Posted by Randy LeGrant on Tue, Jan 26, 2010
Last week I wrote a Blog post about our new programs in Lebanon and then found a fantastic article about Beirut on USA Today. Right now we have Conversation Corps-Lebanon available if you want to live with a family in Lebanon and volunteer to teach them English. We also have openings for Conversation Partners in our Work and Travel office in Beirut. Be a cultural ambassador at the same time and meet lots of Lebanese college students coming by the office to interview for the U.S. Work and Travel program. Speak English with them and help screen their English skills.
Imagine our pleasant surprise when we opened USA Today and saw this article on Beirut: "Beirut is reborn as a glitzy playground for tourists." "Beirut's sizzling nightlife, from gritty to glam, helped drive a record tourism year in 2009. Overcoming a reputation as a Middle East trouble spot, Lebanon welcomed nearly 2 million visitors last year, a 39% increase over 2008. It was the No. 1 destination for tourism growth in the world, according to the World Tourism Organization."
During the past several years, Beirut has been overcoming its reputation as a troubled place in the Middle East to become a hot spot for tourists interested in swanky clubs, a sophisticated dining scene and plenty of rich history. "Lebanon is back," Nada Sardouk, Lebanon's tourism director general, told the Middle East news agency AMEInfo.com. "We've had 80% to 90% hotel occupancy this year. But it's more than about just numbers. ... It's about the joie de vivre."
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Posted by Randy LeGrant on Tue, Jan 26, 2010
Our Work and Travel team was in Taiwan this past weekend interviewing Taiwanese students for the GeoVisions U.S. Work and Travel program. Our CEO, Kevin Morgan, came across this photo in the Taiwan Times. In Asia people rely on motorcycles as a staple of transportation, and there are helmet laws in just about every country. Is this Banyan Tree in Puyan Township really promoting helmet use, or was it "pruned" by buses and trucks?
We have over 300 Taiwan students coming to the U.S. on Work Exchanges this year! American employers hire Work and Travel students to provide an international dimension to their staff. Guests at theme parks, hotels and restaurants enjoy talking with people from other countries -- learning about their cultures. Taiwanese students also volunteer on our Global Work and Service Programs around the world.
Taiwan is the fifth largest country participating in GeoVisions worldwide exchange, education and work programs.
If you can take away something useful from this post, please consider leaving a comment (below) or subscribing to the feed (above) to have future posts delivered to your feed reader. You can also subscribe via email (in the upper right corner). Over on the right we have made it easy for you to become a Fan of GeoVisions on Facebook and to Follow Us on Twitter.
Posted by Randy LeGrant on Tue, Jan 12, 2010
A few days ago I wrote a Blog post about a volunteer (Daniel Jackson) who returned home only to start up his own non-profit and find new ways to assist the medical clinic where he volunteered for with GeoVisions in Peru.
This Blog post is about a volunteer who is returning to GeoVisions for a second time. Shannon Anderson first went to Peru with GeoVisions. Now she's headed to Italy. I hope you will go back toShannon's Blog and follow her as she makes her plans, takes her Italian language courses, gets her host family and prepares to tutor.
Two things quickly come to mind:
- It is a rare opportunity when people share the intimate details of their decisions, their process and the ups and downs in preparing to volunteer abroad. I hope you'll subscribe toShannon's Blog and be a part of all that. It will serve you well if you are in the same position or hope to be.
GeoVisions is far more interested in what people do after the volunteer abroad experience than we are in trying to get you to go. Newspaper articles and magazine articles are full of stories about Voluntourism, how great it is and then listing a few organizations you can choose to help you with your experience. We're more about showing people what happens after the experience has taken place. In this case...Shannon is returning for another experience. And we want to share that with you and so does Shannon.
So enjoy Shannon's Blog, Part Due. Comment on her Blog and help her along and ask her for some advice if you're planning your own volunteer program. In the meantime, let us know what you're doing if you are a volunteer abroad returnee. We want to hear about your experience and follow up what you're doing now.
Posted by Randy LeGrant on Sun, Jan 10, 2010
Have you ever been in a situation where something didn't work out and you expected the worst? Maybe you had a flat tire on the way to the airport. These days you would expect to miss your flight, hope to get another flight and be charged a penalty for the difference in airfare and a change fee. But how would you feel if you arrived at the counter, you were met with a smile, put on the next flight and there were no extra charges at all?
Robbie and Melissa desperately wanted to teach conversational English in Costa Rica with GeoVisions. Working together we settled on a location and a project and Robbie and Melissa paid their non-refundable deposits. Then, at the appropriate time they paid the balance of their fees and as we always do here at GeoVisions, we immediately wired those funds to Costa Rica to cover their expenses at the project.
For a lot of reasons, Robbie and Melissa were not able to participate with GeoVisions after all. For the purpose of this post, suffice it to say they had a flat on the way to the airport.
I have traveled professionally since 1976. There are a lot of airline seat impressions under this tired old toosh. I know exactly what it's like to be told "no." And "no" isn't so bad if that person who is saying "no" has a smile, demonstrates empathy, and offers alternatives. "NO!" is one thing. "The answer is no, but let's see if there are any alternatives that might help." is another answer totally.
I would like for you to read Melissa's recent Blog post about what happened to her and Robbie when GeoVisions had to say "no." I just happened on Melissa's post by accident, and I actually commented on her post. Her post is honest and if I were to characterize my emotion reading it, I would say I was shocked. And proud.
There are very few times we have to say "no" at GeoVisions. And after 35 years of airline seat impresions, arriving at hotels with no rooms, rental cars (and jeeps in Costa Rica) deciding not to go another mile, food poisoning and everything else that can go wrong with a trip, I am proud that we have not forgotten how to smile at GeoVisions and look for options to help our volunteers. We take seriously the fact that people are giving their time, their money and their hearts to make a difference. And they do it over the Internet. They place their trust in us, sight unseen.
Social Media is all about showing the world the good and the bad. I can't say this is "bad" but Robbie and Melissa aren't going to be able to do a project with GeoVisions. Still, they are going forward and have found alternatives. GeoVisions has been able to help, mostly by understanding. Social Media is about having customers explain the story, not the organization. In Chris Brogan's language, we strive to be Trust Agents and we try hard to listen. So, if you have a few minutes I hope you will enjoy Melissa's account of how things went down and what GeoVisions was able to do.
This Social Media stuff is very cool.
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Posted by Randy LeGrant on Tue, Jan 05, 2010
One of the best feelings in our work is to see volunteers provide assistance to a community or a medical outpost or teaching kids to read in rural Ghana. If I were to ask my friends who also do this kind of work, more than likely they would say the same thing. Watching our volunteers and watching the smiles of the recipients of that volunteer's efforts.
I am always asked, "What is your favorite city in the world?" Or, "What is your favorite country in the world?" To be quite honest, it depends on the time of day someone asks. Too many favorites I have.
One thing is clear, however. When I am asked the best part of my job the answer is always the same. It's watching what happens when our volunteers return from their project. I've become obsessed with finding out what each GeoVisions' volunteer, tutor and teacher are doing. More times than not, it is special, as you can see with Daniel Jackson.
Daniel went to Cusco, Peru with GeoVisions last June (2009) to work in the Medical Center there we support. He was able to volunteer for six weeks.
Daniel is a photographer and you can see his work on his website. But once Daniel returned to the U.S. he started Friends of Belempampa. Daniel was so taken with Cusco, and with Belempampa, that he organized a group of international volunteers and staff who have worked at the Belempampa Health Center in Cusco and then put together the "Friends" website to help provide support to the medical center.
Please consider supporting Daniel, his group and his new non-profit group, which will
help provide much-needed ambulance equipment;- train everyone at the center for gentler treatment of patients;
- fund new triage equipment;
- buy new devices for doctors to listen to babies' heartbeats;
- provide food for patients;
- a larger supply of sanitary protections;
- install a warm water line to obstetrics' staff shower;
- provide a stomach pump for newborns;
- and provide warm water for wash basins for newborns.
Already, the Friends of Belempampa have donated digital thermometers and put together research on handling and preparation of dangerous meeds. If you check out the website you will see a list of projects completed and their cost (in U.S. $ and volunteer-hours) and then click a link on that page to see a list of projects they hope to accomplish and that cost in funds and hours.
Please support the Friends of Belempampa. How can you do that? Well, it could be as simple as making a comment below and we'll pass it on.
You could reach out and email anyone there. You'll find a lot of information on each person who belongs and has something to do with the group. Even an email to voice your support for what they are doing would be encouraging to them.
You can donate. There is even a link to the group's financial records.
Look…this is the real deal. This is Daniel deciding to leave his photography for awhile and volunteer in Peru for six weeks. It's Daniel helping children being born, taking temperatures, taking weights and making sure the medical records were updated. This is Daniel making a difference in Peru. And this is Daniel coming home and making a difference.
Daniel votes with his wallet and he votes with his feet. He is literally where the rubber meets the road. Please support Daniels' group by reaching out and encouraging them to keep going. Or donating. Or volunteering your time.
This is volunteer abroad. This is the definition of voluntourism.
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Posted by Randy LeGrant on Fri, Jan 01, 2010
I had planned to write a nice "thank you" and have a happy, safe and prosperous New Decade blog post today.
Not going to happen. Besides...everyone's doing it. Plus, all those "predictions" for 2010 and the new decade are nothing short of annoying.
What I am writing about is "counter-intuitive" but I'm even naming names and providing links to prove my point.
There are a lot of people who have helped GeoVisions in general and me specifically. And there are four who have played a huge role in my development and actually in helping me with our business principles and staying on target with our strategies and innovation.
Jean-Marc Alberola, Randy Sykes, Dave Clemmons and Alexia Nestora. No particular order of mention, just that these are the four people I need to thank as I start my 2010 and my 7th decade.
I flew out to Denver a few years ago to meet Jean-Marc Alberola. (That is me on the left with the red hat, Randy Sykes of ISV in the middle and Jean-Marc Alberola on the right.) Jean-Marc heads up Bridge Linguatec and a competitor of ours, Volunteer Adventures. Under his guidance and leadership, Bridge and Volunteer Adventures do incredible work and I wanted to meet Jean-Marc and pick his brain. He sat down and told me everything I needed to know and then some. Never will I forget his eagerness to share and his kindness. If you're looking for a volunteer program and you don't find it at GeoVisions...think about Volunteer Adventures. You will find great programs and people doing this for all the right reasons. They walk their talk.
While I was in Denver during that trip, I met with Alexia Nestora who, at the time, was President of i-to-i North America. At that time i-to-i "owned" the voluntourism space. And I thought Alexia would be far too busy to meet with me. Not only did she meet with me, we had lunch. And then we met up at a NAFSA conference and then she kept sending me ideas and help. She was never too busy to help me. And today she is Voluntourismgal and she's moving Voluntourism forward, and is always available when I call or email.
When I met Randy Sykes of ISV, I was an instant convert. I have never seen such passion for volunteering abroad. But his passion does not stop there. His real passion is watching ISV's volunteers return home and continue their volunteer efforts and watching how they make a difference after the volunteer abroad experience. He lives this 7 days a week, and still has the energy to travel and look after ISV's projects all the time. He has been extra-ordinarily kind to me and to GeoVisions, and he has been very patient with me and a very good friend. He's as giving a human being as you will ever meet. He competes with me, and at the same time he is a good steward of our friendship. If you are thinking about adventure travel teamed with volunteer abroad, ISV is what you want to check out first.
Lastly, I want to thank Dave Clemmons. He is the Founder of Voluntourism.org. Like everyone else, I assumed he was too lofty and too busy to deal with the likes of me. I was scared to death to pick up the phone and call him. If you look at his website and read his Blog posts you will see that he deals with literally hundreds of organizations dealing in Voluntourism and as an organization that takes no funds from Voluntourism organizations...he's very independent and neutral.
When Dave is on the East Coast, he always drops by and leaves great ideas. He has lunch with with me and always insists on including my wife and children. When I'm on the West Coast, we take walks near the water in San Diego. And he drops me off at the airport, again with great ideas. He's very busy, and very accessible and I thank him for his support, his encouragement and of course, all those great ideas.
Why am I thanking these people in public? And why am I providing links to our competitor's sites? Because if it helps anyone looking for more information to do global good, then that conforms to GeoVisions' principles. And I think it's a better way to start 2010 and a new decade than coming out with predictions or sending season's greetings. "Thank you" is always the right way to go. And it seems a great way to start 2010 and my 7th Decade.
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