This was first published nearly 15 years ago – and (sadly) much of it still holds true – so as ever caveat emptor and please do ask for our advice even if you are thinking of volunteering with someone else! And the smoke just gets thicker as more and more sending organisations use the buzzwords in their marketing! “There’s been a huge increase in the number of chat rooms about responsible travel and volunteering. Even a perfunctory trawl through the…
Once upon a time we all had to travel for hours to meet up with each other and many of you couldn’t join us due to distance and oceans and our local partners could rarely attend – again oceans but most of all prohibitive travel costs…… then we discovered ZOOM – now we can all be together in the same room. We think the success of our Zoom volunteer meetings may be the biggest plus of all in the last…
by ‘Luci’ Gardner-O’Brien -people and places’ Young Professional Advisor 1. Be interested I was ten years old when I read Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman – a dystopian love story which turns racial dynamics upside down. Whilst reading the first chapter, I realised that the main character was a dark skinned girl. I remember going red in the face, I had pictured her white like me – this is the first time I was aware of my white privilege….
Written by Luci Gardner-O’Brien -people and places Young Professional Advisor On 18th December 2019, for the first time ever, all 193 member states of the United Nations have formally recognised that orphanages do not protect children, that they are in fact harmful and have called for them to be eliminated. This comes weeks after the WTM Responsible Tourism panel – “Child Protection – What Is Better Than Orphanages?” – that we were so proud to be a part of. The…
By Luci Gardner O’Brien Campaigning for responsible volunteering has, and always will be, a big part of people and places. We are committed to the implementation of responsible volunteering, be it through our own placements, or by simply getting the information out there! This is the main reason behind the launch of our Instagram page. Through our page we want to share, and create, an active discussion about HOW to volunteer responsibly. Lots of organisations have been campaigning, us included,…
by Dianne – Volunteer Programme Advisor We are always learning . . . all sorts of people provide us with useful insights about volunteering in other countries and other cultures and about the issues we discuss in our campaigns. In the last couple of years I have got to know Father Cornelis Hooijmaijers a Catholic priest, originally from the Netherlands but who worked for 56 years of his ministry in the Solomon Islands – since his retirement Cor has come…