Current News, Field Reports and Volunteer Voices

Several times each week, we post stories about work we do in our host communities – through the voices of our partners, volunteers, and those we serve. Subscribe using the form below to receive updates in your inbox when they’re published. If you’re looking for deeper insight into service in a specific country, on a particular type of project, how you can share your unique skills or volunteering as a family or a group, you can find a wealth of information here. Use the categories next to the posts here or on any page (below right column) to explore more stories that suit your interests.

We welcome your ideas on topics you’d like to see here. Please contact us at marketing@globalvolunteers.org. Enjoy our blog!

Group Volunteering, Service-Learning Tanzania

Students Discover Power in Partnership

Global Volunteers' Reaching Children’s Potential (RCP) Program benefits from a range of carefully nurtured partnerships in the USA and Tanzania. Two such partners are the University of Central Missouri (UCM), which facilitates scholarships…

Staff Worldwide Cook Islands

Your Guide to Volunteer Travel in the Cook Islands

James Puati and his wife, Debi, both New Zealand-born-and-raised Cook Islanders, moved to their ancestral home of Rarotonga in 2003 with their two children, Samantha and Jordan, to immerse their family in their Cook Islands heritage. Now with…

Why I Give Poland

Why I Give: This Was a Chance to Help Others

Geri Espy of Clearwater Beach, Florida said the Russian invasion of Ukraine motivated her to help however she could. As a Global Volunteer alumna in Poland in 2003 and in Montana in 2013, she felt we offered a reliable avenue for appropriate…

July team to Crete.

Family Volunteering, Volunteer Voices Greece

FAMILY DISCOVERS HOPE FOR THE FUTURE THROUGH SERVICE IN GREECE

Peggy and Bud Cope volunteered in Greece with their three children, Ellie, Adam, and Evan, after having a year that could’ve torn them apart, both physically and emotionally. Peggy had the feeling that the only hope her family had to heal…

Family Volunteering, Ripple Effect Tanzania

Family’s Service Ripples Over Mother’s Footsteps in Tanzania

In 1996, Wichita retiree Barbara Pate joined her first Global Volunteers Service Program - headed for Tanzania. A blooming adventurer, and recently a widow, she chose the African country partially to satisfy her curiosity about the continent.…

Conversational English Poland

Summer with Volunteers was the “Best Experience of his Life”

When Russia invaded Ukraine early in 2022, our Poland host partner knew the wider Siedlce community would soon welcome refugees who would flee their homeland. Within weeks, Global Volunteers mobilized to help community organizations prepare…

international community development

Reaching Children's Potential Tanzania

International Community Development Profile: Fatness Kikoti Family

In this series, families in the Reaching Children’s Potential (RCP) Demonstration Program in Tanzania explain how their participation improves their lives. Global Volunteers’ RCP Program engages short-term volunteers to help parents deliver…

Staff Worldwide Nepal

Your Guide to Volunteer Travel in Nepal

Stephen Raja Chinnappan was born and raised in Bangalore, India. He joined Global Volunteers in 2001 after serving as a free-time tour guide for volunteers in Chennai. After being promoted to Country Manager, Stephen led volunteer…

News and Updates Puerto Rico

New Puerto Rico Service Program Supports Country’s Future Leaders

As a commonwealth of the United States, Puerto Rico is a popular destination for Americans seeking an "international" vacation close to home. As an island in the Caribbean Sea, Puerto Rico is also an unfortunate target for destructive…

Family Volunteering Poland

Family Volunteers Say: “Ukrainians Ask Only That We Don’t Look Away”

When the war broke out in Ukraine, Adam and Amy Robinson of Virginia knew they wanted to do something to help Ukrainians. Having served in Ecuador in 2017 with their two sons, Reed (now age 14) and Clayton (age 12), they say they knew that…

One of the mothers in Tanzania who is encouraged by Global Volunteers to breastfeed

Development Impact, Reaching Children's Potential Tanzania

Breastfeeding Workshop a Tenet of RCP Mothers Education

Decades of evidence indicates that there is nothing better for a mother and her baby's well-being than exclusive breastfeeding. But for several reasons, many parents make other choices, especially in struggling communities around the world.…

News and Updates Peru

Peru RCP Program Begins in Target Communities with Child Measurements

In early 2022, Global Volunteers' Peru staff began outreach in the sandy, hilly district of Ventanilla to assess the needs of families and children to lay the foundation for the Reaching Children's Potential Program (RCP) in Peru. This is an…