By Mary Luz Mejia

Voluntouring: Extending a Hand Across the Globe

.... the usual short-term trip costs around $1,000 - and covers accommodation, meals, in-country transportation, medical insurance, project materials, direct financial contribution to the community, and coordinator expenses. Airfare is extra - but in the United States, the voluntouring trip fee is 100% tax deductible.

-- Kimberly Haley Coleman, founder, Globe Aware

Ever find yourself in some remote corner of the world, basking in golden sunlight, sipping a cocktail, only to feel a twinge of guilt? Care for a little philanthropy with your all-inclusive? Well, not quite, but these days, “voluntouring” comes as close to this ideal as any vacation can. Part Peace Corps, part cultural immersion, voluntouring gives people from all walks of life a chance to lend a helping hand (the volunteering part) while experiencing vast and vibrant lands (the touring portion of the trip).

People the world over are being drawn to the opportunity to do something more with their leisure time. Ana Maria Quintanilla, a voluntourist herself, describes the people who participate in these kinds of programs as having “a great sense of something bigger than themselves.” This could be what drew eight volunteers from North America and two coordinators, one of them being Ana, on a six week voluntouring adventure in Cusco, Peru.

I was there to document their work as the only Canadian behind-the-scenes/field director working with an American TV crew out of Philadelphia. Our aim was to film a pro-social documentary series called “Voluntouring,” working in conjunction with Globe Aware (www.globeaware.org), the non-profit organization that set up this particular program.

The voluntourists’ primary goal was to work with over sixty deaf-mute children at one of the city’s orphanages. Children were taught job skills that they could use for future sustainability, and their once lacklustre courtyard got a sunny wash of colour with freshly painted games, a revitalized swing set and a new volleyball net. The open garbage area was closed off with a door and latch, and the orphanage’s water heaters were finally repaired so that the children could avoid ice-cold showers.

Voluntourists also assisted the community outside the orphanage walls. Twenty adobe stoves with chimneys were built in Quechua village homes (vastly reducing the intake of cooking fire smoke) about forty minutes outside of Cusco in the surrounding mountains. And finally, ten kit wheel chairs (www.freewheelchairmission.org) were built with the help of orphanage kids and given to the neurologically handicapped children of another orphanage in the city.

While that’s quite a list, most voluntourists would concur with Ana when she says, “The low point often is the feeling of not doing enough… and the reality that your visit is short and temporary.” The upside to these vacations far outweighs any lows. There’s the emotional high as Bob Link, one of the older voluntourists in Peru, shared regarding his work on the kit wheel chairs and their distribution to needy children. “… I didn’t expect much from this project at first. But the deep-seated appreciation shown by the recipients was very heart-warming. There wasn't a dry eye in the group who witnessed the presentation.” The other undeniable plus, according to Bob, is that “one feels much better about themselves as a result. It is sometimes a serendipitous feeling and it is something money can't buy.”

What money can buy, however, is a spot on one of the many programs offered around the world. From building homes and schools, to working with indigenous communities, many voluntouring vacations are one or two week commitments. For those not able or wanting to toil physically, providing assistance can take on many forms. In Peru, the voluntourists’ attention and affection was the most invaluable gift the orphaned children, who so desperately longed to feel wanted, received.

Globe Aware founder Kimberly Haley Coleman says that the usual short-term trip costs around $1,000 - and covers accommodation, meals, in-country transportation, medical insurance, project materials, direct financial contribution to the community, and coordinator expenses. Airfare is extra - but in the United States, the voluntouring trip fee is 100% tax deductible.</

Regarding the Globe Aware mandate, Kimberly says “the central forces were: non religious, non political, short term programs in locations that were the least like our own. Get Westerners, particularly North Americans, to think beyond themselves…promote cultural awareness to volunteers while mutually reinforcing sustainability.” Having gone it alone before voluntouring was in vogue, Kimberly recommends Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org) and Earthwatch (www.earthwatch.org) as other solid organizations with which to voluntour. The former deals primarily with the construction of homes and communities, while the latter enables volunteers to help scientists in the field and promote sustainability.

Trips and program objectives vary from organization to organization, as does the “typical” voluntourist. There is no one demographic, age, or ethnic background to those who choose this form of vacationing, although the majority of travellers are women with busy careers. Another growing trend according to Kimberly, is the fact that multi-generational families volunteer and travel together, often learning as much about each other as their new surroundings.

If all of this sounds like too much earnest work and not enough play, think again. The Peru program in Cusco which we filmed is ideally situated in the heartland of the Incan Empire- smack in the middle of the awe-inspiring Sacred Valley. The city itself is a colourful amalgam of hand polished Incan foundation stone walls and Spanish Colonial architecture. Quechua natives (descendants of the Incas) walk the cobblestone streets in brilliant hand loomed textiles with llamas and a smile, always ready for a “photo amiga?” opportunity.

Volunteers partook in local festivals and customs, and the brave three who chose to hike the Salkantay Pass to Machu Picchu were physically challenged and spiritually rewarded. After four days of trekking, our ragged but excited crew arrived at the legendary Machu Picchu, or “old mountain” in the Incan Quechua language. The ancient city gave the volunteers a chance to pause and think about where they had been, what they had done and what they hoped to do in the remaining weeks.

And just as voluntourist Robyn Liston shared what she had learned so far on her experience for the camera, a majestic condor flew by, an Incan symbol of strength representing the skies. Looking back, Robyn says, “When the condor flew over my head at Machu Picchu, I realized that my life was about living in faith. That with faith anything is possible.”

While this vacation option isn’t encouraging people to go to danger zones, it emphasizes the fact that the world does extend beyond our first-world streets and cities. Elaine is planning a voluntouring vacation with her family in the near future and adds, “After having participated in this program I will strive to spend more of my time, energy and resources investing in people as opposed to investing in things.” When asked if she would voluntour again, Robyn replied, “I would absolutely do it again and will. It’s the greatest gift I could give to myself.”

It’s also often the greatest gift some of the people you come into contact will ever be given. Bob heard a speech on Martin Luther King Day in the US that should remind us all, that even a drop in the ocean can make a difference. Here it is, as Bob remembers it: “You can't do everything, but you can do something. If you can do something, then you should do something. If you should do something, then do something. Now!”

Machu Picchu Journey: 'Voluntouring' with Globe Aware

The summer after my second year at Queen’s, my father passed away. I was 21 years old, and felt like I was just beginning to really know the person behind the parent. Having to unexpectedly say goodbye to my father made me reassess my life. I drafted my “life’s to-do list” shortly after his death, and on it, I wrote: to see Machu Picchu. I never imagined however, that I’d eventually see it with strangers who became friends during seven adventure-crammed weeks in Peru.

The adventure began with filming the story of eight volunteers and two coordinators from North America and England, who flew to Cusco to work primarily with deaf-mute children at one of the city’s orphanages. Those of us documenting their work included a crew out of Philadelphia hired by Concrete Pictures, and myself - the only Canadian behind-the-scenes/field director. The rewards of working on a pro-social documentary series, under the auspices of Globe Aware, a non-profit organization that offers volunteering vacations (or voluntouring), coupled with chance to see more of South America, sealed the deal. I was Andes bound.

As the cameras rolled and the volunteers started arriving at the airport, I began to put the names to the faces. There was Bob from Hawaii (who would later be joined by his wife Jo and friend Terry), Sofia, Jimbo and Cliff from L.A., Patsy and her son Jamie from Studio City, Robyn from San Francisco, Elaine from Dryden, Ontario, and the coordinators, Anna from Dallas and Sarah from Leeds, England. The group varied in age, from early twenties to mid-sixties, as much as they did in their professions and personalities. The binding agent however, was the group’s desire to help, grow and learn.

A couple of days later, after acclimatizing to the 11,000 ft. altitude that is Cusco and an orientation meeting or two, the volunteers were off to meet the children at the orphanage for the first time. Despite that everyone tried to mentally prepare for this, most felt overwhelmed, perhaps even anxious. I thought, how would the volunteers communicate in sign when only Patsy and Jamie were fluent signers? How would the children react to everyone? Would we be able to make even the slightest difference in their lives? After the sister opened the imposing, dark wood door for us to enter, any nervousness quickly dissipated when volunteers and crew were instantly mobbed by smiling faces, embraces, excited introductions in sign language and a palpable joy. It was as if long-lost friends had come to visit, and their exuberance let us know how much they appreciated our presence.

I don’t think many of the volunteers had spent any great amount of time in a third world orphanage prior to this experience. It’s a world away, two to be precise, from what we know in our first world North America. When I was eight, my parents gave me a first communion celebration they hoped I would never forget. I shared that memorable day with about forty orphans in Antioquia, Colombia- a town nestled in the mountains surrounding Medellin. My parents were right - seeing all of those children’s faces in
Cusco brought me right back to when I was that wide-eyed little girl. While that first moment inside the orphanage unleashed a wave of emotions, it also brought us to a common realisation-the thought of how lucky we all were.

Over sixty children call the San Francisco de Assis Home for Deaf-Mute Children their permanent residence. Some deaf children attend day classes and go home. Most however, were abandoned by parents who don’t know how to care for children with handicaps, leaving them in the busy hands of the nuns running the home. Some of the children have Downs Syndrome, are autistic, or mentally handicapped, while a handful of them have no handicaps. Sadly, the majority of children there don’t know when their birthdays are, and only a lucky few are visited by family on a sporadic basis.

Month-old babies to nineteen year olds live together with the nuns, and are taught/looked after by a full-time staff numbering about thirteen. Given the staff to children ratio, it wasn’t surprising to see children playing in the courtyard with soiled pants, dirty faces or wearing most of their lunch. Most of us had a child sit on our laps only to realize that he had wet his pants or soiled them, and had leaked onto our clothes too. The initial discomfort at our soiled clothes soon changed to something of a badge of honour- a small price to pay for the return of a child’s laughter.

The second week in, three volunteers and one camera crew embarked on a ‘Sacred Valley of the Incas Salkantay Trek’ expedition, leaving the other volunteers behind to continue working with the children. Part of Globe Aware’s mandate calls for cultural immersion, so Robyn, Cliff and Jamie joined our crew and the SAS tour guides on one of the most gruelling and beautiful treks any one of us has likely ever taken. If climbing over 2000 feet to get to 15,100 feet was the battle, then the slippery slope down was full-out war.

After the first day, without any knee braces, I looked down to see two swollen melons and cankles where my knees and ankles once were! Some anti-inflammatories later, and I finally focused on the stunning scenery surrounding me. The plateau of the Salkantay felt like an other-worldly lunarscape with Inukshuk-looking rock formations left behind by previous trekkers. We walked down through cloud forest and met up with a local farmer who gave us the sweetest, juiciest passion fruit I’d ever tasted.

Our fourth day saw us arriving, ragged but excited, at the legendary Machu Picchu, or “old mountain” in the Incan Quechua language. This ancient city was, according to our tour guide, a sort of university and sacred place where the brightest minds throughout the Incan Empire came to learn or teach astronomy, agriculture and architecture. The place gave the volunteers a chance to pause and think about where they had been, what they had done and what they hoped to do in the remaining weeks. And just as Robyn shared what she had learned, a majestic condor flew by, an Incan symbol of strength representing the skies. We watched until the bird flew out of sight. I watched, hoping that somehow through my eyes, my father was seeing this place, at this time too.

Back in Cusco, the volunteers began to make improvements at the orphanage. The once lacklustre courtyard got a vibrant wash of colour with newly painted hopscotch games, a checker board, a revitalized swing set and a new volleyball net. The open garbage area was closed off with a door and latch, and the orphanage’s water heaters were finally repaired so that the children could avoid ice-cold showers. While all of this, coupled with the all of the volunteers’ other work was well received, the one event that was likely most memorable for the children was their surprise fiesta.

A huge “happy birthday” banner graced the courtyard, and astonished children gathered to admire the decorations and enjoy the miming clowns, pony rides, popcorn and hot dog carts. We figured that since most of these kids didn’t know when their birthdays were- we’d throw all of them the quintessential kid’s birthday party. After the cake and ice cream, presents that the volunteers had specifically chosen for each child were handed out. Many children, never having received a present before, stared at their shiny package and smiled, thinking the wrapped box was their gift. Once they figured out that there was a gift inside, with the help of volunteers, squeals of laughter filled the courtyard. The place looked like Christmas in November, and children had the chance to be children.

A couple of days after the party, the inevitable departure and good-byes arrived. Even the most stoic got a little misty-eyed. The children were inconsolable- their long lost friends were likely to be lost to them once more. I don’t know if I’ll ever see the children at the orphanage again, but I do know that although I was only with them for a short time, I hugged and played with them, and let them know how special they were to me. I thought my presence and presents made me the donor of goodwill, but I realized it was the children’s disarming sincerity and affection that was the greater of the gifts.

It’s my hope that people watching the Voluntouring series are inspired to help - no matter if it’s in their own backyard, or the Andean Highlands. For those of you thinking about adopting a Peruvian child, you can read more about the process at: www.globeaware.org, by selecting Peru on the main page.