people and places

This blog article reports on a recent debate between Al Jezeera journalist and a large volunteer sending organisation

“Unsurprisingly, there’s a great deal of interest in volunteering abroad from the student community, whether as a constructive way of spending gap year travel abroad, CV-boosting experience or altruistic desire to support others less fortunate. And so The UCLU European Society held a controversial debate to discuss whether such voluntourism is “a modern way of charity, something akin to the annoyance of Gap Yah hipsterism, or a dangerous misconception of what international development is all about.

Reporter Juliana Ruhfus and director Matt Haan’s Al-Jazeera produced short documentary “People & Power: Cambodia’s Orphan Business” was first shown. Initially displaying a well managed orphanage and school project, The People’s Improvement Organisation (though in challenging conditions), Ruhfus soon discovers how some orphanages not only rely on volunteers to generate income and survive, but how this is becoming big business in Cambodia, fuelling the exploitation of Cambodian children and separation of them from their families.

(more…)

South Africa has come a long way since democracy but there is still so much need – they can’t right the wrongs of apartheid in a couple of decades. Yes there is corruption – yes there is inefficiency but there are also many wonderful people doing amazing work.

This article from the Economist underlines the problems – BUT we see the small but important steps forward that communities can and are making with the support of the volunteer programme.

Please don’t let the big things you can’t change stop you from making the small changes you can make.

Here’s the Economist article which serves to remind us of  some of the challenges South Africa faces.

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21564829-it-has-made-progress-becoming-full-democracy-1994-failure-leadership-means

Listen to an interview with Sallie P&P SilverTravelShow .

Sallie

And for those of us that remember the wireless this is a great radio station

One of the main  reasons Kate, Harold and I started people and places was to campaign for better volunteering experiences – better for local communities and for volunteers. Back in 2007 we started a questions you should ask campaign – and we’re very  pleased to see that many volunteers, as well as members of the press and other volunteer organisations, are now asking these questions too … BUT – there’s still a long way to go!

There are – still far too many examples of volunteers and local people being exploited – still too many questionable child care projects – if anything there are more! – still too many projects where volunteers are poorly screened and prepared – still too many buildings being built by volunteers – buildings that stand empty because there are no funds or skills to staff them – still too many volunteers who are replacing local employment – still too few organisations exercising transparency in where volunteer monies go.

Many of you will know that Harold Goodwin, our co founder and Non Executive Chair of our Advisory Committee,  is Professor of Responsible Tourism Management. We are working with him on two awareness campaigns Better Volunteering and Better Child Protection . Working with Children – our mistake - read it here

We would really welcome your opinions, insights ,questions and stories.

You can read more about the campaigns and other campaigns Harold is involved with here

Mandip Singh Soin, our long-time friend and partner at Ibex Expeditions, has been awarded the “Tenzing Norgay Lifetime Achievement National Award”.

Presented by the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjeee, the award cites Mandip’s “unmatched spirit of adventure and pioneering contribution … through expeditions spanning six continents.”

We work with Mandip and his wife, Anita, in the Rajasthan Primary School project.

You can read a brief synopsis of Mandip’s travels and spirit of adventure here.  (more…)

Many volunteer travellers do not realise that their normal travel insurance does not cover them if they are working.

 Ah – but I am not working, I am volunteering – you say.

The catch is that insurers consider that volunteering is work – unpaid, yes -but still work, and their standard policies normally exclude work scenarios. So what do you do to ensure you are covered?

Here is an article I wrote recently for savista magazine – to help volunteers ensure they are insured

If you haven’t already spotted out you tube channel it’s so worth a look. There are video interviews from volunteers and even Kate and Sallie.If you have videos of your time volunteering or one of the talks you have done – we know many of you talk to groups on your return from volunteering – please send them to us so we can share them.

Take a look at the YouTube videos here

Take a look at slideshare for slide shows from volunteers – again if you have a slide show to share with us please do send it to us

thanks so much to all the volunteers who have contributed to date.

Remember we are on facebook too - follow us here – here in the blog and on facebook are where we tend to post our latest news.

if you like beautiful pictures and funny visuals we are also on pinterest – follow us here

and finally we are tweeting too – follow us here

phew – so there’s lots of info out there from us – please follow us whereever you choose.

And remember if you want automatic notifications for when a new story is posted on the blog you will need to register up in the top left hand corner.

Leading newspaper The Guardian recently featured a trip to Manu with our local

Manu research station Peru

The Manu National Park was also  featured in last week’s programme Earthflight, with stunning shots of macaw clay licks as well as jaguars, monkeys, tapirs, and other frequent visitors to the area surrounding our lodge, the Manu Learning Centre. crees recently opened its doors to tourism as way to support conservation research in Manu through a variety of bespoke tours, including wildlife, photography, adventure travel and voluntourism programmes.

Check out the Earthflight footage here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01b3c14/Earthflight_South_America/

To learn more about volunteering at manu take a look here:

http://travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk/ProjectView.aspx?id=265

And well done to all at Manu Learning Centre – well deserved!

We are really thrilled to be working with such a trail blazer in responsible travel.

here is the press release from Tribes sent out only this afternoon – and here’s the link to the programme! Click here

NEW!!  Tribes Travel offers Volunteering

2nd December 2012

In a brand new and exciting development, Tribes is delighted to announce that they are now offering superb volunteering experiences to clients.

Tribes is working in partnership with the volunteer organisation, people and places.

Amanda Marks, Tribes managing director, said: “We feel the two organisations have similar ideals and working principles, and look forward to a great working relationship.  If done sensitively, ethically and very much in cooperation with the local communities, we feel that volunteering experiences really can provide huge benefit on the ground.  They can also be life-changing experiences for the volunteer”.

We are starting with the following destinations:    Morocco, Nepal, Peru and South Africa.

One example of a project is in South Africa’s Eastern Cape:

Nomathamsanqa village project
Although close to the tourist site of Addo Elephant Park, Nomathamsanqa is one of the country’s most deprived communities.
About 70% of the community inhabitants receive no income and as a result, parents are unable to pay even the minimal school fees or buy uniforms. Most parents work seasonally in the citrus fruit industry. The apartheid legacy remains – one of the greatest challenges is the growing gap between rich and poor. Despite this deprivation the sense of community is strong here. The principal has made the school the centre of the community. The families tend the gardens and care for the school. Many of the children receive their major if not only meal of the day at school.
Some of their needs are:

• lesson planning and teaching methodologies – these are fundamental areas of modern education in which many teachers have received no training
• sports, arts and crafts practitioners are needed to work with the children to build confidence and enhance life-skills
• principals are burdened with rampant bureaucracy – they have little training and even less support in appropriate administration

For more information about all the Tribes Volunteering projects read here

For more details, contact: Amanda Marks (Amanda@tribes.co.uk)

This short article from the Olney Phonebox Magazine features the stories of 4 volunteers from the Northamptonshire / Buckinghamshire region – view the article here