Take a vacation and help the world: donate a little time or knowledge on your next trip and come home feeling like you truly made a difference
Lisa Renaud
Brad and Angelina aren't the only ones jetting off to make the world a better place. Voluntourism--going on vacation with the purpose of volunteering your time--is one of the hottest trends in travel. It gives you insight into a destination you'd never get as a regular tourist, and you get to use your muscles, so you'll return knowing that you accomplished something for your mind, body, and soul. Get in the give-back spirit by checking out these voluntourism programs.
RESTORE BUILDINGS IN PROVENCE
La Sabranenque (sabranenque.com)
With its lavender-covered fields and olive groves, the Provencal countryside is arguably the most romantic area in France. But the classic stone architecture that has been the hallmark of this region for centuries is being rapidly replaced by cement and cinder block buildings. La Sabranenque is dedicated to preserving the traditional look of Mediterranean France; the group restores crumbling medieval structures, from simple dwellings to ancient castles. Volunteers work alongside local craftsmen using simple hand tools to cut and fit stones.
Rates From $655 per person for a week, including accommodations in one of the renovated buildings as well as meals.
In your spare time Afternoons are usually free for hiking in the hills surrounding your home base, the tiny town of Saint Victor la Coste. Stroll through sunny vineyards, or trek to a nearby Romanesque chapel.
TEACH CONSERVATION IN PERU
APECA (apecaperu.org)
The Association Promoting Education and Conservation in Amazonia (APECA) is a nonprofit that delivers everything from vaccinations to clean drinking water systems to needy residents. As a volunteer, you'll help build water tanks, plant trees to aid reforestation, or boat to remote jungle villages to deliver medical supplies. The group also tries to educate locals about the rain forest and promotes sustainable agriculture in hopes that villagers can join in the conservation effort.
Rates $1,350 per person per week, including dormitory-style accommodations about two miles from a village, ground transportation, and meals.
In your spare time You can't leave Peru without seeing the Andes mountains, where you can tour Incan ruins at 11,500 feet in Cuzco. Arrange your own trip, or go with Milla Turismo (from $100 per person; millaturismo.com).
TRACK DOLPHINS IN HAWAII
Ocean Trekker Expeditions (sailhawaii.com/expeditions.html)
Researchers from the Wild Dolphin Foundation have organized these trips as a way to help monitor the health of the local marine environment. While the Hawaiian waters may appear beautiful and pristine at first glance, the area is at risk of deterioration due to tourism, pollution, and population growth. As a volunteer, you'll spend four to six hours a day wading in the shallows and snorkeling in deeper water in an effort to help marine biologists gather data. Besides surveying fish, you'll get to count, observe, and videotape turtles and spinner dolphins and check the health of the local coral reefs.
Rates $1,895 per person, double occupancy, for six nights, including lodging at the Makaha Golf Resort in Waianae, on the west coast of Oahu, and meals.
In your spare time Drive the 45 minutes into Waikiki and take a two-hour surf lesson from the Waikiki Beach Boys ($99 per person; surfschoolusa.com).
HELP REBUILD THE BIG EASY
Hands on New Orleans (handsonneworleans.org)
More than two and a half years after Katrina devastated the area, this organization needs an army of volunteers to revitalize neighborhoods that are still struggling to recover. You can help with a variety of projects, such as rebuilding homes, working at food banks, painting schools, and planting trees.
Both of the city's W Hotels have made it easy to pitch in with their Hands on New Orleans package (from $239, with 10 percent going to the charity; whotels.com). Their staffs will help you and a friend schedule a day of volunteering and provide work gloves, box lunches, and transportation to and from the site. At quitting time, you'll be rewarded with two free cocktails and a box of sample-size Bliss bath products to ease any sore muscles. Then you're free to enjoy a fabulous New Orleans dinner and hit the jazz, blues, Latin, and zydeco clubs on Frenchmen Street.
Rates The family-run Hotel Provincial in the French Quarter also offers discounts for volunteers (rooms from $79; hotelprovincial.com).
In your spare time Hammering, lugging tools, crouching, and bending over all day long can make you stiff. Stretch out your kinks at Wild Lotus Yoga ($14 per class; wildlotusyoga.com). Locals routinely rank it as the city's best place to practice.
NURSE EAGLES IN ALASKA
Alaska Raptor Center (alaskaraptor.org)
Most of us have never seen a bald eagle outside of a zoo, but volunteers at the center get to work closely with these huge birds of prey. Located in Sitka, one of the prettiest towns along Alaska's Inside Passage, this facility nurtures injured eagles so they can return to the wild. It has even provided eagles to breeding programs in other states to rebuild endangered populations.
Most volunteers stay for seven to 10 days and start off cleaning cages or preparing meals for the eagles. After safety training, you'll be able to handle the birds and assist a veterinarian with exams, giving shots, and more.
Rates The program is free, but you'll have to find your own lodging. The Westmark Sitka is a short walk from the center (from $99; westmarkhotels.com).
In your spare time Save a day for paddling the pristine waters that border the town. A two-hour tour with Sitka Sound Ocean Adventures will take you through coves and inlets; you might even spot sea otters, seals, and a whale or two ($75 per person, including gear and instruction; ssoceanadventures.com).
HELP NEEDY KIDS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Ambassadors for Children (ambassadorsforchildren.org)
This group, which offers volunteering-plus-sightseeing combination trips around the world, has a program in Cape Town that connects visitors with children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. You'll spend four days at the Baphumelele Children's Home, which houses more than 100 kids. You can lend a hand in the community health clinic, take the residents on picnics or outings to the beach, or help build new concrete houses. The 11-day trip also includes a wine-tasting excursion and a tour of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years.
Rates $1,899 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations in hotels or lodges and with local families, most meals, ground transportation, and some tours.
In your spare time The trip ends with a free day in Cape Town. Adrenaline junkies should hook up with Downhill Adventures for a biking tour of the Cape Point Nature Reserve, which features cliff-top views over the Atlantic and Indian oceans ($90 per person; downhilladventures.com).
FIGHT POVERTY IN HONDURAS
Habitat for Humanity's Global Village Program (habitat.org)
This 32-year-old organization is committed to building affordable housing for families in need. You may be familiar with Habitat's work in your area, but it also sends volunteers around the world. In Honduras, for example, many working families live in flimsy shacks because poverty is so widespread. Habitat teams build small, simple homes with cement floors, steel-reinforced block walls, and corrugated roofs. It's tough work, but you don't need any special construction skills, just some stamina and a willingness to get your hands dirty. You'll spend your time carrying bags of cement, lugging water and lumber to the construction site, and more.
Rates $1,225 per person for the 10-day Honduras trip, including lodging at a basic hotel, meals, and ground transportation to and from work sites.
In your spare time Treat yourself to a few days of R & R when you're done: Unwind on the white sand beaches of the Bay Islands, off the northern coast of Honduras. On Roatan, you can whiz through the rain-forest canopy on a zip line in Gumbalimba Park ($55 per person for a two-hour outing, including transportation to and from your hotel; gumbalimbapark.com). The colorful coral gardens here also make this 49-square-mile island one of the best places in the world for scuba diving. Subway Watersports offers everything from a three-hour introductory dive lesson to a full four-day certification course (from $95 per person; subwaywatersports.com).
LISA RENAUD is a freelance writer in Santa Monica, California.
0 comments:
Post a Comment