Our second webinar featured Jeff Blumenfeld Explorer, Volunteer and Author. Scott Hamilton also participated and shared his experiences with Dooley Intermed and "Gift of Sight Expedition Returns to Nepal"
If you missed it you can watch it here:
Travelers, adventurers and explorers are often looking for new adventures and experiences. Yet with crises developing constantly around the planet, many want to explore the world and do something good at the same time. People often wonder how they can help the less fortunate even if they do not possess specialized skills. That is where voluntourism comes in – a mix of both travel and volunteering. Is it hard work building wells and schoolhouses or excavating dinosaur bones? Yes, it is. Nevertheless, voluntourism does not take a particular outdoor skill, just plenty of sweat and the desire to see the world and leave it a better place. Jeff will open our eyes about the possibility of how to give back while being part of an exploration project or even a flag expedition. Clearly, in addition to the joys of lending a hand wherever you go, are the challenges of doing it ethically and safely. In some cases, particularly in Nepal, those orphans in Kathmandu actually have parents back in the rural hillside villages. Threats to personal safety exist in the food voluntourists eat, the water they drink, the dogs they encounter, and in the public transportation they ride as passengers. Travel With Purpose deals not with celebrities, nor the rich and famous, instead it relays examples from Jeff’s travels and many others from Las Vegas to Nepal and from health care facilities to impoverished schools. These are stories of inspiration from everyday people, all of whom have definite opinions about the best way to approach that first volunteer experience. You do not need to be wealthy to travel to foreign lands to volunteer; you may not even have to go to foreign lands, as opportunities may exist right here at home. Blumenfeld explains how to identify the right location and volunteer opportunity, how to go about planning trips and preparing for activities, how to reach out, how to help.
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