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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 (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
- Source: ABC News
By GIGI STONE
When you think of teenagers on spring break, visions of Daytona Beach or Cancun may come to mind — 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 … 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.
“It was life changing,†says Bentley. “It’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.
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?
KRASANG ROLEUNG, Cambodia - Andrew Krupp doesn't speak a word of Cambodian. And, for the most part, the dozens of happy-faced children racing across the dusty schoolyard to greet him don't speak a word of English.
But that doesn't stop Krupp from winning them over immediately.
It doesn't take much, after all, to get across the basics of the hokeypokey, which it turns out is just as big a crowd-pleaser in the poorest thatched-roof villages of Cambodia as it is in the manicured suburb near Chicago where Krupp lives.
"I'm like a novelty act riding into town," says the 39-year-old manufacturing executive, laughing as his frenzied "right foot in" sends the children into hysterics. "Everybody loves a lunatic."
- Source: Dallas Morning News
Was there a lull in East Dallas last week? My neighbors commented on how quiet it was on our block.
Maybe it had something to do with the "senior" spring break trip I took with 66 East Dallas neighbors to Mexico. Woodrow Wilson High seniors, that is. At least one friend heard it wrong and misunderstood it to be a group of senior citizens.
All the relaxation may have shocked my system. My days consisted of lounging on the beach and reading. The most difficult decision was what to eat. Next time, maybe I need to combine a little work with pleasure just to keep my body in sync.
East Dallas resident Kimberly Haley-Coleman, 38, might have just the combination for such a vacation. She is the founder of Globe Aware, a nonprofit vacation business that offers volunteer vacations in Brazil, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ghana, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Romania, Thailand and Vietnam.
Globe Aware offers a one-week adventure in service with a focus on cultural awareness and sustainability. The trips are often compared to a "mini Peace Corps." All program costs, including airfare, are tax-deductible.
Kimberly holds an M.B.A. in international business from the University of Dallas. She is a recipient of the Texas Business Hall of Fame Scholarship Award, and has an M.A. from Southern Methodist University and a B.A. from Emory University.
As a third-generation White Rock Lake resident, Kimberly's love of international escape stems from traveling abroad as a young girl with her grandmother. The area known as Jackson Point at White Rock Lake was where Kimberly's grandparents, Margaret and A.A. Jackson III, lived for many years.
"Unlike a regular vacation, during which you may spend a good deal of time on a tourist bus and in lines at museums, our trips allow you to learn things such as how to cook local cuisine, sing with local schoolchildren, work side by side on local community projects," Kimberly said. "Few vacations provide a way to bond so closely with local cultures in so short a time. The experience will likely change how you see the world."
The road of life takes us to many destinations. Thank goodness sometimes the destinations are as predictable as a spring break excursion. With a little ingenuity and open-mindedness, the destination can be a life-changing experience.
For more information on Globe Aware vacations, go to www.globeaware.org.
Chris Gresback is a freelance writer in Lakewood.
Some vacations allow travelers to give back while they're away. CNN's Heidi Collins explains.
By: Manya Chylinski
No longer on the fringes of travel, voluntourism has attracted increasing numbers of travelers looking to learn new skills, meet people, and give back to the global community. In a recent Travelocity poll, 38 percent of repondents said they planned to volunteer while on vacation; thats up from just 6 percent in 2006. "People tell me that a vacation with us is the most meaningful experience of their lives," says David Minich of Habitat for Humanity. Here's how to plan one.
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