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When you volunteer as part of your vacation, your trip takes on a whole new meaning. Voluntourism is a unique opportunity to contribute to the place you’re visiting while learning about and creating an individual connection with its inhabitants and environment – that’s why we call voluntourists "Change Ambassadors." This page is a chance for all Change Ambassadors to write about your experience and tell fellow travelers about the kind of impact voluntourism can have and what you learned along the way. Thank you for taking the time to share your story!
After visiting the Khumjung region of Nepal in the summer of 2007, I decided to have my middle school students (Pine View Middle School, St. George, Utah) sell Tootsie Pops to raise money to help pay tuition for Nepalese children who couldn't afford school. My students worked hard to sell 10,000 pops and raise $3000. Two teachers from Chicago (Glenbard High School) decided to have their students d...
jayne S. (St. George, Utah, United States)
In order to provide some form of exercise for the residents, each day we would take a rubber ball about the size of a volleyball and play ball with the residents in the courtyard, first on the women's side and then on the men's side. Some of them were actually quite good, except for the fact that they kept hitting the ball on the roof and then someone would have to go and retrieve it. We would al...
Dawn L. (Elk River, Minnesota, United States)
"Peru is not exactly a land of milk, honey, and tranquility. But the people of Ayacucho have had more than their share of its misfortune. In spite of recent interest and investment, the trend persists. Ayacucho, and its highland neighbors Huancavelica and Apurimac, are still the nation’s poorest departments…” -New Internationalist Issue 321- March 2000 Elevated nine thousand feet in the Andes, ...
Jeff D. (Baltimore, Maryland, United States)
A wise man once said that the main point of volunteering is to open the lines of communication between the volunteer and those whom she serves. I kept this in mind as I walked to and from the Ahado Christian Orphanage each day in Hohoe, Ghana. It was in the back of my mind as the children rushed towards me every morning, grabbing at my legs and dangling from my waist as if gravity wasn't an issu...
Charlotte (United States)
The Catholic elementary school children of the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey have been performing "Deeds for Dollars" to raise money for Project PAUL (Poor, Alienated, Unemployed, Lonely), which supports the neediest families in central New Jersey. On October 27, "Make A Difference Day," the children presented Project PAUL with their donations earned from completed good deeds. Deeds included vi...
Eileen T. (Old Bridge, New Jersey, United States)