In the last twenty years, the Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT) has helped thousands of children come off the streets and into a safe and nurturing environment. SBT has five 24-hour shelters (one devoted to girls), with 50 to 55 children visiting each. The Trust provides a holistic safety net of services catering to the individual needs of street children in Delhi and Mumbai, covering the entire area of child development from physical and medical care to the educational, creative, cognitive, social and vocational needs of the children.

Danielle Weiss, Planeterra Foundation – My first volunteer experience was a two-month solo trip to the Middle East when I was 19 where I divided my time between volunteering on a kibbutz and travelling throughout Israel and Egypt. This first experience enabled me to make lasting friendships with local people, gain an in-depth knowledge of their daily life, and build the confidence to know that I could travel alone as a single woman.

Amidst the mountainous surrounding, stunning architecture and rich culture of Cusco, you will see bitter reality of young children either working or begging in the streets. 35% of children working in the streets of Cusco are unable to cope with the stress of both working and going to school. This often results in their giving up their studies in order to provide for their families. Other children leave home because they have been abused, neglected or abandoned.

Planeterra aims to provide passengers, when visiting Ccaccaccollo, a chance to see first hand how people during Inca times and today make clothing using only natural materials found in their community. Yet with globalization and the increase in tourism over the years, competition for woven products has increased in Cusco. It is impossible for the women of Ccaccaccollo to offer their products at the same price as those that are machine manufactured. Planeterra works to maintain a delicate balance of community economic development.

The Planeterra Foundation’s sea turtle project (Playa Matapalo, Costa Rica) is a science-based conservation program, which was created with the purpose of protecting female sea turtles, nests, and hatchlings laid on the Matapalo beach, against poachers and natural and introduced predators. A turtle hatchery protects the eggs of this endangered species and the program has ensured the survival of the sea turtles with a large increase in the number of hatchlings in the area.

Planeterra is giving away a voluntourism trip for two to Costa Rica Sea Turtle Conservation Project, through BudgetTravel’s “True Stories” contest. The “True Stories” section highlight funny, strange, heartwarming, ridiculous (brief 250-word) travel stories, and the editor picks the best story. To win the Planeterra trip, enter your true travel story for the summer edition (deadline: August 28, 2009). This sea turtle project is a science-based conservation program, which was created with the purpose of protecting female sea turtles, nests, and hatchlings laid on the Matapalo beach, against poachers…

Planeterra was founded in 2003 by G.A.P Adventures, the largest independent adventure travel company in the world. Planeterra evolved out of a long history of travelers committed to giving back to the people and places they visit. Planeterra selects the projects and works with G.A.P Adventures to arrange voluntour travel programs. Richard Edwards, Director, Planeterra Foundation: “We define voluntourism as travel experiences that provide the opportunity to contribute to local community projects and development initiatives with some time off to visit the highlights of that particular destination or country…