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Join Ecuador Program's 100th Team Celebration
Dear Friends,
It is my personal honor to extend a special invitation to you on behalf of our two host organizations here in Quito, Ecuador to join us for a very special team from July 7th to 21st. We are celebrating over 100 teams of volunteers to Camp Hope and Calderon! We hope to see 50 to 100 volunteers for these special two weeks.
While the 100th team will engage in standard work projects, we'll also pause to reflect upon the accomplishments of the last decade and examine ways to expand our continued development projects with hosts and consultants. Volunteers will serve in both Quito and Calderon, and will enjoy many cultural experiences, including having a special reception at a very well-known museum, a celebration in the community of Calderon, visiting with important public officials and special tours and visits. Camp Hope and FUNDAC are waiting to welcome you, your friends and family, so please extend this invitation to them to celebrate with us as well! This is truly going to be an experience of a lifetime! Please call us at 800-487-1074 for a detailed itinerary of daily events and work projects. Thank you for supporting Ecuador's children!
Maricela (Mari) Miranda, Ecuador Country Manager
Learn more about future teams to Ecador here.
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Innovative Marketing Project Benefits Peru's Children
When NY high school teacher Terry Spitz-Schmidt saw Global Volunteers featured on the Oprah Show in 2002, she knew immediately she needed to reach out to the children she saw. In 2005, she and her husband Peter served with Global Volunteers in Peru. That experience inspired a truly remarkable project that has absorbed three departments at Olympia High School in Greece, NY. Following is her account of how the Peru Childrens' Book Project began:
"All of this began after returning from my first Global Volunteer program in Lima, Peru. My husband and I volunteered to spend two weeks at Puericultorio Perez Aranibar Orphanage. Enamored by the strength of these children, I also recognized the immense difficulty they faced. After sharing the experience with my American students, they, too, were inspired, determined to assist them in any way possible.
After careful planning, the students decided to create a children's book, something which could raise money for the Orphanage. At first, the idea seemed impossible, however, the pieces soon began to fall into place. Students from High School Marketing, Art, and Spanish Classes came forward, eager to assist. Even Third Grade students from a local Elementary School assisted by writing stories based on their research of the Amazon Rain Forest animals, further proving that caring and compassion have no age limit.
Now, the book is complete, as this once far-fetched idea has become a reality. This project is the results of many hours of collaboration and commitment by both teachers and students, the students have gained more than the knowledge and experience required by our curriculum but they have learned to reach across the globe and embrace the children of Peru." Now, this gives the phrase "Just Do It" new relevance! Learn more about and order a book at their web site here. Learn more about and order a book at their website here.
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Health-Care Volunteers Can Join Programs Worldwide
About a year ago, a LINK subscriber requested information about work sites where health care professionals can provide direct medical assistance. That request stimulated a call to all our country managers for updated project information, and the result is a new compilation of "hands on" health care opportunities for dental and medical specialists, therapists, nurses, doctors and medical students. Most of the health-care needs -- especially in villages -- are basic, such as well-baby exams, diabetes checks and the like. However, on occasion, our hosts ask us for help with specialized care such as mental health assessments, gynocology and physical therapy. A new PDF download outlines the current health care requests worldwide. Let us know if you have this particular skill or interest and we can assist you with a meaningful placement!
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Book Appeal Reveals Tanzanian Student's Needs
Global Volunteers CEO Bud Philbrook returned from his recent visit to Tanzania with an assignment: Help the Pommern Secondary School Headmaster buy books for his students. While we know the ideal is one textbook per student, Tanzania's classrooms struggle with far-from-ideal resources. For instance, in Pommern's math and English classes, the ratio is five books per student, and for physics, chemistry, and geography, the ratio is 40 or 50 to one – only the teacher has a book. It's only through immense determination on the part of the students and incredible dedication on the part of the teachers that these children learn what they do. And, as classroom and dormitory construction projects have been completed, the added capacity for new students has actually caused this condition to worsen. The fact is, Tanzania is one of the poorest countries on the planet. All government and private schools must charge tuition to stay operational. At Pommern, nearly all students are from distant communities and must pay for room and board in addition to tuition. Global Volunteers helps through our classroom sponsorship program. However, sponsorships have so far reached out to only 40 percent of Pommern's students. When you realize that the average cost of a textbook is only US$5.00, and each student needs on average only 10 books over four years, the US$50 it costs to equip a student with textbooks for secondary school seems like a bargain. In the words of Pommern's Headmaster: "The United Nations has declared that every child has a right to an education. How can we turn down children who want to learn when it is their right?"
To learn more or help with this project, please follow these links: Become a classroom sponsor. Supply textbooks for Tanzanian students.
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China Volunteer: "The Door to the Heart Opens Wide"
There's a Chinese proverb, "When one door closes, another door opens." Little did I know how much that would apply to me in the land where the saying originated.
Let's go back to June 30, 2005. I am busy cleaning out my desk, unsure of what my next step might be. The stable job I had sought in education had backfired when they closed my department. I was facing my fifties thinking that I better secure my next job fast, before they ask if I am planning to retire before I get hired. Safety was my first thought. A brief vacation, driving up the coast of California was about as adventurous as I was going to get. Then, a friend reminded me that since I had no spouse, home, or job (she was trying to cheer me up) I could go anywhere in the world. This was the perfect time to try something new, before I settled in again. She began sending me links to websites, and www.globalvolunteers.com stuck out from all the rest. And that was the beginning.
My birthday in October found me toasting in Beijing with new friends before our flight to Xi'an. Little had prepared me for the transition from the new capital to the old capital. Beijing was my first experience in Asia, and I thought this isn't so bad; I am probably just too liberal for culture shock. Of course, 24 hours in the capital does not leave much time to explore with the people. Xi'an, however, was to be a three-week stay. I would love to tell you that I fell in love when I got off the plane, but the truth is I was shocked by the air quality and holding my mouth open in astonishment when I first saw the countryside did not help. I thought, "What did I get myself into??" There was a high degree of panic that went along with that thought.
Switch to a week later. I have started my classes and am amazed at the interest, love and respect these students have for teachers and learning. They are hungry for information and to practice their words. Nothing is too silly or dull. You can begin with an introduction of the Hokey Pokey and end with a discussion of your life growing up in America. Your own kids may not want to know, but these students actually think you are interesting. Of course, you get to find out about your students too. The idea of orally sharing your thoughts and feelings is a new concept for the Chinese -- but once they learn, there is no stopping the stories that emerge!
Besides class time, I became acquainted with the local "Kodak man," coffee shop owner, and various vendors in the markets. That's the beauty of Global Volunteers. The ability to stay and live, actually do daily life in a community that very quickly becomes your own. You learn the heart beat of the people and after the "hump" period it is hard to leave.
So, what happened? Three weeks later I find myself on a plane, crying because I hate to leave my "new home." It is then I decide that this 50-year-old can hang loose a little longer and I get a lead on a paid teaching position in Suzhou, which is two hours out of Shanghai. By January, I'm back on a plane to live the next five months in this country that was a stranger to me only a few months before.
I'm not going to tell you that my prolonged stay had no challenges and times of frustration. However, the experience that I had living with the people, learning some of the language, and understanding their customs will be with me for the rest of my life. My heart and soul are now in two continents. All this due to one door shutting and another door opening. Thank you, Global Volunteers, for opening that door!
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Website Upgrade Simplifies Navigation and Design
On April 7, Global Volunteers' web site will transition to a new design. While all the host country and service program information will remain intact, the ease of navigating between country areas is simplified, and the updated design and new photos makes surfing through the site a delight.
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"We're links in a long chain of those who have come before
and will follow to help improve the lives of people around the world."
~ Bud Philbrook, Global Volunteers co-founder and president
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YOUR SUGGESTIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO US
Do you have specific topics you'd like to see in a future issue: Send us your ideas. Since 1984, we've worked alongside local people in every corner of the globe -- laying a foundation for peace through mutual international understanding. In mobilizing thousands of short-term volunteers, we've learned valuable lessons about honoring local customs, methods and perspectives. We hope to share what we've learned with you.
Please e-mail us: linkeditor@globalvolunteers.org
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