make themselves obsolete.” –Lao Tsu

Becoming obsolete should be the fundamental goal of all NGOs. You must constantly strive to work yourself out of a job.

Becoming obsolete works on two levels. In terms of your personal involvement, you should build the NGO to the point where it can function independently of your leadership. The long term goal of your NGO should be to solve a problem and thereby become unnecessary.

Put Lao Tsu’s advice into practice and you’ll be able to help more people in more profound ways, and enjoy every minute of the experience. If you try to maintain control, dependencies will develop, and once dependencies start they are hard to stop.

Dependency can leave NGO volunteers feeling trapped and sometimes even leave negative impacts on the people you are trying so hard to help.

Step 3: Clarify your goals.

Set clear and achievable goals for yourself and the NGO.

“Ending world hunger” is a great goal and looks good on your NGO’s t-shirt, but it’s not a problem you can seriously hope to solve.

Finding a niche is good place to start. Positive change usually comes from picking something small, doing it well and following through. A good example of this attitude in action is the Starfish NGO of Cambodia.

Step 4: Make an action plan.

A plan of action is your chance to make an NGO effective, address any potential negative impacts and make sure your NGO will attract donors and volunteers.

Make sure you are able to follow through with what you start. Think hard about your action plan. Hard work is important, but hard work without a good plan is a waste of time and money.

Step 5: Make a website.

Photo by Ryan Libre .

It’s never too early to make a website for your NGO. A good website helps you to spread the word, attract volunteers, secure funding and establish a professional appearance. An interactive website can also minimize your need for meetings and micro managing.

Attention spans on the web are very short. Be clear and concise.

Be sure to make an online profile for your NGO at Matador, where you can tap into a network of thousands of potential donors and volunteers.

Some hosting companies give free hosting to NGO sites. Ask around.

Step 6: Get in the know.

Local knowledge is indispensable to every NGO. Even if you grew up in the city where you want to start an NGO, you still need to research and make contacts. Making solid local contacts and understanding the locals’ worldview is especially important if you want to work in a foreign culture.

Good use of local knowledge can really make an NGO effective. Without local knowledge, you may do more harm than good.

Step 7: Assess your NGO’s financial needs.

Money, when it does come, usually requires great amounts of paperwork and sometimes has strings attached. The quality of the work an NGO does and the amount of its funding are often inversely related. That is to say, the NGOs with less money do better work per hour and dollar spent. The crucial point is to to minimize your NGO’s need for money.

That said, money can be really helpful sometimes. Here’s how to get it. Filing for 501c (official non profit) status is a pain and involves costly lawyer fees. No need to waste your efforts there.

Get an established NGO to accept you under its umbrella. Tax deductible donations and grants will go to them, care of your NGO. Setting up this arrangement could be as easy as a 30 minute talk with your local peace center.

Now you are ready to ask for money from businesses, grant foundations, and governments. A Paypal donate button is a quick and easy way to accept donations from visitors to your website.

Step 8: Network, network, network.

Make friends with people and organizations doing similar work so that you can learn from their successes and mistakes. Networking also helps you to know when to team up and when to divide your efforts for maximum effectiveness. The links below are good places to start networking:

UNDP’s guide to NGO networking

Idealist.org

Matador’s Grassroots NGO network

Step 9: Find balance.

Photo by Ryan Libre .

Be realistic about how much time you want to give to your NGO. Taking on projects beyond your comfortable limits won’t yield much benefit in the long run.

You are worth more to your NGO as a part time activist for 5-20 years than letting your passionate burn out in two years. Finding balance between work and personal life is key to success.

Step 10: Re-evaluate everything.

Take a step back and look at what you have done and where it is all headed. Take joy in what you have accomplished, but also make sure your NGO is not becoming self aggrandizing.

How much time, effort and money are being spent on the NGO itself? This is the biggest problem facing all organizations, non-governmental or otherwise.

Your own awareness is the best tool to avoid over-emphasizing the NGO to the detriment of the cause, but don’t hesitate to ask someone from outside of your NGO for an evaluation.

With constant awareness, you can keep your focus and resources flowing to your original goals.

Conclusions

Any volunteer experience can be rewarding. Starting your own NGO can make you feel totally fulfilled.

You will learn and grow as an individual and receive a profound sense of satisfaction not easily found in modern life.

I hope my insights, experiences and mistakes were of benefit. If you have any questions or comments please post them in the comments and I’ll be happy to reply.

Don’t forget to check out my blossoming NGO: Documentary Arts, Asia

Community Connection

For a list of great NGOs and organizations, check out Matador’s searchable database of orgs.

Feature photo by pingnews.com. Photo above by seanmcgrath.

Do you think tropical diseases only occur in developing countries? Think again.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says diseases are spreading to temperate regions thanks to global warming.

Warmer temperatures and greater moisture extend the geographic range and season for disease-vector organisms such as insects and rodents. Below are diseases that could have you feeling the sting of global warming.

Malaria

Malaria is spread by the Anopheles mosquito infected with the Plasmodium parasite. Warmer and wetter climates trigger increased mosquito abundance, biting rates, activity level, and accelerated incubation of their parasites. Winter temperatures must drop below 16ºC to prevent a malaria outbreak the following spring.

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that warmer temperatures will put 65% of the world’s population at risk of infection—an increase of 20%. This news is especially frightening in light of increased resistance to the chloroquine treatment drugs. Malaria has already hit Texas, New Jersey, Michigan, and New York.

Photo by otisarchives2.

Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is spread by the Aedes mosquito infected with the Flavivirus virus. The geographic range of the mosquito is limited by freezing temperatures that kill larvae and eggs, thus limiting transmission to tropical and subtropical regions.

But studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture predict dengue’s encroachment upon temperate regions due to small increases in temperature.

The mosquito has spread as far north as Chicago and the Netherlands and to higher elevations of the Andes. With no vaccine, “breakbone” fever is considered the most serious mosquito-borne viral disease affecting humans.

Encephalitis

Encephalitis is an arthropod-borne disease present in many forms, including St. Louis, equine, La Crosse, and West Nile. New York experienced outbreaks of both West Nile Virus (WNV) and St. Louis encephalitis in 1999 during its driest and hottest spring and summer in a century.

Those weather patterns favorable to outbreaks—heat and drought followed by heavy downpours—will likely occur more often with global warming. Small stagnant pools of water that accompany drought are big enough to support breeding mosquitoes but not populations of the frogs that prey on them.

Photo by pingnews.com.

Bubonic Plague

Bubonic plague is spread by rodents and their fleas infected with the bacterium Yersinia pestis. A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that global warming promotes outbreaks of “black death.”

A 1ºC increase in springtime temperatures is predicted to lead to more than a 50% increase in the prevalence of the bacterium.

A study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene reports a 60% rise in plague cases in New Mexico following wetter than average winters and springs. Wetter conditions enhance food resources for rodents and promote flea survival and reproduction.

Cholera

Cholera is a waterborne disease present in drinking water and food contaminated with the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae. The WHO links the spread of cholera with increases in sea surface temperature, sea level rise, and El Niño-Southern Oscillation.

The U.S. EPA reports that algal blooms, which can be accompanied by cholera, become more frequent with warming temperatures. Cholera-harboring zooplankton also proliferates in warmer water temperatures.

Photo by otisarchives2.

What you can do

The IPCC warns that global warming will result in human mortality from infectious disease. Unlike the typical U.S. approach of emergency response to epidemics, a preventive approach would preclude unnecessary suffering, infection, and loss of life.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides information on prevention, vaccines, and epidemics. Below are things you can do to reduce your chance of infection.

Often policymakers do not take action on environmental issues unless it affects human health so maybe this will be their wake-up call to do something about global warming.<

Feature photo by Programa No Gubernamental de Protección a Defenso. Photo above by KyleEJohnson.

Organizational Overview

Being a delegate with Witness for Peace is one of the most unique and interesting travel experiences available to the passionate, social justice minded traveler. Witness for Peace hosts groups of American delegates interested in creating peace, justice and sustainable economies in the Americas by learning about and working to change U.S. policies and corporate practices that contribute to poverty and oppression in Latin America.

Specifically, “Witness for Peace concentrates on issues such as peace in Colombia, fair trade, labor rights and international debt relief.” (http://witnessforpeace.org/article.php?id=75). The organization is committed to non-violence and dedicates pre-trip training sessions to the principles of non-violent and grassroots organizing.

Volunteers who participate in a nine-day or two-week delegation learn about policy advocacy, international peacemaking, conflict mediation, cross-cultural sensitivity, diplomacy, and foreign policy, while also gaining an insider’s look at a country in a way that wouldn’t be possible on one’s own. If you want an intimate look at daily life in Latin America and are ready to challenge your understanding of the world, a WfP trip is definitely for you!

Personal Experiences: Volunteering with Witness for Peace in Colombia

As a Witness for Peace delegate to Colombia I had the opportunity to see the effects of US drug war policy on Colombia first-hand. Witness for Peace (WfP) delegations to Colombia are the riskiest of the organization’s trips as the country is in the midst of a 40 year old civil war and traffics most of the world’s cocaine.

Though a WfP delegation is not for the cautious traveler, these trips are neither reckless nor ill-conceived. While there is an inherent danger of traveling in the region, all precautions are taken to ensure a safe return.

Feature photo by Programa No Gubernamental de Protección a Defenso.

The background on Colombia:

Through Plan Colombia, the US funds the destruction of crops and coca fields on the Colombian-Ecuadorian border zone of Putumayo, a sparsely populated region of the Amazon. In the drive to eradicate coca crops (the raw material for cocaine), however, the US gives billions of dollars in aid to a Colombian military rife with corruption and boasting one of the worst records of human rights abuses in the world.

During my two weeks in Colombia I got an intimate look at the results of these policies on everyday Colombians.

WfP believes that the truth can best be reached by hearing all sides of the story, so throughout our trip we met with people with many different vantage points on the politics of Colombia and the US war on drugs. These included human rights activists, clergy working for social justice, military officials, farmers growing coca and farmers growing food, US Department of State officials, and community leaders.

Our bus was boarded by right-wing paramilitary troops, we saw oil pipelines recently bombed by the left-wing guerrillas, and visited coca farms and processing sites which turn raw leaves into coca paste, soon to be cocaine.

We also documented the destruction of food crops and the sicknesses caused by the coca eradications, which we presented to the US State Department officials during our meeting with them. All in all we got a very well rounded, in depth portrait of the country in a short time, and with many moments I will remember for the rest of my life.

Rarely while traveling have I gotten such a complete picture of what daily life is for someone so different from myself than that of farmers living in Putumayo, Colombia. Walking through their farms and seeing their crops, coca fields, and the military presence, I gained a greater understanding of the daily pain and sacrifice that life in a war zone can require.

When I think of the trip, brief moments of struggle and strength flash through my mind: a 65 year-old woman digging into the mud to pull out a WfP delegate’s shoe that had been sucked off his foot and into her muddy field; a farmer crying as he spoke of the fish dying off when his pond and fields were fumigated for the fourth time, destroying his livelihood yet again.

I will carry these stories and these lives with me forever, along with the beautiful ways Colombians cope with their hardship through warmth and kindness and sharing generously with others.

Photo by adman_as.

The Trip: Logistics

Every delegation is accompanied by two WfP staff members, Americans who live in the country and act as translators throughout the trip. There are 12-14 delegates, including two trip leaders who organized the trip from the US and are particularly expert in the topic of your delegation.

Once you pay for your international flight and delegate fee (around $1000), everything is arranged for you – all meals, hotels, and in-country transportation, as well as trainings and scheduling.

You are well informed of health and safety precautions and background material on the country before you leave. There is also a full day of training at the start of your trip which addresses cultural awareness, the principles of consensus process and non-violence, as well as the historic and current political reality of the country you’re visiting.

Back Home: The Lasting Lessons of WfP

In addition to providing an amazing travel experience, WfP helps give travelers the tools they need to create change at home. At the end of the trip you learn how to use what you have seen and learned to influence change in US foreign policy.

With your fellow delegates, you develop talking points to discuss with your elected officials, receive helpful advice about writing letters to editors of newspapers and other publications, and are assured of ongoing support from your contacts at WfP. This program and the training I received helped me to become someone who meets with and contacts my elected officials about the issues that are important to me, in Latin America and beyond.

Check them out on the web at: witnesforpeace.org

For more information email: witness@witnessforpeace.org

Photo above by Cross-Cultural Solutions.

We’ve all heard about the importance of sustainable tourism, ecotourism, voluntourism and a multitude of other buzz worlds that help locals benefit from travelers. But as individuals, it can be difficult to believe we’ll ever be in a position to really make a difference.

However, we never know where tomorrow may take us. The stories and examples below show how one traveler can make a difference. There is no reason why we can’t–why you can’t–change the world. Read on.

Help

Ellin Yourgsen was enjoying her break in Thailand when the tsunami hit on December 27, 2004. She gave up the rest of her gap year travel plans to help out wherever she could.

From helping in the removal and burial of bodies to building temporary shelters; she was just one of tens of thousands of travellers who gave (and are still giving) anything they could to help those who needed them most.

www.tsunamivolunteer.net

Photo above by subcomandanta.

Educate

In Africa alone 6,000 people die of AIDS each day; that’s more than the combined total of deaths from war famine and natural disasters.

Volunteer on sex education projects and you’ll be helping to alleviate one of the biggest issues facing humanity in the 21st century. If this doesn’t appeal, simply give out as many condoms as you can afford (while keeping back a plentiful supply for yourself, of course).

www.worldvolunteerweb.org

Unite

What better way to link two different cultures than to get married. Jasmine Avissar, an Israeli Jew, and Osama Zaatar, a Muslim Palestinian, have truly bridged the gaps of a cultural and religious divide since meeting in Jerusalem in 2004.

Sadly, not everyone has welcomed the union between these two bitterly divided states, yet if one can start, could others follow?

http://projecthope.ps

Photo above by locket479.

Enjoy

Matt Harding loved travel so much he danced for his entire journey (well, kind of). His loosely termed ‘music video’ has shown the world to millions and opened people‘s eyes to the wonders of the world.

Whether this has had any benefit to the international community is questionable, but another person’s travel videos have never been so entertaining.

www.wherethehellismatt.com

Observe

When Charles Darwin stepped onto the Galapagos Islands in 1835, he was a young man part way through a world voyage. The species he saw on the islands and from future explorations led him to develop his ideas on natural selection and evolution.

Twenty-three years after his first voyage he published The Origin of the Species, a text that revolutionised our thinking on the world.

www.darwinfoundation.org

Share

The very basis of helping and volunteering relies on a person sharing something with another, whether that be time, a particular skill, material goods or something else.

Gary Myers, a trained doctor, left his home in Oklahoma to help victims of election violence in Kenya. He faced a daily barrage of extreme injuries-most caused by machetes-inflicted by those with opposing political views.

Many would have lost limbs and sometimes their lives, were it not for his extensive training.

www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Explore

Rosie Swale-Pope, who is 52 years old, is currently running across the UK in her last leg of a run that has crossed Europe, Asia and North America- she is expecting to reach the finish line in the middle of August 2008, having raised thousands for various international charities.

In 1983, at just 16 years old, Fyona Campbell set out to walk around the world. She crossed four continents- Europe, North America, Australia and Africa- and walked 32,000 km while raising over £120,000 ($230,000) for charity.

www.survival-international.org

Give

Shortly after the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, David Savage was so moved by the state of Romania’s orphanages that he moved there to help: setting up a small team of volunteers and later building a school, community centre and holiday home to give these under privileged children, many whom are HIV positive, a brighter life.

He was awarded an MBE in 2003 and still continues his work in the small town of Cernavoda, south east Romania.

www.nightingaleschildrensproject.co.uk

Photo above by Island Spice.

Conserve

The destruction of the world’s rainforests- ‘the lungs of the world’- is one of the greatest threats to our natural world. 25% of western medicine is derived from rainforest plants and we can only guess what cures still lie hidden.

With 50,000,000 tribal people still estimated to live in the world’s rainforests, the need to preserve their world and way of life has never been more apparent.

www.yachana.edu.ec

Donate

Half the world- that’s three billion people – live on less than two dollars a day (of those about 1.5 – 2 billion live on less than one dollar a day).

One billion children (that’s half the world’s children) live in poverty and around 30,000 die each day because of that poverty. In comparison, the travel industry is expected to generate almost $7 trillion this year alone.

I’ll leave you to do the math…..

www.stopchildpoverty.org

Founder of The Uncultured Project with an impoverished Bangladeshi widow and her two children. Above photo and feature photo by Shawn.

With volunteer tours growing in number, more and more tour operators are including fundraising minimums either within tour fees or as an additional requirement for tour participants. Learn the basics of how to raise funds for your cause, organization, or favorite volunteer program.

1. Start close to home.

The people who will inevitably be the most invested in your cause are those that know you and can see your passion.

Start with friends, family, and acquaintances. Speak to everyone you know about the cause and be specific about your needs. Don’t be afraid to ask for dollar amounts from those around you!

The best requests highlight your personal involvement and ask for specific amounts of money for specific goods. Write to your address book and don’t forget to include friends who have long since been out of touch. What better way to spread the word while getting in touch with old friends?

2. Utilize local and small businesses.

Often small businesses are happy to provide goods in exchange for getting the word out about their services. Try asking small restaurants to provide free or discounted food for a dinner and charge a small entrance fee.

Or throw a dinner party at your home and ask friends to donate potluck dishes. Getting publicity in local newspapers, company newsletters, on radio stations, etc., will introduce you to a wealth of possibilities for gaining both corporate and individual sponsorship.

Photo by Maryann

3. Find a common interest.

Though your cause might be across the ocean from your home, there are always local networks that share similar goals and are great avenues to access funding.

Is your cause education related? Tap into local high schools or universities. Is it sports related? See if teams in your area would be willing to provide sponsorship or in-kind donations. Raising money for a particular country or group? See if there are locals from that country who can mobilize their networks. Check online groups, such as MeetUp.com to find people who are passionate about the same cause.

4. Be a social butterfly.

Organize a karaoke night, pub quiz, or concert with local musicians willing to share their talent. Better yet, do a clothing or book auction with your friends. Everyone brings a few items and you can buy items back for a set donation. You refresh your wardrobe/bookshelf and recycling is good for the earth!

Make sure that any event has minimal costs to you and as many costs as possible are donated in-kind.

5. Share your talents.

What is your skill? Yoga, surfing, karate, tennis, cooking lessons? Raise money by offering to share your talent with others!

Additional Tips

Know your cause.

The easiest way to put off potential donors is to not have answers to basic questions:

Any responsible voluntourism operator or NGO should be able to answer these questions. If you aren’t sure yet where the money will go, try to be as specific as possible with friends, family, and potential donors about how you will make decisions about putting the money to work.

Find a responsible charity/NGO.

As a fundraiser it is your responsibility to make sure your donors are putting their money into a sustainable and responsible project. Consider:

Match.

Be sure to also ask donors to check with their employers. Their donations might be easily doubled with company matching plans!

Say thank you.

Be sure to acknowledge donations and follow up after your trip or once the funds are spent.

Community Connection

For an extensive list of great orgs to support or research, please reference the Organizations Page at Matador.

Above: Favela da Rocinha, the largest slum in Rio de Janeiro and all of South America. Photo by kevin.j. Feature photo by CARF, of Roney, a street child who was murdered in Jan 2006.

What: Casa do Caminho is an orphanage located near Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. It seeks to take orphans out of the violent, drug riddle neighborhoods of Rio and educate them in a healthy, rural setting.

How: Organic farming practices, Information Technology, and social assistance are among the many projects where Caminho needs help.

Who is eligible to volunteer: Anyone over 21, with basic Portuguese language skills need only provide a 6-month commitment and a plane ticket to Rio de Janeiro to begin this adventure.

Amazon Rainforest

Casa Do Caminho is located in the rainforest outside of the village of Xerem, some 30 miles outside Rio de Janeiro.

It’s a different world than the drugs, violence and crime that most of them faced in the city.

The campus includes three separate dorms for children, teenage boys, and teenage girls, and is a safe and nurturing environment for these young people, many of whom who have undergone physical and sexual abuse and often lack basic social skills.

Staff and volunteers feed, clothe, supervise and educate the children in a variety of ways, as well as maintaining the facility.

This provides a unique opportunity for volunteers, giving them the chance to experience firsthand the true flavors of Brazilian culture.

Strong leadership

Casa do Caminho has been in operation for over 20 years. During this time, the orphanage has helped a variety of children and worked on many projects.

In 2006, the orphanage hired Dutch national Bart Bijen to be the new director of the organization.

Volunteers often get discouraged with poorly-run programs. Outright corruption exists throughout many South American NGOs.

Photo by natecull

Bart has taken on the challenge of making the orphanage economically viable and more accessible to volunteers. Within his first few months, he made the difficult decision to fire over 50% of the paid staff.

But such leadership decisions are paving the way for a bright new future for the children and volunteers.

A Day in the Life…

As Bart says of volunteers, “We select hard and expect them to come and work. They have a chance to really do something.”

Volunteers start with the children at 6 a.m. when they have to be ready for breakfast and school. The children are educated in half-day shifts, giving them time to participate in other activities as well as doing chores.

Educators at the orphanage reinforce the learning the children receive at school. Volunteers will also work on one of the orphanages other projects, including the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) project and the organic farm.

In the evenings, children are tasked with chores and hygiene. Once they cleaned up themselves and the facility, there evenings are free to play, watch television, or engage in activities set up by volunteers.

How You Can Help?

All volunteers are welcome. Casa do Caminho is engaged in the difficult task of building a team of idealists—people who want to work towards the betterment of the children.

Interaction with the children and other locals is constant, regardless of the specialty for which you have volunteered. A good grasp of Portuguese fundamentals is a must. Casa do Caminho can often secure immersion courses in nearby Rio De Janeiro for a reasonable cost.

Volunteers must be willing to commit six months to Caminho. There are multiple reasons for this, not the least of which is the relatively time and energy it takes to get a volunteer up to speed.

Typically, the 6 months is arranged through a tourist visa which lasts for 3 months and can be renewed on while you’re there. Volunteer visas are trickier and, if not secured, can preclude one from getting a tourist visa.

Photo by anijdam

Since you are working with children, a basic criminal background check must be obtained. This may seem like a hassle, but bear in mind that there are a lot of less-than-professional organizations out there.

What does Casa Do Caminho offer its volunteers, apart from the warm feeling of helping?

Having secured a new vehicle, the organization offers free pickup and drop-off from the Rio airport.

Bart also semi-jokingly refers to “…a daily injection of rice and beans” that is given to volunteers, but food is provided.

Accommodations are also on the list of benefits, with the volunteers having their own shared building.

And as if food, lodging, and transportation wasn’t enough, volunteers are also offered a rare glimpse of Brazilian culture through Capoeira—a blend of martial arts and dance, particularly to the Rio de Janeiro region.

At the end of the day, volunteering is about a wholehearted desire to give back. These children have come from terrible situations and Casa do Caminho is their savior.

As they strive to provide more services and secure more funding, volunteers are put in a unique position to make a difference. Volunteering for Casa Do Caminho is a heavy commitment, but one that will pay back in a cultural and human experience that no money could ever buy.

community connection

Click here for a list of volunteer opportunities, or to find out more about the orphanage, visit Casa do Caminho.

Ready for a life-changing experience? Reach out to others around the world by volunteering abroad during your travels. By giving a piece of yourself- time, sweat, work and effort, you will receive back tenfold: joy, proffered hot meals, and gratitude.

You only need to bring the essentials: a willingness to get your hands dirty and a desire to help your neighbor. Among the hundreds of incredible volunteer opportunities worldwide, here are 10 of the best:

Voluntario Global Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, Argentina

“Every corner of Buenos Aires has a pulse…a pulse that is worth listening to.” While partnering with Voluntario Global you’ll be aiding locals with small business administration, or providing street children with a safe place to gather and play at the local recreation center.

Only have a day in the region? Voluntario Global provides a 4 hour tour of shanty towns designed to spread awareness of living conditions, and give an ear to residents’ concerns. Weekends can be spent taking regional trips to visit Mar del Plata, Iguazu falls, and other nearby trips in Argentina and Uruguay.

Unity Charitable Trust
Tamil Nadu, India

Teach young girls computer skills, help them get jobs and become self sufficient on the weekdays, and let your weekends take you to local shrines and temples.

Dynamic Hands Youth International

Dynamic Hands Youth International
Ho, Ghana

Got organizational skills? This endeavor is in the process of formally organizing. Dynamic Hands needs help in setting up its training and living assistance programs. Opportunities are child and youth oriented, and some include a healthy living component for those who are health conscious. Once settled in Ho, you’ll be unable to take your eyes off nearby Mount Adaklu. Ask a local to help you get to nearby tourist destinations such as the Vakpho Cave system or the Mole National Park to see wild elephants.

Volunteer Action for Cambodia
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Good at brainstorming? Looking to hone your leadership skills? VAC is looking for “new impulses and fresh ideas.” Designed primarily for recent college grads and current students, VAC offers volunteer opportunities in the areas of human rights, legal rights, and humanitarian issues.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to get in on the founding and establishment of a new direction, this is your opportunity. Of course, visitors can check out the gorgeous architecture of the Royal Palace, plus local temples and pagodas, along with the crush and excitement that comes from being in a populous urban center.

Volunteer for Community Development
Kathmandu, Nepal

You’ll know when you’ve arrived to Kathmandu; the crowded cityscape against the serene mountains is unmistakable. You’ll be welcomed by colorfully adorned shrines, fresh marketplace products and the melodic Nepali language in your ears. VCD Nepal is currently focusing its volunteer efforts on teaching English within the schools, but opportunities to work inside monasteries or on sanitation and health care projects are also available. Use your time off to venture out of Kathmandu into rural mountain communities or the nearby Chitwan wildlife sanctuary.

Navti Foundation
Bamenda, Cameroon

Enjoy a cool African city that is highly engaged in local artisan crafts and coffee trading. Work on fund-raising, AIDS education or agricultural development. The Navti Foundation offers to individually match your skill set and interests to an appropriate project. Nearby farming communities harvest tea and coffee, and the area is perfect for those looking for a quiet hike.

Fundatia COTE
Iasi, Romania

Use the UK Social Services System’s “PathWay Aproach” to aid institutionalized teens in making the leap to independent living in Romania. While you’re there, you’ll have a chance to visit medieval Transylvania and all the best that Eastern Europe has to offer.

Creative Corners Global Arts Project CIC

Creative Corners Global Arts Project CIC
La Paz, Bolivia

Help sustain a newspaper started and sold on the streets by children. Writers and photographers are needed to keep the project going after approximately 9 issues. After work, immerse yourself in this South American urban center.

Relief and Friendship
Chisinau, Moldova

Visit the banks of the Bac River in the largest city in Moldova, and put your efforts into helping the women of the area to promote programs that teach about gender equality and women’s rights. If you visit during October, celebrate with the locals during the annual Wine Festival, or, for more solitary travelers, enjoy the lush hills and sunflower-filled fields.

Green Camel Bell
Lanzhou, China

Help out the local economy and environment by volunteering with this Chinese authority on sustainability and environmental education. Here in the ancient city of Lanzhou you can explore the Yellow River.

Community Health Information Education Forum (C.H.I.E.F) in Nigeria. Photo by Lola Akinmade

While countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa provide volunteer opportunities from community building projects to wildlife conservation, the need for volunteers spreads across the entire continent.

When deciding to donate your time in Africa, consider the following organizations in less popular nations:

Togo

Sharing its border with Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso, the French-speaking Togolese Republic has an economy based heavily on agriculture. Protecting its natural resources is paramount. If your passion lies in environmental conservation, consider working with Jeunes Volontaires pour L’Environnement.

Jeunes Volonataires facilitates access to and protects natural resources as well as advocates for the rights of farmers. Active projects include its Sustainable Community Development program which focuses on poverty reduction and its Bio-Climate program which focuses on biodiversity, water, and climatic changes.

Volontaire Globalisation

Another volunteer org, Volontaire Globalisation fosters social responsibility through its numerous community-based activities. With “to make poverty history” its mantra, Volontaire Globalisation currently seeks volunteers to participate in its work camp initiatives and to help build community infrastructures in rural regions.

From water pumps for irrigation to high-quality fertilizers and new farming equipment, Young Development is helping provide local farmers with necessary materials and equipment through its “Africa Project” program.

Donations of materials to sustain agricultural development are always welcome.

Cameroon

Gaining the moniker “Africa in Miniature ” for its cultural and geological diversity, Cameroon is bordered by six countries: Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Chad, and Central African Republic, as well as the Atlantic Ocean.

Cameroon Association for the Protection and Education of the Child (CAPEC) works to identify the needs of children and youth while actively engaging parents and communities. CAPEC also works to protect children from exploitation such as sex trafficking and child labor.

Ways you can help are by sponsoring a child or assisting in the building of its school for orphans and underprivileged children.

Navti Foundation

The Navti Foundation located in Bameda continues to strive towards the development of rural communities and is actively seeking “teachers, farmers, managers, social workers, health educators, administrators, laborers, computer students, etc.”

Preserving biodiversity is what Green Cameroon is about. Forest rehabilitation, maritime pollution monitoring, and wildlife protection are just a few campaigns Green Cameroon seeks people to assist with.

Zambia

English-speaking Zambia situated in Southern Africa is known for its copper mining industry. Mining in Zambia marginally sustains its residents, of whom over 70% live in poverty.

ChildHope-Zambia

ChildHope-Zambia aims to reduce poverty through childhood education and seeks volunteers to counsel children, teach essential courses, as well as provide teacher training materials.

If you’re into sports, Beyond Sport Inc. provides great opportunities to volunteer through sports-based programs that empower local children.

Its “Global Exchange through Sport” program uses sport to facilitate international cultural exchange programs as a means of promoting community wellness and health.

Nigeria

Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria is an English-speaking West African country known worldwide for its oil and gas industry. A shortage of health workers and medical professionals exists within this densely populated country, and as such, nonprofit organizations operate on a grassroots level to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in addition to training peer educators who in turn educate their communities.

Offering healthy alternatives to harmful socio-cultural practices, Community Health Information Education Forum (C.H.I.E.F) provides primary health care services to children, families, and communities. It also aims to reduce infant morbidity and mortality by establishing primary health care clinics in impoverished communities.

Proposal writing and grant application skills, medical resources, and social welfare experience are just a few of the volunteer needs of this organization.

Sierra Leone

Bordered by Liberia, Guinea, and the Atlantic Ocean, the tiny country of Sierra Leone is a major exporter of minerals and gems. Unemployment remains a problem among its youth and former combatants of a longstanding civil war from which the country recently emerged.

Global Youth Network for Peace and Development (GYNPAD) advocates for the educational needs and vocational skills of youth within the country. The organization focuses on capacity building amongst youth and seeks to empower them with the skills required to be productive members of society.

Volunteers are needed to work with youth through creative community and individual building projects.

Another organization actively working with Sierra Leone’s youth is the Intelligent Quotient Club. Launching a sensitization campaign to promote peace, the Quotient Club needs volunteers to foster its nonviolence programs, social activities, and continually raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

Most nonprofit organizations operate on donations and grants. If you can’t volunteer your time, financial and material resource donations are always welcome. Be sure to check out other organizations registered with the Matador community.

Opportunity Overview: Less well-known is Kiva’s year-old Fellows program, a natural extension of Kiva’s mission.

Organization: Kiva.org

Opportunity: Fellows Program

Organization Overview: The U.S. based microlending organization, Kiva, has generated major buzz, enthusiastically supported by President Clinton and featured in The New York Times Magazine and a documentary produced by Frontline/World, all of which have praised the organization for its novel approach to linking social entrepreneurs and lenders through the Internet. With a 99.9% loan repayment rate, Kiva is popular with both lenders and loan-seekers, and is positioned to continue attracting attention.

Opportunity Overview: Less well-known is Kiva’s year-old Fellows program, a natural extension of Kiva’s mission. Anyone over 21 can apply for the Fellows program, the purpose of which is to strengthen Kiva’s relationship with its microfinance institutions (MFIs) by placing skilled volunteers on the ground in communities where the work that’s being funded is performed. The Fellows are a vital link between Kiva staff, lenders, and loan recipients, sharing information among the stakeholders, increasing exposure and awareness, and providing technical support to loan recipients.

Ideal Volunteer Profile:

-21+ years of age (current volunteers range in age from 21-60)

-Proficient with photography and blogging

-Strong travel history, especially independent travel

-Language skills: Fluency in French, Spanish, and Asian languages are particularly needed for West Africa, Asia, and Latin America placements

Expectations of Volunteers:

Volunteers are matched to regions, organizations, and tasks based on their experiences, skills, and interests. All volunteers are expected to photograph members of the microfinance institution and post blog entries to Kiva’s site; the blogs are intended to chronicle the lives of the working poor and provide first-hand accounts of how microlending is impacting people’s lives. Volunteers also work in the microfinance institution’s office 2-3 days per week, providing assistance with a variety of tasks, which may include data entry, accounting, document creation, training, and other forms of technical support.

Bonus Points for the Fellows Program!

-Couples can apply.

-The volunteer positions are largely autonomous (no supervisor on site) while also highly collaborative (working closely with the members of the MFI).

-Beyond the required 10 week commitment, the terms of service are flexible. Some Fellows have been in the field for more than a year, and have rotated through more than one organization… or country!

Details: For full details about the Fellows Program and to download an application and instructions, please visit http://www.kiva.org/about/fellows-program/.

Feel Good Story:

Anushka Ratnayake, Fellows Program Manager, shared the following story:

“One of my favorite Fellows stories is about Liz Vilette from Houston who went to Azerbaijan. She was finishing her MBA and wanted to see what she’d heard about in theory in practice. She’s a former soldier and was really gung ho to try anything. We really wanted a fellow in Azerbaijan because it has a really strong microfinance industry and we were sending lots of funds there. Liz was incredibly resourceful. [Even before she left] Liz found out that Houston is a sister city with a city in Azerbaijan and she found an expat community in Houston and got them really excited about Kiva and helped them connect to people at home. They helped her find a homestay and she went to Azerbaijan for over three months and ended up working with three of our partners there. She trained staff and provided English language classes, which really added value to the MFI, and helped improve staff retention. She was making Kiva real to them.”