All Blog Posts Tagged 'Africa' (82)

“Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” - Robert Frost quotes. There are many people out there who love meeting new friends and making connections. They don’t get satisfied with meeting only people of their area and sometimes they choose to broaden their horizons by making international friends. Becoming a host of a home stay is a one of the ways for him/her to meet people from different cultures. A home stay is a form of tourism or study abroad…

“God and angels don't get paid even though theirs is some of the most important work around.  Ditto for volunteers.”  ~Cherishe Archer. Some of the fears for volunteers when they are going abroad are whether they will be able to make friends. Some fear they may be too different and understanding others will be a problem. Hence making friends could be a problem. This fear is common among teenagers, young adults, boomers and expats who are abroad. Most of them are self conscious especially the…

“Service to a just cause rewards the worker with more real happiness and satisfaction than any other venture of life.” - Carrie Chapman Catt. Culture shock is defined as pronounced reaction to the psychological disorientation most people experience when they move for an extended period of time into a culture different from their own. Many volunteers who are abroad for an extended period of time succumb to culture shock. Some volunteers are affected by culture shock after a period of days,…

On our trip to the Elephant Coast we spent some time in Maputo, a busy African city with a certain colonial chic to it. Read more...…

 “The world is hugged by the faithful arms of volunteers.”  ~Terri Guillemets. Every year there are thousands of travelers who get arrested because of using and trafficking drugs and alcohol. Most of them are told of the promise of riches after trafficking drugs from one country to another or one region to the other. The travelers are lied to that there is little risk involved and the plan is full proof but in reality more than half of them get arrested. Apart from trafficking,…

There are many issues that affect the world today. Some of these issues are easily solved while others might take more time to solve. Solving issues that affect the world is one of the major factors in the reason why volunteers go abroad. While there are volunteers who have seen the plight of many through television and the internet and know which issues they want to address. There are some who have been personally affected by an issue and want to help others with the same problems. There…

Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls.  ~David Thomas. There is no typical day in the life of a volunteer who is abroad but there are some similarities. Many volunteers have different schedules or itineraries when they are working abroad. The schedules normally depend on the volunteer program that they are in. The program determines when they wake up, have meals and when they go to sleep. In some programs the volunteers is limited to a number of…

“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.”  ~Elizabeth Andrew. There are so many organizations out there that a volunteer can choose to use. It sometimes gets hard to choose which organization to use and to find reviews about the organization the volunteer has chosen. Although, there are websites which review and rate organizations depending on their clients experience. Some of the websites are abroad review and review centre, they get views from past volunteers…

While in Joburg for the U2 concert we spent a lovely Sunday at Market on Main, browsing the shops and stalls, looking…

“Distance doesn't matter if you really love the person, what matters most is your honesty and trust for that relationship to work out” - Trish. The second international holiday celebrated after New Year is Valentine’s Day.  History has it that Valentine’s Day came from St. Valentine a priest who lived around 270 AD in Rome and he attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius II who ruled during this time. He believed that marriage made the men weak. So he issued an edict forbidding…

“I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.”  ~William Shakespeare. In the last few weeks, there have been violent protests in different countries. The protests have been mainly political. The first was the failed elections in Ivory Coast, followed by violence in Haiti, Tunisia, Egypt and it is spreading through to some of the Arab nations.  Apart from these manmade disasters, there are natural ones like the floods in Australia, Brazil and disease out breaks in parts of Africa.…

“Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.”  ~Author Unknown. Since the beginning of this year, there have been political and natural problems in a number of countries. The problems have been spread throughout the globe. First there was unrest in Ivory Coast due to the elections they had, second were the floods in Australia and Brazil and lately there has been unrest in the Arab nations (Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon). Some of these situations are predictable for example there is…

“Volunteers don't get paid, not because they're worthless, but because they're priceless.”  ~Sherry Anderson. In spite of the fact that volunteering means giving up time and energy to help someone else in need volunteering abroad is not free. Wherever you want to go, from helping the flood victims in Australia, Brazil and the earthquake victims of Haiti, there is always a price to pay to volunteer abroad. Many volunteers work with small community based organizations or not for profit…

“The world is hugged by the faithful arms of volunteers.”  ~Terri Guillemets. There are many organizations that plan volunteer vacations for travelers.  They are numbered in their hundreds and many travelers wonder whether the organization they are going to use is a scam or a fraud. This is especially true with newer organizations which don’t have a previous track record. To help out potential volunteers who are going abroad, the volunteer travel companies have formed associations which try…

"Every human being is important and all human beings owe something to their fellow inhabitants of this planet." -- Wallace Campbell. While doing volunteer work in the host countries, there are times when volunteers get depressed, or have a down day, they get into funk or just have one of those days. Everything could be fine in the volunteer life, accommodation, food, work and country could be great. In spite of all that the volunteer might start feeling down and sad. It’s more pronounced…

“If our hopes of building a better and safer world are to become more than wishful thinking, we will need the engagement of volunteers more than ever." – Kofi Annan. Volunteering abroad is becoming a huge industry being currently valued at $ 2.6 billion with an approximate 1.6 million volunteer tourists from the United Kingdom. As such volunteering abroad or voluntourism is a big business and it has started to take peoples’ notice. There have been a lot of conversations on twitter, facebook,…

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?"

~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Volunteers who are abroad like other travelers are bound to fall victim of scams. There are people who are out there looking for ways to take advantage of unsuspecting travelers. They come up with lies and scams to steal money from volunteers who are abroad. As an international volunteer it is wise to be aware of the scams are out there and to avoid them. This article is to help…

“Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls.” ~David Thomas. 2011 is the year of the volunteer. Airline fare is a big part in planning for volunteering abroad. After the volunteer has picked a project and country to go and work in the next thing they plan for is airfare. Flight fees are the ones that make volunteering abroad expensive. The fare determines whether the volunteer will be able to save money for their trip. The volunteers who are going to…