The world over, your professional skills in early childhood education and healthcare volunteer programs abroad can be a lifeline for children and families living in poverty. We focus our development work on children in the first 1, 000 days of life – from pregnancy to their second birthday – because this is when their brains are […]
By Ruth Curran, Brain Development Specialist and Global Volunteer alumnus. You can find plenty of articles questioning the value of short-term volunteers on long-term community projects. But I wonder how many of these authors have participated on authentic development projects managed by fully invested local leaders? As in everything, the truth is in the experience. I’ve […]
Global Volunteers Team #164 in Quito produced engaging photos of service in Ecuador as well as some of the numerous cultural activities. The seven volunteers, including four scholarship recipients from the University of Iowa, served at FUNDAC daycare centers for economically disadvantaged children, helping to care for babies and toddlers, and assisting with light labor projects. We offer this pictorial example […]
Since early 2016, Global Volunteers Crete teams have been called upon by local authorities to help meet the needs of Syrian refugees in Greece. To date, volunteers work packaging and sorting donated clothing at the port of Heraklion, and preparing filled boxes for shipping to Athens. One team’s story: More than a million refugees and migrants have traveled across […]
Over 30 years, team members have come to know the sights, sounds and energy of Iringa – the small economic center and transportation hub which has been Global Volunteers’ overnight stop on the way to our partner communities. But, visits have been limited to a comforting meal at the end of the day’s travel, a cozy bedroom and a quick shopping trip at the […]
Thought for the day: “For one minute, walk outside, stand there in silence, look up at the sky and contemplate how amazing life is.” What a wonderful day meeting with Stephen, our wonderful, kind, compassionate leader, along with our fantastic team. Since there are only 4 of us on the team, we have our own […]
Volunteers prepare food for children in Peru: A journal entry by a volunteer serving at PPA, the largest children’s home in Peru. Today at the PPA (Puericultorio Perez Aranibar children’s home), we are going to help prepare food for children in Peru, and there is much to do. The staff will be fixing food not only for […]
With the help of our wonderful volunteers, we carried out a reading glass campaign in Ecuador to distribute reading glasses to members of the community. Since 1996, Global Volunteers has partnered with the local organization FUNDAC (the Spanish acronym for Foundation of Ladies of Calderón) in Calderón, Quito. Quito is the capital of Ecuador, nestled […]
by Mindy Lull, Professor at Wegmans School of Pharmacy Three years ago, I had a wild idea to find a service trip in the United States where I could take a group of my students to experience a new culture, help a community in need, and grow together as teammates. I’ve traveled on service trips […]
Team Journal for Tuesday – January 19th 2016. Pre-Departure Tuesday After a weekend of flu-like symptoms, I was very pleased to wake with a much healthier body this morning. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and dosa (my favorite!) our team left for their respective destinations—Maddie and Carol to utilize their teaching abilities at a […]