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
■