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Friday, January 30, 2009

Special Needs Kids - Project Ideas?

International and local volunteers are a big help at the local Centro de Niños Especiales in Mancora. The Centre is locally-run and severely underfunded; part of your Voluntraveler fees goes directly to the Centre, but they receive little other support and serve over a hundred families. The children have a wide range of challenges: most of the families are poor, and most of the children do not go to school since there is no support for them there. The parents worry a lot about their children's futures, and about whether they will ever be independent or gainfully employed.

To raise funds for the Centre and to give the families a source of income, volunteers have been leading various projects with the kids aimed at producing something they can sell to the many international tourists who travel through Mancora. They have made snacks and foodstuffs, and they have tried different art projects. If you have skills and ideas about how a group of these kids and their families could create a low-cost, unique product, this might be a great volunteer experiences for you! They are especially interested in how they can use recylclable materials that are easy to find in town, like plastic bottles, sea shells, or sand.

Does anyone have any art project ideas, or know of any similar examples? In South Africa, I saw a project where a collective of women were using discarded tea bags to make pretty things like coasters, key chains and journals.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

First Week in Mancora


There can be a lot of challenges living in Mancora, Peru, especially if you're used to an easier way of life. Many of the simple things that we take for granted such as running water and easy access to medical care can be a struggle. 

Mancora works at its own pace and there is definitely a period of adjustment when volunteers first get to town. Para el Mundo (PaM) staff members work hard with new volunteers in their first week to make sure they get the most out of their time in Mancora.

Because PaM is staffed by Peruvians and works with community leaders, volunteers are immediately part of a community. Locals give PaM volunteers tips on where to eat and what local attractions are worth checking out.

Whenever you travel it takes time to get used to your new home. PaM staff makes the change as smooth as possible, so volunteers can spend their time volunteering as soon as possible.


Monday, January 19, 2009

Promoting Our Mission


We're preparing to market ourselves to the world and have designed some postcards and posters to help us get our message across (check it out above). We will be making appearances at various travel fairs at universities, and making as many connections as we can in the next few months. If you know of any associations that we should be contacting, or people that you think can help us find great voluntravelers for our programs, please contact us!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Seeking Partner Charities

Voluntraveler currently has a close relationship with Para el Mundo, but is seeking to partner with other reputable charities that would accept our volunteers in addition to funds to cover their living expenses and a contribution to their program. Hmmm... free help AND money? That's a pretty good deal.

The catch is, that we have to learn everything about how the charity operates, will want to be able to visit the sites where it operates, speak to past volunteers and current staff, and basically be sure that any money we send will be put to direct use by the charity to run its program. 

We have found that many so-called "charities" in South America (and elsewhere) funnel money out of their programs and into other pockets. Any charity we work with MUST be transparent with us.

What we are looking for ideally are grassroots organizations that have an existing volunteer program with costs in line with what we are familiar with. 

If you know of a charity organization that might like to partner with Voluntraveler, please contact us.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Volunteer + traveler = Voluntraveler

Travel with purpose. Meaningful travel. Voluntourism. Volunteer travel. These terms and phrases are defining a new type of travel that combine unique experiences abroad with work that benefits the local community. It's time to add a new one: Voluntraveler.

What is a voluntraveler?
A voluntraveler is not a tourist with some spare time to help dig a well, but a well-meaning professional who uses their particular skills and training to better the lives of people in developing countries. Tourists want to see interesting places. Travelers want an experience.

Voluntraveler: local partners, local impact
Voluntraveler is an organization concerned with placing the above mentioned professionals with charity organizations that can best use their skills. Our closest charity partner is Para el Mundo, a fantastic organization in Mancora, Peru. Each year, dozens of volunteers travel to the beautiful coastal town to help with the various projects. They assist with the small medical clinic (the only medical facitlity in the town), teach ESL to the local population, or work with various comunity programs that benefit from their professional training. 

Voluntraveler will be launching a website and online community in February. This blog will be your source for news and opportunities related to Voluntraveler and the world of volunteer travel. Subscribe by email, or add this to your RSS feed. 

-The Voluntraveler Team