Tips for Responsible Volunteering

As our volunteer teams grow larger and more frequent, we offer these tips for maximizing your positive impact in the host community:

First, confine your service to work projects based on local leaders' vision, commitment and contributions. Such volunteer projects don't cost local people more effort than the volunteer contribution merits.

Second, be aware that usually a minimum commitment of at least a week is required for you to become fully integrated into the work project, and therefore to make a genuine contribution.

Third, note that only full-day service efforts are tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers. When you work through Global Volunteers, you're mobilized in full-time work projects, five days per week. (The IRS requires "no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation or vacation.")

Fourth, ethical service is self-supporting in the host community, and doesn't draw financial resources away from local people. Rather contributions support the local economy, and invest in local initiatives without creating dependencies upon outside sources.

Most important, invest your time in a sustainable program which contributes your skills and energy to the community as you work alongside local people on local development projects.

You CAN make a significant difference...in as little as one week...through our long-term, sustainable development partnerships. Call us today to find YOUR service program!

A Day in Peru - Breaking Barriers

After lunch comes the dishes. It is here the barriers begin to be broken. Smiles, laughs and tricks like splashing in the water begin to bring us together. This continues as recess follows our lunchtime. As I observe the boys I cannot help but smile and laugh as they are. Then little by little the boys run over, give me a hug and quickly run off to continue their game of soccer. The warmth I feel from the sunshine doesn´t compare to the new warmth I feel of the heart.

I realize…
I cannot speak to them, but I can give them a smile.
I cannot understand their questions, but I can give them a hug, and
I cannot help them with their studies but I can laugh with them as they all joke with each other.

The day ends with reflection and our excitement for tomorrow.

A tomorrow where I will continue to learn it´s not about what I cannot do, it's about what I can.

April 27th, 2010

Entered by Patty

Kathleen and I awoke to a knock on our door at 7am as we had overslept. We felt like teenagers being awoken by our mother but liked the alternative Esther came up with which was ‘sleeping beauties’. We dressed quickly, ate breakfast, and were at the construction site by 8am, only to be disappointed by the fact that the construction supplies had not arrived so there was no work to be done.

We quickly regrouped and headed off to the clinic to help out in any way that we could. Kathleen helped in the prenatal area watching expectant mothers coming in for their check up; many were excited at the prospect of being there for their first visit and some were nervous at the site of the needle for their tetanus shot.

Rob helped in the general patient examination room and his most memorable moment was when a young boy needed some meds and his grandmother could not pay for the medication. Rob happened to have a few cedis with him and was happy to make a contribution to cover these meds so the young boy could get better.

I helped at the registration desk and learned that anyone entering the clinic must pay three cedis if they don’t have insurance. The government insurance is only 14 cedis for the year so it’s a shame for them to have to pay 3 cedis for 1 visit. We also took their blood pressure, weight, and temperature, if necessary.

After our morning in the clinic, we went back to the Guest House and prepared for our afternoon computer lessons for the kids. Our plan was to review the previous day’s material and then give them all an opportunity to use the typing tutor software. I think they enjoyed the ‘hands-on’. We had about 20 kids which was a nice size group to work with. Rob also showed them the encyclopedia software and they loved looking up facts about Ghana.

After tutorials we stopped at the roadside café for a drink and Rob ran into a student from his grade 7 class last year. Dinner was potatoes with a chicken and gravy sauce which was followed by a lively discussion about American politics, debates on the merits of Facebook and favorite books.

April 26th, 2010

Prepared by Kathleen

Woke up bright and early and had breakfast at 7 a.m. - fried egg, porridge and white toast with pineapple jam. We headed to the school at 8 a.m. for our first morning of teaching computer basics. Patty wowed the students with all her technology… projector and laptops!! About 40 children (over age 10) showed up along with 6 or 7 teachers!! They were keen to learn more about something they have all heard about but have not used. Funnily, they have a computer component that they have to know for their high school entrance exam but have only learned about the hardware and software through texts.

The children crowded 2 to 3 to a desk, the older ones sitting in the back of the class. Very few volunteered to answer questions with the exception of a few keen and confident ones who always raised their hand. Each child had a chance to type on the computer and we learned that we need to hand out numbers so they can each take their turn in a more orderly fashion! The children are keen to return tomorrow to continue with their computer training and perhaps some creative writing or geography lessons.

In the afternoon we went to a fascinating local market… crowded, noisy and vibrant. Everything could be found there, from Kleenex and dried fish to dress makers and live chickens. A very different, hot and earthy world. Patty and I are having a dressmaker make some outfits for us for an incredibly reasonable cost. Our market visit was followed by a trek to the Volta Hotel for a glass of wine.

The real excitement happened just before dinner when Patty spied a HUGE spider on our bedroom ceiling. We (calmly) had to call in Philip to dispose of it so that we could sleep in peace.

“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” Marcus Annaeus Seneca