Burns Day at Shanti Bhavan

February 04, 2013

Shanti Bhavan, India
Carlyn Miller

 Burns Day:January 25th is Burns Day, the birthday of the Scottish poet Robert Burns. On or around this day every year, people in Scotland and Scottish people all over the world celebrate the life and poetry of Robert Burns. This year myself and two other volunteers-one also from Scotland and one from Montana- decided to bring Burns Day to Shanti Bhavan!The school day here is very structured and the children have set times for breaks. So we arranged to fill these with Scottish celebrations. During assembly we explained what Burns Day was and Gavin, another Scottish volunteer, recited Tam O’ Shanter, Burns most famous poem. The poem is written in Scottish dialect and the kids loved trying to work out what he was saying. Then during afternoon snack time we...

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The Importance of Building Relationships

February 03, 2013

Expand Peru, Peru
Leah Davidson

Networking in business is often denigrated as a form of self-interested flattery. When trying to start a social project in a foreign country, however, it is absolutely critical to develop partnerships and solicit advice from experts in the field. I feel so grateful to the large number of people who have reached out and put me in contact with friends and family working in microfinance/youth empowerment in Latin America. One of the student leaders of the Compass Fellowship (social entrepreneurship) program at Penn connected me with the co-founder of VenturePact and Charlie Javice, the founder of an online microfinance platform called PoverUp. I also had a great conversation with Alex Simon, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Compass Partners, who has visited Peru and sold socially responsible goods produced in Guatemala through...

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ER Taylor Photo Pals Club!

February 02, 2013

The ER Taylor Elementary School Photo Pals Club has officially begun! I have started working with 12 students in our after school program, teaching camera basics as students explore their school and lives through photography. The students really enjoyed photographing the best part of themselves and taking photos in our school garden. There have been a couple of surprises along the way. First, only about half of the students brought back their permission slips to be able to take the cameras home for a night. Of the six who did take the cameras home, three came the next day to tell me that they forgot to take any pictures. When I was in Ghana this past summer, all 25 students had brought their permission slips back the next day and...

Shining Trophies

School Garden

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Volunteering in GOET Uganda

February 02, 2013

My name is Yuri Ichikawa from Japan, I came to know about Goet Uganda after reading about it.If you are  interested in volunteering with GOET UGANDA, you will surely enjoyVolunteering with GOET was fun its really interesting working and having time with those little pretty kids . I like the experience over there and hope one time I will be there again.Accommodation isn’t really any problem. GOET has a volunteer house that can accommodate volunteers. Any way, I enjoyed African food i.e. rice matooke cassava, beans ,and food looks pretty different but tasted good (ATAPA) hahahaha I loved Posho made from millet and cassava flour is the staple dish with fresh meat, pork, chicken.Activities are generally many. you are...

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CREAR Eco Camp - Jan '13

February 01, 2013

Asociacion CREAR, Costa Rica
Catherine Czerwinski

A baker’s dozen of volunteers all on different schedules, some lacking reliable communication, some reliable transportation, a garage full of recycled materials and resources accumulated from here and there over the years, two loaned spaces, and the beautiful environment of Costa Rica. At first glance CREAR may seem a bit elementary in terms of capital but after working closely with them to plan and carry out their bi-annual summer camp this January it became increasingly clear how much organization, passion, dedication and innovation that goes into what CREAR does. It is these intangible assets that allow CREAR to make the most of their tangible resources and actualize another wildly successful two weeks of camp.To cater to increasing attendance CREAR offered their free day camp this year at two different locations, Playa...

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

CREAR Day Camp - Jan \'13

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Goals for Ghana

February 01, 2013

Lumana, Ghana
Stephanie Kreuter

As I bask in the luxuries of the States for my last few days, I'm starting to think about what I want to accomplish during my time in Ghana. Since moving back from Honduras, I've tried to have a list of goals for each semester to keep to accountable and try new things. So, in that same spirit here are some of my goals for Ghana: Use 3 tools I learned during grad school. For my part of my internship, I'm using some tools I learned last January during DPMI. In addition to these tools, I would also like to use some from a few other classes. Get to know 3 new people. This might be a given since I'll be working with new...

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assistance with education and developing their life skills

January 31, 2013

I have the opportunity to work alongside local staff at youth in action in Ghana. The home is basic, underdeveloped and in need of volunteers to assist.These children need love and attention, and assistance with education and developing their life skills. Providing the children with the essential skills in life will help them on their way to successful futures free from poverty, filled with the same opportunities as others.As a volunteer I will help care for and mentor the children. During the day the children will attend school, during same time i will assist with the general running duties of the organisation. i also choose to spend time assisting at the local school.  ...

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A visit to DEPDC, Mae Sai, Thailand

January 31, 2013 | 2 comments

DEPDC/GMS, Thailand
Vance Walstra

 On Thursday, January 31st, I visited DEPDC on behalf of Omprakash. My goal was to learn as much as possible about the organization in one day's visit, as well as to make sure that they are getting the most out of their relationship with Omprakash. I was greeted by their current volunteer coordinator, Hannah. She gave me an informal presentation about the history of DEPDC, as well as the various programs of which they are running. There are three separate locations which work with various projects throughout the northern region of Thailand. The main objective in which DEPDC serves is to prevent the trafficking of children from Northern Thailand and the surrounding regions. They do this by targeting children who come from a variety of 'at risk'...

DEPDC Entrance sign

DEPDC School Center

Hannah, the volunteer coordinator at DEPDC - Mae Sai

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I have worked with Amigos de la Educacion for 7 years

September 20, 2012

Amigos de la Educacion , Costa Rica
cheryl pruss

I have volunteered with Amigos de la Educacion for the past 7 years. I started as a volunteer in thier golf tournament and got more involved over time. Today I am on the Board of Directors. The group does much to help the schools in the local area through donations of books, improvements to school facilities and other supplies for schools that allow schools to spend their time doing what they should be doing, working with the students. In addition they provide schlorarships for students without much money to be able to stay in school. Amigos is a qualified non profit in Costa Rica and uses a prefessional accounting firm to account for all money that flows through the group. I know the founders personally and know them to be...

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Construyendo el camino hacia una educación integral.

September 11, 2012

Amigos de la Educacion , Costa Rica
Irene Alfaro Rodriguez

As a volunteer of the projects which are clearly defined by the organization without lucrative purposes; I consider myself as a civilian representative of the Guanacaste province, more specifically of the nearby communities in the area of Tamarindo. In a continuous labor, regular and without any self-interest, Amigos de la Educación opened my eyes to the needs of eradicate or modify the causes of the needs of one of the most vulnerable populations of this country: children. The population which I refer to, is urgently needing volunteers that consider themselves as bridges among the donators and beneficiaries, therefore our acts speak for us by our reflexive and responsible processes regarding this matter. As a profesional of psycology, these are some of the tools which could be used: • Community Intervention As one...

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