Volunteer Ruth Curran reflects on sharing her experiences as a volunteer in Africa with her friends and family at home, and how difficult it can be to do justice to the depth of those experiences. As A Volunteer in Africa After serving as a Global Volunteer in Africa, Ruth writes about how to tell that […]
In the second part of her essay excerpted here, Nilusha Jayasinghe, winner of Global Volunteers’ Bi-Annual Student Volunteer Abroad Scholarship, talks about why she believes schools should include international service in high school curricula. Read the first part of her essay here. Student Volunteering Abroad: One Of the Best Decisions Of My Life With every graduate school […]
Meet Your Guide to Volunteering While You Travel in Greece Samantha Pinakoulaki is Global Volunteers Greece Country Manager, having joined the team in 2005. As country manager, she manages all aspects of the service program in Greece including the logistics, project assignments, and cross-cultural experiences, making sure that all volunteers have a safe and meaningful experience. […]
Have you listened to them all? Enjoy our top podcast episodes of 2017. Our Be the Change podcast tells the stories of seekers and humanitarians as they discover the joys, insights, and surprises of service. This podcast series is a conversation about the expected and the unexpected; the active and the passive; the exhilarating and the […]
Holy Week in Ecuador Holy Week in Ecuador is one of the most colorful times of the year. The processions on Good Friday are one of the greatest demonstrations of Catholic faith. The Good Friday procession in Quito is named Jesús del Gran Poder (Jesus of Great Power) and is said to be one of the largest […]
In an interview with Matt Mayes, Florida-based videographer, Global Volunteers Team Leader Cindy Murray talks about her experiences volunteering and leading teams. Her advice, take a chance and volunteer. Background: Cindy served on her first Global Volunteers service program in 1997 in Mississippi. She trained to become a Volunteer Team Leader and has led teams […]
In the first part of her essay excerpted here, Nilusha Jayasinghe, winner of Global Volunteers’ Bi-Annual Student Volunteer Abroad Scholarship, talks about the importance of high school volunteering and international service in shaping her career choices and worldview. My International Service Beginnings In May of 2010, at the age of 19, I departed the United States […]
A four-time volunteer tells why Global Volunteers programs are the best volunteer vacations available. In an interview with Matt Mayes, a Florida-based videographer, Lynn describes her experience looking for, and finding, meaningful travel. Matt: You were searching for the best volunteer vacation. How did you learn about Global Volunteers? Lynn: About three years ago, I was looking […]
Volunteer Robert writes about his “reverse culture shock” upon returning home to Washington after volunteering at a secondary school in the the cloud forest region of Monteverde, Costa Rica for a week. Here’s his list of 20 things he had not expected! Reverse Culture Shock Attention Global Volunteers Costa Rica Team #233: There is a […]
Powerful reflections written by volunteers while serving at a daycare and after visiting a family in their home in Calderón, Ecuador. They write about the relationships they formed while volunteering with children in Ecuador. Volunteering with Children in Ecuador I find that I am truly able to lose myself in the needs of the children […]