There is a sense of camaraderie among communities of aid workers, travelers or international volunteers. Like-minded people have traversed the same corner of the world you have and kindred spirits will continue to serve there after you leave. Their stories infuse life in the field with a sense of p[...]
Posts Tagged ‘poverty’
Two Questions I Don’t Like to Answer
Every once in a while somebody here in Solentiname will ask me if I believe in God. This has become my second least favorite question to answer. My very least favorite question, however, is how much my digital SLR camera costs. After I realized that my camera alone (excluding my lenses) cost as much[...]
Volunteer Spotlight: An Intimate Look at Villa 31 in Buenos Aires
Emily Anne Epstein is a photographer and writer who, after spending a year working in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is currently based in NYC. Her interest in the lives of those around her has led her to seek out work with Habitat for Humanity, Americorps, and other non-governmental organizations to supp[...]
5 Surprises About International Volunteering: #5 – We’re All Connected
Over the last several weeks, we’ve been writing about the things that we didn’t quite expect as international volunteers: disorganized organizations, language non-barriers and living with less. This week, we’re getting into the biggie – the most profound “surpriseR[...]
Help Keep the World Amazing: Blog Action Day 2009
Rather than saving all of our dreams for “later in life” or for “the right time,” we’ve reorganized our world so that we can be living a life that aligns with what’s most important to us. As we talk about a lot, we’re most interested in seeing the world, exp[...]
Ignorance is Bliss
One of the toughest things about volunteering is that, while the most joyful and rewarding experiences of your life will happen, the direction of your life’s path might also change. Once you have seen poverty, and more specifically – extreme poverty, you simply cannot continue to do nothing ab[...]
September 17th, 2009 - 10:54 am § in Around Town, Brazil, In the Field, Looking for Opportunity, Volunteer
Dichotomies of Rio
Rio de Janeiro is almost always cited as one of the most dangerous places, and at the same time, one of the happiest cities in the world. There is a strange dichotomy here, where the city is constantly divided between the rich and the poor, the booming, yet ‘developing’ economy, and those who th[...]
September 2nd, 2009 - 7:41 pm § in Around Town, Country, Ecuador, In the Field, Looking for Opportunity, Tips & Resources, Volunteer
They Are Us
Last week, we talked about our new friend, Cat, who is yearning to break out of her current lifestyle in order to try something different – something that allows her to tap into her altruistic side. Tired of friends and family who aren’t being supportive, she’s been talking to us f[...]
Expanding Opportunity
The news is a downer. We’re on a news diet in our house, but I switched it on for a lightning speed session. In just a couple of quick minutes, I learned a lot about how the USA’s unemployment rate is set to spike above 10% (despite the recent dip). Of course, [...][...]
What is a Favela, You Ask?
The first time I heard the term favela, I was a 20-year old college student enrolled in a History of Latin America class. I remember being astonished and outraged–almost to the point of betrayal–to learn that between 1/3 and 1/5 of the population of Rio lives in a favela. That is a lot o[...]
