Featured Articles
Featured Articles
Featured Articles
Helping Hands: Globe Aware's Volunteer Vacations in Cambodia
By Nicolai Hartvig
1 Help an Elephant
Lampang, Thailand
Sadly, many of Thailand’s gentle giants are likely to have painful memories. Caught in the wild, they’re often mistreated by their caretakers, who put them to work with adventure-trekking companies or performance troupes, or remove their tusks to sell as ivory on the black market.
THE TRIP The Thai Elephant Conservation Center (from Bt3,500 per person, plus tip for mahout) in Lampang province welcomes volunteers.
Activities depend on your choice of program: you may find yourself bathing a baby elephant, learning the skills of a mahout—a fully fledged elephant handler—or, if you stay overnight, guiding your elephant into the wilderness and leaving him at his favorite spot for the night while you retire to one of three wood-and-thatch houses. The center cares for around 50 elephants and has an on-site hospital, which program fees subsidize. T+L Tip: For your own relaxing soak, try the nearby San Kamphaeng hot springs.
2 Build Wheelchairs
Siem Reap, Cambodia
THE TRIP Week-long programs from Globe Aware (globeaware.org; US$1,200 per person excluding airfare) run in Siem Reap once or twice a month, from Saturday to Saturday. Itineraries are flexible, but volunteers can expect a plethora of activities: think putting together wheelchairs and hand-delivering them to landmine victims, working with local street children and teaching English to Buddhist novice monks. Cultural-awareness and cookery classes are also on offer, as well as built-in downtime—essential for checking out Siem Reap’s unmissable attractions, from the ruins at Angkor Wat to the stylish boutiques that have sprung up in the city center.
3 Teach English
Bangkok, Thailand
THE TRIP Staying in family-sized rooms provided by Cross Cultural Solutions (from US$2,784 for two weeks, excluding flights), volunteers work in local schools, community hubs and day-care centers. Children can help out as teacher’s aides—or simply play with and inspire confidence in other kids, especially those with disabilities who tend to be stigmatized in Thai society. After school, volunteers can soak up the local color, exploring Bangkok’s myriad temples, bazaars and food markets. They can also take their turn at being students, with Thai–cooking and language classes.
4 Spy on a Rhino
Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Borneo
THE TRIP On-the-ground info gathered on a trip with Hands Up Holidays (from US$3,750, excluding flights) will help protect these animals from extinction. An all-inclusive 15-day package has you and your family collecting invaluable survey data in Borneo’s Tabin Wildlife Reserve, home to an estimated 50 Sumatran rhinos, over three days. The rest of the time is spent on an action-packed jungle adventure, from white-water rafting in Kiulu to proboscis-monkey spotting in Sukau to a trek to the Lipad mud volcano. Jungle training and water sports also figure on the itinerary.
At night, you’ll be staying in three-star hotels, a jungle lodge and an island chalet. You’ll even get a chance to sleep under the stars, in open-air hammocks at a rainforest camp.
5 Journey with Nomads
Terelj National Park, Mongolia
THE TRIP Projects Abroad (US$3,045 for two weeks, discounts for children aged 15 or under) organizes tailored two-week–minimum trips in Mongolia’s Terelj National Park. Between travels on horse- or camel-back, volunteers may find themselves tending to animals, cooking Mongolian food from scratch, drinking traditional airaag, or fermented mare’s milk (kids can try the non-alcoholic kind), and even engaging in the odd bout of local wrestling. The remote locations and range of physical tasks on this trip make it better for smaller families with older children. Be prepared to soak in the silence and beauty of the vast, empty landscapes— and to receive your own Mongolian name.
If you would like more information about taking a volunteer vacation to Cambodia,China, India, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal or you are interested in voluntourism in South East Asia, please visit Globe Aware's Destinations Gallery for program and trip descriptions, dates and Minimum Contribution Fees.
Three Dallas Youth Given an International Service Opportunity of a Lifetime
Globe Aware, a Dallas based nonprofit organization that mobilizes teams of volunteers to carry out international service projects in 15 countries around the world is proud to announce that 3 local Dallas Independent School District (DISD) students have been chosen to participate in Globe Aware’s Costa Rica Caribbean program free of charge as a result outstanding support for the Globe Aware Scholarship Fund.
Travelocity® is committed to being the traveler's champion -- before, during and after the trip – and provides the most comprehensive and proactive guarantee in the industry (www.travelocity.com/guarantee). This customer-driven focus, backed by 24/7 live phone support, competitive prices and powerful shopping technology has made Travelocity one of the largest travel companies in the world with annual gross bookings of more than U.S. $10 billion. Travelocity also owns and operates: Travelocity Business® for corporate travel; igougo.com, a leading online travel community; lastminute.com, a leader in European online travel; and ZUJI, a leader in Asia-Pacific online travel. Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation, a world leader in travel marketing and distribution.
Teaching English in Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Why Go Now: Philanthropy is fantastic, but a one-week, hands-on stint volunteering in Cambodia—still in need of much aid—can be much more personally satisfying. It can also pretty quickly make a person grateful for his life back home. Globe Aware’s volunteer vacations in Angkor Wat engage travelers in making a genuine influence on others’ lives in a very short time: teaching English, working with children, distributing wheelchairs to adults and children in rural villages. The accommodations will be modest, but the Khmer food and magnificent Angkor Wat temples make the authentic experience entirely welcome.
The Latin American and Caribbean Student Health Organization (LAC Health) and the greater Harvard School of Public Health community, generously donated funds to Globe Aware to buy medical supplies for the medical clinic in San Pedro de Casta, Peru. To raise these funds, LAC Health engaged in a week long sale of handmade Peruvian jewelry to the students and faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health.
LAC Health is a student organization aimed at promoting, analyzing, and resolving health problems affecting Latin America and the Caribbean.
Our objectives are:
- To increase awareness throughout the Harvard community of health problems effecting the countries of Latin America And the Caribbean;
- To promote healthy practices and give exposure to successful health programs unique to LAC;
- To create an arena for raising concerns and discussing issues about public health problems and policies with experts from LAC;
- To create an informal setting/environment for all students interested in making LAC a healthier place to share experiences, ideas and concerns with fellow students and faculty.
Sharlene Bagga, who collaborated with Globe Aware, Harvard's attention the need for medical supplies at the clinic in San Pedro de Casta and they were happy to work with her on this fund raising event.
Their hopes are that their contribution will benefit the workers and clients at the medical clinic in San Pedro de Casta. They reiterated how much they enjoyed working on this venture to help Globe Aware's Latin American activities.
Special thanks to the Organizers:
- Leah-Mari Richards, Founder and Co-President LAC Health - Harvard School of Public Health
- Moira Breslin, Founder and Co-President LAC Health - Harvard School of Public Health
- Source: ABC News
By GIGI STONE
When you think of teenagers on spring break, visions of Daytona Beach or Cancun may come to mind — not necessarily a trip to Cambodia.
But that's where Kate McNamara, a 16-year-old New Yorker, went on vacation with her family, volunteering to teach children English and build wheelchairs for land mine victims.
"It wasn't that long and it was a small group of people … but it made just such a huge difference, " she says. "It was one of the most rewarding things that I think that I've ever done."
Her mother, Elizabeth McNamara adds, "In a world that needs so much, just to a little bit to make a difference in someone's life is a very positive experience."
Voluntourism: Good Times and Good Works
by Steve Kallaugher
Most people come home from vacation with a nice tan and a suitcase full of souvenirs. Carolyn Bentley returned from a trip she took with her 17-year-old daughter, Julia, with a new outlook on life and a renewed bond with her child.
“It was life changing,†says Bentley. “It’s an amazing way to grow yourself and develop bonds with others. You become part of the country, instead of just looking at it out a window.
Volunteers with the group Globe Aware are digging a trench to lay a water pipe in Costa Rica.Sarah McCall / Globe Aware
As the industry grapples with how to make money without compromising the results of the volunteer work, one thing is clear: more and more private citizens are ready to roll up their sleeves and lend a hand. "I was just so sick of just donating a gift at the end of the year," says Yates of his decision to spend a week volunteering in Costa Rica. "I worked my butt off."Getting in touch with your inner Angelina Jolie is easier than it used to be. The so-called voluntourism industry, which sends travelers around the globe for a mix of volunteer work and sightseeing, is generating almost as much praise and criticism as the goodwill ambassador herself. Are volunteer vacations--which have become so mainstream that CheapTickets recently started letting online customers book volunteer activities along with their vacations--merely overpriced guilt trips with an impact as fleeting as the feel-good factor? Or do they offer individuals a real chance to change the world, one summer jaunt at a time?
KRASANG ROLEUNG, Cambodia - Andrew Krupp doesn't speak a word of Cambodian. And, for the most part, the dozens of happy-faced children racing across the dusty schoolyard to greet him don't speak a word of English.
But that doesn't stop Krupp from winning them over immediately.
It doesn't take much, after all, to get across the basics of the hokeypokey, which it turns out is just as big a crowd-pleaser in the poorest thatched-roof villages of Cambodia as it is in the manicured suburb near Chicago where Krupp lives.
"I'm like a novelty act riding into town," says the 39-year-old manufacturing executive, laughing as his frenzied "right foot in" sends the children into hysterics. "Everybody loves a lunatic."
- Source: Dallas Morning News
Was there a lull in East Dallas last week? My neighbors commented on how quiet it was on our block.
Maybe it had something to do with the "senior" spring break trip I took with 66 East Dallas neighbors to Mexico. Woodrow Wilson High seniors, that is. At least one friend heard it wrong and misunderstood it to be a group of senior citizens.
All the relaxation may have shocked my system. My days consisted of lounging on the beach and reading. The most difficult decision was what to eat. Next time, maybe I need to combine a little work with pleasure just to keep my body in sync.
East Dallas resident Kimberly Haley-Coleman, 38, might have just the combination for such a vacation. She is the founder of Globe Aware, a nonprofit vacation business that offers volunteer vacations in Brazil, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ghana, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Romania, Thailand and Vietnam.
Globe Aware offers a one-week adventure in service with a focus on cultural awareness and sustainability. The trips are often compared to a "mini Peace Corps." All program costs, including airfare, are tax-deductible.
Kimberly holds an M.B.A. in international business from the University of Dallas. She is a recipient of the Texas Business Hall of Fame Scholarship Award, and has an M.A. from Southern Methodist University and a B.A. from Emory University.
As a third-generation White Rock Lake resident, Kimberly's love of international escape stems from traveling abroad as a young girl with her grandmother. The area known as Jackson Point at White Rock Lake was where Kimberly's grandparents, Margaret and A.A. Jackson III, lived for many years.
"Unlike a regular vacation, during which you may spend a good deal of time on a tourist bus and in lines at museums, our trips allow you to learn things such as how to cook local cuisine, sing with local schoolchildren, work side by side on local community projects," Kimberly said. "Few vacations provide a way to bond so closely with local cultures in so short a time. The experience will likely change how you see the world."
The road of life takes us to many destinations. Thank goodness sometimes the destinations are as predictable as a spring break excursion. With a little ingenuity and open-mindedness, the destination can be a life-changing experience.
For more information on Globe Aware vacations, go to www.globeaware.org.
Chris Gresback is a freelance writer in Lakewood.
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