"The Evening Team for the University of Indianapolis volunteering at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Greece" Copyright © University of Indianapolis, All Rights Reserved

UnXpected

David Clemmons, Publisher/Editor of The VolunTourist, responds to some of your questions and emails. (Additional questions and responses are posted on the VolunTourism.org Blog)

Volume 7, Issue 3 Reader Comments & Other Mail

Dear Voluntourism

I am a British student currently in my last year of school, I'm planning on taking a gap year next year. I have already arranged to work on a ranch in Australia and work as a snowboard instructor in Austria, but I have spent a very long time on the internet searching for an opportunity for three months, that involves some sort of volunteering in Africa. I haven't yet been able to find anything that suits my time frame or that doesn't require some sort of experience. Something I do not have, but had planned to use my gap to establish some experience in the way things work within aid agencies in Africa and also gain some field experience. Do you have any pointers in regards to the direction i should be looking or any links that would be helpful as I am currently stuck. Thank you.

Kind Regards,

Ben

Dear Ben,

Thanks for your email.

I might recommend that you connect with Patrick Kilonzo at Tzavo Volunteers in Kenya.

http://www.tsavo-volunteers.com/en/index.htm

Patrick and I skype on and off while I am here in Jordan. It might be a good start for you.

Hope this helps.

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"A  Wildlife Friends Meow, a tiger with neurological damage, is dried off after his morning hydrotherapy session." Copyright © Nola Lee Kelsey, All Rights Reserved

To whom it may concern,

My name is Daisy, I am a 40yo female nurse. I have been a nurse for 13 years. I speak fluent spanish (my parents are from Ecuador). I have been interested for a long time in volunteering somewhere to make a difference.....can you give me some guidance as to what to look for in a trip or is there a coordinator that can interview me to see where I could be best utilized?

Daisy

Dear Daisy,

Thank you for your email.

I think the best place to start for someone like yourself would be HealthcareVolunteer.com

Neilesh Patel and his team there have established an excellent database for anyone seeking volunteer experiences as a healthcare professional.

With thousands of options from which to choose, it should be relatively easy for you to identify a handful of options that meet your personal goals and objectives - Spanish-speaking option, for example.

Of course, if you would like to also experience some of the touristic activities in a destination, you might want to reach out to Lemon Tree Tours, as they have taken groups to Peru. The projects are run by a registered nurse as well.

Voluntourism trips can be likened to shoes. First, you have to decide the purpose of your "shoe." Will you be hiking? Going to a reception? Working in the shoes on a daily basis for long hours? A next item would be the "size" of your shoe. You obviously want the size that fits you, and vice versa. A voluntourism trip must fit you, and vice versa. At some point you will consider such things as the price of the shoe - what are you willing to pay? Fully knowing, of course, that what you pay will, in large part, determine the quality of what you receive in the form of the shoe. Do you have a specific color or style in mind? Again, these things will come into your decision-making process. Once you have these items detailed, then you are probably ready to go shopping. For someone like yourself, a healthcare professional, I would definitely recommend starting with HealthcareVolunteer.com for your voluntourism shopping experience.

Hope this helps.

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"Olive VolunTourism in Jordan" Copyright © VolunTourism.org, All Rights Reserved

Hello David,

Hope this email finds you well. Love the blog! Having lived in Jordan for 6 years I can see a lot of potential in olive voluntourism. Do you think the project is appealing enough for overseas volunteers to spend a week, or would it work better as a two/three day block of a travel intenerary?

I'm currently living in Milton Keynes, UK, but over a year ago I was working as a project manager for FICS (Family International Community Services) in Amman. I'm looking to start as a social enterprise VTO where all profits after salaries are allocated to a local charity.

At the moment I'm trying to develop a portfolio of worthwhile projects where volunteering would have a positive impact. The countries I'm looking at right now are:

Jordan, Thailand, Philippines, Tunisia, Morocco, Mexico,China, Peru, etc. :)

I wanted to ask if you would be so kind and explain to me the process and best practice of liaising with organizations, or direct me to a listing of grassroot NGOs/organizations who take on volunteers from abroad - if there is such a resource. You might even have an organization/s in mind from your personal experiences and travels.

Hope I'm not imposing on you with my barrage of questions, and if you can't help I understand. If you can assist, I would really appreciate your input.

"Malaysian business student and photographic hobbyist Joshua Lim enjoys his lunch break his way while volunteering." Copyright © Nola Lee Kelsey, All Rights Reserved

Warm Regards,

Tom

Tom,

Thanks for reaching out.

I believe there is great potential in olive voluntourism here in Jordan and throughout the Mediterranean Region. It is difficult to say how people would respond to a week's worth of olive picking. As you know, there is much, much more to the culture of olive picking than simply picking the olives. I am inclined to think that some individuals would find a week almost too short; whereas others would appreciate not more than a day or two of such engagement. If one was creating a week-long itinerary, I would make certain to include some visitation to nearby historic sites (in the case of the photo above, individuals could have actually hiked to Ajlun Castle). Learning the language around olives (zayt, zaytoonah, etc.), visiting a local olive press, becoming familiar with the process, discovering the rich history of olives and their place in the culture, traditions, and economics of the region - all of these would, I think, add value to the itinerary and lengthen the term of engagement.

As you likely discovered during your time in Jordan, there is but one way to approach anyone with whom you would like to conduct any type of business relationship - face-to-face interaction. It works like nothing else in this world can. Whether it is considered a "best practice" or not, I would simply call it essential. I also recommend connecting with entities which are already involved in voluntourism in whatever destination(s) you decide to start your operations. No point int duplicating efforts, but you may discover that you bring talents and skills to the mix which can lead to partnerships and a leveraging of resources rather than the creation of something entirely new and/or distinct.

Above all, be cognizant of the fact that we live in a world that is more inter-connected than ever before. Take the time to reach out, as you have here, but to other folks. Talk to Randy LeGrant at Geovisions, Christopher Hill at Hands Up Holidays, Sallie Grayson at People & Places, Dr. Sally Brown Bassett at Peace Through Yoga, Kimberly Haley Coleman at Globe Aware, Irene Fernando at Students Today Leaders Forever, the Staffords at Voluntours South Africa (and these are just a few of the folks with whom you want to connect). My experience of interacting with all of these folks over the years is that they welcome coopetition (as opposed to competition) in that if you begin operating in this space, make certain that you do so responsibly, ethically, and with local communities and their best interests as the focal point of your operations - serving people and planet first inevitably leads to the necessary "profit" to sustain your efforts.

Look forward to hearing about your efforts and adventures as this unfolds.

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Copyright © Dog Meets World, All Rights Reserved

Dear Mr. Clemmons,

I am a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park and am taking an upper level English class called Writing for Non Profits. As part of the course, we picked a non profit to write about throughout the semester. I chose a Washington, DC based organization called Dog Meets World (DMW) that I formerly interned with (see http://www.dogmeetsworld.org/ for more information). For one of my assignments I even wrote a mock press release to your website.

The next assignment is to write a grant proposal. However, due to the particular nature of DMW, I am having a lot of trouble finding a suitable grant.

Here is some background about DMW:

Dog Meets World's mission is to provide every underprivileged child and family around the world with photographs of themselves. DMW encourages individual travelers, altruistic endeavors (e.g. voluntourist trips, Peace Corps) and corporations to bring a portable printer and the stuffed animal prop Foto along on their future travels.

Giving children and families a photo cultivates cultural connections between locals and travelers, and brings joy to everyone involved.

The beauty of Dog Meets World is that its a perfect supplement to any altruistic trip. Anyone with a camera can participate. I've developed an outreach program to make DMW known in the volunteering and travel industries.

However, I cannot find a grant to fund this project.

As a leader in the voluntourism industry, I am hoping you will advise me where to look for such a particular kind of request. Where can I find a grant to fund this organization? How do you suggest I help get the project out there? How can I connect my small organization to volunteer trip organizers to offer them a chance to try the project?

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, 

Sarah

Dear Sarah,

First, my apologies for the delay in responding; and, thank you for sending in your request.

In terms of grants, I am probably one of the worst individuals to have a conversation about this topic. I have not actively sought grants for the work that we do with VolunTourism.org over the years. In 2009, however, an individual approached me about wanting to advance the work of VolunTourism.org through grants. This may be the route for Dog Meets World. Find someone who is truly interested in your work and is also interested in assisting you in accessing funding through grants. I believe that these individuals are out there; we either find them, or they find us. As long as we stick to our vision, mission, goals & objectives, the inevitability of drawing what we need to our solid purpose will materialize.

That being said, I would speak to companies. I would also speak to universities and colleges with a strong photo-journalism or photographic arts program. The travel trade - magazines, online pubs, etc - these folks, I believe, would also be interested in your project. They may not have funds, but they have relationships, and relationships will get you to where you want to go.

Hope this helps.

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