Scotland (Inspire Travel magazine, July-September 2013)

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IMMERSIVE VOLUNTOURISM

Immersive

Voluntourism Giving back while travelling overseas

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ake a difference while experiencing the joy of travel like celebrities such as Ricky Martin who won international exposure for Habitat for Humanity when he travelled to Thailand after the 2004 tsunami and Angelina Jolie who has travelled to Africa to help refugees under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2001.

SPECIES CONSERVATION THE PROJECT: Tracking basking sharks, whales, dolphins and orcas along the Hebridean Islands on the west coast of Scotland, with the winner of the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards’ Best Volunteering Organisation - Biosphere Expeditions (www.biosphereexpeditions.org). Participants will be involved in detailed data collection on their distribution and relative abundance with visual and passive acoustic surveying, photo-identification and environmental monitoring, all of which are essential for safeguarding the Scottish marine biodiversity.

THE COST: About US$2,550 for trips from the 14 to 25 August and 25 August to 7 September.

THE BASE: A 60ft Bermudan rigged ketch departing from Oban that has been modified into a research yacht. The teams will be kept small (up to six team members) and include a local scientist, expedition leader, skipper and first mate.

TANGIBLE OUTCOMES: Previous projects have prevented a wolf cull in Poland, created a snow leopard protection corridor in Central Asia, integrating successful and sustainable models of lion, leopard and cheetah conservation in Africa. Tracking these marine creatures is vital for their continued survival and taking part in this will directly safeguard the marine biodiversity around Scotland.

NATIVE PLANTS RESCUE THE PROJECT: Organised by VentureCo (www.ventureco-worldwide. com) on the Santa Cruz island of Galapagos and the Galapagos National Park authority, it aims to tackle the damage that garden plants are inflicting on the indigenous plants. Volunteers will help remove the invasive species, while establishing plant nurseries with the indigenous

plants to restock the wild areas of the National Park. They will also nourish the delicate re-planted seedlings and young plants, ensuring that it grows up strong so as to replenish the cleared areas.

THE COST: About US$3,504 including international flights for a twoweek stay.

THE BASE: The Hacienda Pomarosa lodge of partner charity, Ecuador Tierra Viva, will provide shared room accommodation and a fully equipped kitchen.

TANGIBLE OUTCOMES: It is hoped that with the removal of garden plants and the replanting of the indigenous plants, local birds and animals will once again have a supply of plant food in their natural habitat.

ENGLISH EDUCATION THE PROJECT: The Hanoi & Hilltribes’ Taste of Volunteering with Hands Up Holidays (www.handsupholidays.com) will enable you to teach English in a local school in Sapa and and help the children improve their skills in the language with one-on-one conversational English lessons.

THE COST: US$1,890 for a group of minimum two persons.

THE BASE: To get a deeper understanding of their lifestyle, volunteers will be staying in the villagers’ homes.

TANGIBLE OUTCOMES: Improving their English will increase their chances of getting better jobs and improve their lives. Chris Hill, Chief Experience Officer from Hands Up Holidays says, “The children have greatly increased their vocabulary and confidence in speaking English due to the efforts of past clients.

1 1. Orca whales; 2. Albatross; 3. Galapagos Lonesome George; 4. Galapagos Sealion

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that each of us can do that will make change happen. Together, we can make the world a better place.”

BUILDING COMMUNITY FACILITIES THE PROJECT: The Global Volunteer Network (www. globalvolunteernetwork.org) in the Philippines will require volunteers to build community facilities and introduce children to a world of imagination and discovery, where they will have access to a library.

Tasks include the maintenance of the school buildings, such as painting roofs, repairing walls, desks, chalkboards, teaching aids and other equipment or even installing water pumps. Volunteers can also donate old books from families, former schools and friends.

Encouraging the use of the library can be done via regular story-telling sessions in classes.

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THE COST: This School Building and Maintenance Program is likely to take about a month, although there are options to stay longer.

Priced at US$1,997, it will include accommodation at a home stay, three meals daily, airport pickup, in-country orientation and training and supervision.

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PURPOSEFUL PACKING THE PROJECT: Austin-Lehman (www.austinlehman.com) will be organising this together with Pack for a Purpose (www.packforapurpose. org), which assists travellers in bringing contributions to their destinations.

Spend a week in Costa Rica together with a representative of Costa Rica Sun Tours, helping the school near Arenal’s Vida Campesina Reserve in simple paint jobs, supervised by a painting contractor or teaching a small class about your own history and culture. Learn about the newer sustainable agricultural techniques, sugarcane juice production and common Costa Rican crops like coffee and bananas. See how the farm uses animals’ waste as organic foliar fertiliser and biogas. Volunteers will also visit a local school for a rural and interactive experience.

SUPPLYING SCHOOLS THE PROJECT: Together with Indagare (www.indagare.com) and ABOUTAsia Schools (www.aboutasiaschools.org), volunteer English teachers will be able to help raise the quality of English language teaching. Training will be provided, and is a compulsory segment in order to properly equip volunteers with the essential pedagogical skills. The volunteer should hold relevant skills and will need to commit a month to the programme.

THE COST: The four day training programme cost US$200. The fee will go to financing the development of their English Teaching Programme, while helping to provide jobs for local teachers and continue to provide access to quality teaching for children.

THE COST: US$4,550 per person for double sharing.

THE BASE: The Arenal Kioro Suites and Spa and the Arenas Del Mar. TANGIBLE OUTCOMES: Together with Pack for a Purpose, guests will bring 5lb packs of school supplies on their journey to share with the schools, and read with the children.

to date, ABOUTAsia Schools has started an English programme in 11 rural primary schools, employing Cambodian English teachers, while supplying curriculum textbooks and tests to all the children in the programme

THE BASE: Volunteers will stay at hotels like Raffles Le Royal, Raffles Grand d’Angkor and Amansara and tour the best landmarks of Siem Reap and Phnom Penh as part of their itinerary.

TANGIBLE OUTCOMES: To date, ABOUTAsia Schools has started an English programme in 11 rural primary schools, employing Cambodian English teachers, while supplying curriculum textbooks and tests to all the children in the programme. Volunteer teachers, supplies and uniforms have been provided to a hundred over schools and about 53,000 students in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

of more sophisticated care, such as diagnosing and treating tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections. In addition, help prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission by giving the mother antenatal care, postpartum/natal care, appropriate advice and counseling, as access to antiretroviral drugs will help the pregnant mother’s health and prevent their babies from getting infections.

THE COST: US$960 for a week’s programme, including 20h of Spanish language immersion classes to reach an intermediate level of proficiency. Classes will include conversation practice, grammar, readings and vocabulary.

THE BASE: Volunteers can absorb the Hondurasian culture as they stay in the homes of locals.

TANGIBLE OUTCOMES: The programme aims to change the lives of the people in Honduras, by reducing the stigma associated with HIV and also offer treatments to those who need it most.

Therry Jean-Louis, a past volunteer, remarked, “It is the little things

MEDICAL AID THE PROJECT: Honduras has experienced an increase in HIV infections in recent years – nearly 60 per cent of all cases in Central America. Volunteers in this project from A Broader View Volunteer (www.abroaderview.org) will be engaged in support and care activities, including counselling, designing educational materials, helping to diagnose and treat minor infections and palliative care. They can also assist in referring patients if necessary to public or private sources

5. Volunteering with Austin-Lehman in Costa Rica; 6. Teaching children English in Vietnam; 7. Volunteer interaction in Cambodia; 8. Building a community library with Global Volunteer network in Philippines

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THE BASE: Stay with a local family.

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TANGIBLE OUTCOMES: Students will be able to study more comfortably in an improved and safer environment, while having access to the joys of using a library, something usually only experienced in college.