Welcome to Voluntales, the number one resource in Voluntourism. Voluntales will provide you with the tools you need for volunteering at home or abroad - from picking an organization in the country of your choice, to setting expectations based on reviews from travelers like you. Voluntales also brings you articles about people and celebrities that will inspire you as well as travel stories and features to guide you through your journey. We'll show you how to get your hands dirty, and make a difference!
I have been reading about Ashley Judd traveling the world, fighting for those who can’t, since I can remember. Her book All That Is Bitter & Sweet has been in the news now, the entire week. Apparently she just got on the phone with Russell Simmons, to explain her comments about Rap & Hip Hop which have some people calling her racist. Judd probably can’t be further from racist if she tried. Here is the full conversation from GlobalGrind.com. I found it interesting.
Russell: What brought you to a point that you wanted to write a book?
Ashley: I was trying to bring voice to the voiceless, bring attention to the exploited and disempowered and make a difference in both the grassroots and international level. I’ve spent the majority of my time in slums, brothels, refugee camps and hospitals, listening to the sacred narratives of the oppressed and then bringing those narratives to the public and trusting that once the truth is shared, the world can start to change. I have been to Kenya, South Africa, Madagascar, Rwanda, I’ve been to the Congo multiple times, I’ve been to Guatemala, El Salvador, India. I addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations regarding the abolition of the modern slave trade, I was the keynote speaker in May of 2008. And I addressed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the urgent need to protect the health of African girls and women. I recently visited for three hours President Kagame of Rwanda about the need to stop mass rape in Congo. more…
Alliance Nepal
Name of Organization: Alliance Nepal
Website: www.volunteerworkinnepal.org
Project Duration: 6 weeks
Location: Pokhara
Cost: USD 500 – includes Accommodation, Meals travel
Type of volunteer work: Teaching and helping orphans
Necessary Skills: High school level education
Country’s safety level at time of travel:
Required vaccinations: None
Rate this trip: 2 out of 5 Stars
Would you recommend to a friend? Yes more…
Olivia Heath, Digital Documenters
Olivia Heath, 20, is a journalism student at Kingston University in London. In her spare time, she’s the communications officer for Digital Documenters, a group of volunteers from London aged 18-25, who will be filming various projects to promote and celebrate the values of the Olympics 2012. Here she tells Voluntales about the project.
Every opportunity leads to somewhere and more often than not, volunteering enables individuals to get a bigger perspective on their role in the community and on their aspirations too. more…
Digital Documenters Award
This is very last minute, but it is not too late to cast your vote for these amazing docs about making a difference in your community. The four films shortlisted for the Digital Documenters category at this year’s First Light Awards are now online for public viewing. If you vote, you will be joining celebrity filmmakers such as Morgan Spurlock have already cast their votes!!
Do it people! Or at least watch it and be inspired.
A Better LA
Would you be surprised to find out that American kids in inner city areas drop out of school because they’re afraid that something is going to happen to them on their way there? That kids are afraid to play in neighborhood parks because of gang violence? Probably not.
What might give you pause is what is being done about it. “If you look at the efforts for Safe Passage for schools, the government has done things like put a sign up by the school that says it’s illegal to do criminal activity. What’s a sign going to do? If you’re a gang member, and you’re going to shoot somebody, you’re not going to be scared away by a sign. These are some of the brilliant ideas that government comes up with,” says Brian Center, the executive director of A Better LA, a non-profit that is not just aiming to solve an urgent problem, but calling neighborhoods to task about tension and violence in the area. more…
While this is a website that we started to encourage volunteering at home and abroad, we do come across situations where certain projects billed under the term “Voluntourism” are a scam. Here is an article written by Ian Birrell at The Guardian that you may find interesting. What are your thoughts? Can Volutourism be harmful? Chime in!
Before you pay to volunteer abroad, think of the harm you might do
A damning report says that well-intentioned westerners do little to alleviate the lot of poverty-stricken children in developing countries more…
Name of Organization: GeoVisions
Website: www.geovisions.org
Project Duration: July 2010
Location: Spain
Cost: USD $350 – inlcudes Accommodation, Meals
Type of volunteer work: Teaching English
Necessary Skills: Fluent English, Interest in teaching
Country’s safety level at time of travel: Safe
Required vaccinations:
Rate this trip: 1 out of 5 Stars
Would you recommend to a friend? No
As a fellow international volunteer, I would like to inform the public of complaints filed against GeoVisions. GeoVisions helps volunteers find short-term volunteer abroad programs. They also have Conversation Corps, where volunteers live with a family and teach them English. As a former client of GeoVisions, I applied to and paid a program fee of $350 US to GeoVisions in return for a program placement with Conversation Corps. GeoVisions did not make a placement in due time (21 days before departure) and did not honor the refund as per policy. GeoVisions also did not maintain positive or efficient customer service during this process. I am writing this in hopes that other young volunteers will be aware of this situation. I have filed a complaint through the Better Business Bureau.
The Ann & George Lopez Foundation
How would you like to help the Ann & George Lopez Foundation? Donate your kidney. That’s exactly what Ann Lopez did in 2005 when her husband, comedian George Lopez, suffered from kidney failure. To most it sounds like a sacrifice of unspeakable proportions, but when Voluntales asked Ann if she had any doubts about live donating an organ, her answer was an unequivocal, “No. None.” Lopez jokes – well, sort of – that her mission is to have the whole world walk around with one kidney. Don’t worry, if you’re not quite ready for that, the Ann & George Lopez Foundation needs plenty of help in other areas. Read on for our heartfelt conversation about a silent killer and what the Lopez family is doing to fight back. more…