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Teaching English in Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Why Go Now: Philanthropy is fantastic, but a one-week, hands-on stint volunteering in Cambodia—still in need of much aid—can be much more personally satisfying. It can also pretty quickly make a person grateful for his life back home. Globe Aware’s volunteer vacations in Angkor Wat engage travelers in making a genuine influence on others’ lives in a very short time: teaching English, working with children, distributing wheelchairs to adults and children in rural villages. The accommodations will be modest, but the Khmer food and magnificent Angkor Wat temples make the authentic experience entirely welcome.

The Latin American and Caribbean Student Health Organization, Harvard School of Public Health community, generously donate funds to Globe Aware

The Latin American and Caribbean Student Health Organization (LAC Health) and the greater Harvard School of Public Health community, generously donated funds to Globe Aware to buy medical supplies for the medical clinic in San Pedro de Casta, Peru. To raise these funds, LAC Health engaged in a week long sale of handmade Peruvian jewelry to the students and faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health.

LAC Health is a student organization aimed at promoting, analyzing, and resolving health problems affecting Latin America and the Caribbean.

Our objectives are:

To increase awareness throughout the Harvard community of health problems effecting the countries of Latin America And the Caribbean;
To promote healthy practices and give exposure to successful health programs unique to LAC;
To create an arena for raising concerns and discussing issues about public health problems and policies with experts from LAC;
To create an informal setting/environment for all students interested in making LAC a healthier place to share experiences, ideas and concerns with fellow students and faculty.

Sharlene Bagga, who collaborated with Globe Aware, Harvard's attention the need for medical supplies at the clinic in San Pedro de Casta and they were happy to work with her on this fund raising event.

Their hopes are that their contribution will benefit the workers and clients at the medical clinic in San Pedro de Casta. They reiterated how much they enjoyed working on this venture to help Globe Aware's Latin American activities.

Special thanks to the Organizers:

Leah-Mari Richards, Founder and Co-President LAC Health - Harvard School of Public Health
Moira Breslin, Founder and Co-President LAC Health - Harvard School of Public Health

More Americans Take Volunteer Vacations

Source: ABC News

By GIGI STONE

When you think of teenagers on spring break, visions of Daytona Beach or Cancun may come to mind â€” not necessarily a trip to Cambodia.
But that's where Kate McNamara, a 16-year-old New Yorker, went on vacation with her family, volunteering to teach children English and build wheelchairs for land mine victims.
"It wasn't that long and it was a small group of people â€¦ but it made just such a huge difference, " she says. "It was one of the most rewarding things that I think that I've ever done."
Her mother, Elizabeth McNamara adds, "In a world that needs so much, just to a little bit to make a difference in someone's life is a very positive experience."

Voluntourism: Good Times and Good Works

by Steve Kallaugher

Most people come home from vacation with a nice tan and a suitcase full of souvenirs. Carolyn Bentley returned from a trip she took with her 17-year-old daughter, Julia, with a new outlook on life and a renewed bond with her child.

â€œIt was life changing,â€ says Bentley. â€œItâ€™s an amazing way to grow yourself and develop bonds with others. You become part of the country, instead of just looking at it out a window.

Vacationing like Brangelina

Volunteers with the group Globe Aware are digging a trench to lay a water pipe in Costa Rica.Sarah McCall / Globe Aware

As the industry grapples with how to make money without compromising the results of the volunteer work, one thing is clear: more and more private citizens are ready to roll up their sleeves and lend a hand. "I was just so sick of just donating a gift at the end of the year," says Yates of his decision to spend a week volunteering in Costa Rica. "I worked my butt off."Getting in touch with your inner Angelina Jolie is easier than it used to be. The so-called voluntourism industry, which sends travelers around the globe for a mix of volunteer work and sightseeing, is generating almost as much praise and criticism as the goodwill ambassador herself. Are volunteer vacations--which have become so mainstream that CheapTickets recently started letting online customers book volunteer activities along with their vacations--merely overpriced guilt trips with an impact as fleeting as the feel-good factor? Or do they offer individuals a real chance to change the world, one summer jaunt at a time?

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