Volunteering Abroad
In
taking a few self-indulgent trips in 2012, I came to the realization that
travel is not just about seeing a place. I found the true meaning of Proust
line about how the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new places
but seeing with new eyes.
“Travel
spins us around in two ways at once: It shows us the sights and values and
issues that we might ordinarily ignore; but it also, and more deeply, shows us
all the parts of ourselves that might otherwise grow rusty. For in
traveling to a truly foreign place, we inevitably travel to moods and states of
mind and hidden inward passages that we’d otherwise seldom have cause to
visit.” wrote Pico Iyer in his essay Why we Travel.
In
late 2012, I changed my blog description from “To share my thoughts, travel tips
and lessons learned as I fulfill my dream of seeing the places listed in the
book, 1,000 Places to See before You Die” to “To take nothing but
photographs, and leave nothing but footprints”. So in 2013, my focus will
be on responsible tourism. To kick it off, I would like to talk about the
process of volunteering abroad that I started late last year.
The
first task at hand was to look into the different ‘volunteering abroad’
organizations. I found an endless list of such organization:
International Student Volunteers, Volunteer Solutions, Cross-Cultural Solution,
GVI, Global Volunteers Network, Pro-World, etc. I had the option of
volunteering directly with one of these organizations or choosing an
organization that provide volunteer work placement with an NGO
(Non-Governmental Organization). Then I read the organization’s mission
statement. In reading the different ‘volunteering abroad organizations’
mission statements, I basically found a common element: to support sustainable
development initiative around the world, and to promote responsible travel
programs. In visiting different organizations’ website, I realized that
it’s a competitive business. In doing my research, I also found out that
short-term volunteering could have a negative impact on the community. So
the next task at hand was to find out whether the volunteer organization is a
non-profit or for-profit organization. For me, the sustainability part of
the program is as important in determining factor as the cost and detailed breakdown
of how the program fees are used.
After
a careful consideration, I applied to a for-profit organization, got accepted
and set to leave on January 31, 2013. Choosing a volunteer program was the easy
part. Since I have always been interested in environmental work, I have chosen
to go to Northern Thailand. Hopefully I’d be able to assist in the
protection of endangered wildlife, eco-systems, and environmental sensitive
areas.
In
addition to researching the volunteer organizations, I needed to fill out
extensive paperwork, read on the information, terms and conditions of the
program, and terms of entry into the country. I also started checking
into Visa or the entry requirements with the embassy and consulate offices of
Indonesia, Laos and Cambodia here in the Bay Area since I’m planning on
visiting these countries after the program. So the application process is a
learning experience in itself.
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