Voluntourism: Leaving more than you take
By Shelley Seale
There’s a trend in traveling that is sweeping the nation – it’s being called voluntourism. Foreign destinations are luring American citizens who want to sightsee, while at the same time engage in community service.
The Miracle Foundation, a nonprofit based out of Austin, Texas, has been doing this in a big way for several years. The Miracle Foundation recruits donors and sponsors for children living in orphanages in India. I first went to India in 2005 on a 10-day volunteer trip, and it honestly changed my life. You can read about my experience volunteering in India at: http://weightofsilence.wordpress.com.
I ended up returning on several subsequent volunteer trips with The Miracle Foundation, and writing a book about the millions of children who live in such orphanages or on the streets in India, called The Weight of Silence.
Silicon Labs Co-founder Nav Sooch recently raised money to build a village for children, and has also traveled to India several times with The Miracle Foundation. He says it’s possible to sightsee and serve the needy.
“I think it would be a shame to go to India and not see the Taj Mahal. It’s a wonderful place and I think you can have that as well as the real interaction with real people,” says Sooch.
Barbara Joubert, travel coordinator for the volunteer trips, says, “We’ve had all ages. We’ve had from 2 1/2 with a family all the way up to an 82-year-old and that’s the beauty of these trips is there’s not a lot of physical work,” adding that the experience appeals to those who want to give back. “The most basic work or what you’re doing there is loving the kids and it’s not hard.”
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Shelley Seale is a freelance travel writer and author of The Weight of Silence: Invisible Children of India, which tells the stories of a few of the 25 million children in India growing up without parents. You can read more about the book at http://weightofsilence.wordpress.com, or visit Shelley’s website at shelleyseale.com.
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Interesting article Shelley – The Miracle Foundation sounds like an incredible organization!
Voluntourism is a wonderful concept – so much so that it changed my life sufficiently that I left my job to set up http://www.handsupholidays.com to make it easy for fellow travelers to have enriching experiences that blend sightseeing with a taste of volunteering.
Yours in Adventures That Count
Christopher Hill
Founder
Hands Up Holidays
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