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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1993)
Features Pg. 4 The Clackamas Print Wednesday, April 21, 1993 Global Volunteers build foundations of peace Siedlce Indian Ocean by Heidi Branstator Feature Editor Are you looking for an alter native to your usual summer va cation? Global Volunteers, an international non-profit organi zation, is seeking student groups and individuals to volunteer for up to three weeks during the summer. Project sites include Russia, Poland, Tanzania, Indonesia, Tonga, Jamaica, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica and the Mis sissippi River Delta in the U.S. "Die goal of Global Volun teers is to help establish a founda tion for peace through mutual international understanding. Vol unteer teams live and work along side local people, staying in homes tays or in community buildings, gaining a genuine, first-hand understanding of how the vast majority of the world’s people live day-to-day. “We have to open up our eyes and see each other as people ... just people with the same hopes, desires and dreams for our chil dren,” said Bobbie Walker, mayor of Jonestown, Miss. The volunteers work under the direction of the local leader ship and assist with projects such as helping build and repair com munity buildings, digging latrines and wells, tutoring children, teach ing English and assisting in health care. meet upon This Who are the volunteers? To date, Global Volunteers’ oldest volunteer has been 80 and the youngest, 12. Volunteers have come from every walk of life, including mechanics, lawyers, engineers, writers, actresses, stu dents and homemakers. Global Volunteers was established in 1984 to allow “average” people to share their skills and talents with people who appreciate them. “We shared everything we had with each other, we searched for answers to questions we’d never before been asked, (and) we be came part of a community where we were called pioneers,” said Jane Kocmoud, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. room, or tutoring small children. Community Infrastructure, such as constructing community cen ters and health clinics, establish ing portable water systems, re 'We have to open up our eyes and see each other as people ... just people with the same hopes, desires and dreams for our children." -Bobbie Walker Mayor, Jonestown, Miss. What do the volunteers do? Projects vary form site to site, and from one season to the next, but most volunteers work in one of three areas. They are: educa tion, such as teaching English, providing training it? business math or basic sciences in the class- pairing classrooms and roads and building houses. Professional Services, such as dentistry, as sisting rural health-care provid ers, identifying crop diseases and assisting in establishing small businesses. Assistance in paint ing, planting and other beautifi cation projects, which require no specialized skills, is sometimes necessary. Trip design The standard application process requires 60 days for proc essing visas, references and se curing ground transportation and lodging. All applicants decide when and where they would like to volunteer. The volunteer’s application is finalized after character references and health forms are checked. Volunteers receive orientation materials which include health care pre cautions, information on local culture and language and travel tips. Skill and project interest information on each volunteer goes to the host agency for con sideration in planning work as-' signments. When the volunteer teams arrive, they decide with the community leaders how they can best meet the community’s current needs. All volunteers have scheduled personal days, usually weekends, where they can see more of the country and visit nearby attractions. Some options are available for anyone wishing for a longer stay on site. After the trip, each volun teer is asked to complete an evalu ation, and some may be invited to join with other returned volun teers who provide on-going sup port to the development of the host community. What’s Included? Lodging: Upon arrival of the host community, accommo- Poland *Ukfftijie Kazakhstan Mississippi Delta, USA ( À Mexico Guatemala Costa Rica *Jamaica ■
