Photo courtesy of the BBC

By Will Harper,

It seemed that all of Projects Abroad, as was the rest of the world, was captivated by President Barack Obama’s Inauguration yesterday. As someone who has been in the volunteering field for a while now, the themes of responsibility and service in President Obama’s speech really rung true for me. This was one of my favorite quotes:

“And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.”
Barack Obama

I hope that people in the developed world head this call to service and continue to volunteer overseas.

What was your favorite part of the speech?

By Allison Kean, Program Advisor - Canada

I’m not going to lie, I’ve got a soft spot for trashy reality television.

Some days, theres nothing that I love more than to turn on the TV, and watch Tyra spaz out at her top models, or watch LC and the rest of the Hills crew cry about the current drama in their oh so difficult lives.

One of my new favourite gems of reality TV is Exiled on MTV. It is possibly the best thing that has ever happened to Thursday evenings. The show is a spin off from the ever so popular My Super Sweet 16. (If you’re not familiar with My Super Sweet 16, it’s basically a show that profiles spoiled and pampered teens who convince their parents to throw extremely extravagant birthday parties).

Now its two years later, and the sweet sixteeners are 18, and their parents have decided that their spoiled teens need to grow up, get out of their bubble and experience real life. The parents will ambush their children intervention style, and give them a plane ticket to a remote destination. This is my favourite part of the show, because they find out where they’re going. I sit and watch jealously, as they stare at their parents in disbelief when they find out they’re going to live with a Maasai tribe in Kenya, or herd reindeer in Norway.

Bjorn working/complaining on an Exiled episode in Morocco

Then comes the packing, usually everyone packs absolutely ridiculous things, like their 4inch designer heels, and leopard print bikinis (which are obvious fashion choices for living with a nomadic family in Mongolia?) The freakouts when they first arrive are always amazing. Everything sets them off: bugs, walking long distances, lack of running water, their basic sleeping arrangements, and food.

Somewhere near the end of the show, there is always a turning point. The Exiled brat will realize that they have a pretty cushy life at home, and that most people in the world have to work hard. There are usually some tears, some bonding and cultural sharing followed by some sad goodbyes.

One of our extremely hard working Teaching volunteers on a placement in Morocco

So not only is Exiled incredibly entertaining, I also like that MTV is sharing this sort of international volunteering theme with its viewers. It sort of brings and underlying theme of cross cultural sharing and understanding into the living rooms of people who might not have ever thought about the world outside of their “bubbles”.

Theo Kamwimbi, the Human Rights Program Manager in South Africa, with the help of our volunteers and the backing of the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) spearheaded the release of a wrongfully imprisoned refugee today.

Mr. Moussa Mohamed Nzeyimana, a asylum seeker from Burundi was arrested by police in Cape Town city on January 14th because his permit had expired. He was held at a police station behind the College of Cape Town even though the University of Cape Town law clinic issued him a letter explaining why his permit was not renewed in time.

Moussa was released today and is thankfully fine. Theo added that “this unfortunate incident and many others could be prevented if refugees and asylum seekers were given the opportunity to renew their permits before they expired. So, let’s join our efforts to help them get proper documentation and have their basic human rights respected!”

Way to go guys!

Video about the work of our Human Rights program in South Africa

By Stacey McAllister

My world was forever changed when I travelled with Projects Abroad to Ghana in 2007. Any volunteer can relate to the feeling of being grateful for the opportunities that we have been given in life, the luxuries of everyday, and the utmost admiration for people that touch our lives with their strength and optimism in our travels. I was twenty when I went to Ghana and I was looking for something more in life. I volunteered at a daycare and primary school run by a woman named Esther. It all began with Esther tutoring a child from her community whose family was unable to afford primary school; overtime, this grew from one child to nearly fifty. The school was nothing more than basic; the children were huddled into a complex where they would play amongst the hanging clothes and learn mathematics in a small corner.

The children had to walk past large, dangerous holes in the ground and erase prior pages in their notebooks to complete the day’s assignment. One day we did an exercise involving what they wanted to be when they grew up, and most of the children told me that they wanted to be doctors. At that moment I considered these children with their big dreams, and the place that they were in, and knew they deserved more than what they had been given. I believe that every child deserves a chance at life.

The school teacher had saved up and purchased a small sector of land that overlooked the town and we took a trip there to see the land. I think we all saw the school she hoped to build there in our minds and felt the dream come alive; it was an experience I will never forget. The passion and devotion to the community and to a better future for these children was visible in the eyes and hearts of the school teachers. When I left Ghana, it was not a question of if I would do something for these children, it was a matter of how. Life has gone by, but the children have never been too far from my mind.

Fundraising for the school has been a very challenging undertaking for me. I am fairly independent and asking for help is not the easiest task. For the past two Christmas’ I have done bake sales; this year I baked over seven thousand cookies and squares, and sold boxes of cookies. I have made nearly three thousand dollars this year baking cookies! It has been the greatest gift witnessing how many friends and even strangers are so willing to get involved in this project. In a world where we hear of tragedy everyday, I have been truly uplifted by people’s generosity and kind words. I believe in a brighter future. For anyone who is beginning to give up on people, I suggest fundraising for something you believe in and you will receive the greatest gift of all, hope. I will raise at least fifteen thousand dollars to build the school and fill it with books and educational material. I am hoping to have the money raised by summer 2009, and I am just over halfway there. It is my hope that I can donate enough money each year to ensure that all of the children can attend school for free. This March, with the help of a few close friends, I am organizing a charity concert, called ‘Music is a Weapon’ in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. We will bring our community together through an evening of diverse music and cultural performances to assist another community, Mampong, Ghana. Our hope is to create a strong sense of community spirit and involvement by demonstrating the changes in the world we can make when we band together. It has been the greatest privilege to have gone to Ghana and experienced a life very different than my own. I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to open my mind and inspire others to do more… because we can.

If you would like to assist Stacey in her fundraising efforts, please email info@projects-abroad.org for more info.

Scene from the Romanian Revolution January 1990 in Braşov

By Peter Slowe, Founder and Director of Projects Abroad

I have just been in Braşov, Romania, which is always a bit nostalgic for me. I was there originally in January 1990 with a group of English and Malaysian students when Romania had just fought its way free from the tyranny of Nicolae Ceauşescu. We were the first foreigners that many Romanians had even been able to speak to without the risk of being thrown into jail It was exhilarating to be in a country which was newly free. The revolutionary flag from that time is still on display in the Projects Abroad Goring office – you can see bullet holes in it.

More scenes from the Romanian Revolution January 1990 in Braşov

Now we have a thriving destination office and IT office in Braşov. My main mission on this visit was to discuss different ways of developing our IT and we discussed a lot of different projects. One thing we realised was that there was mainly a flow of ideas one-way into the IT office. This was all very good. But the IT guys’ brains bulge out of their heads with hyper-intelligence so we are wasting their ideas and their talent to some extent. We must also have a flow of ideas out from them to the rest of Projects Abroad. To achieve this, we will need to free up some of their time and to encourage them to go out and about, so, for example, Lucian is now going to the recruitment meeting in Grenoble in February.

I got to spend some time with Dani, Alex, Mircea, Ali and Râzvan in the destination office. Dani is a brilliant desk-officer. Alex is a talented video-man who worked for a TV station (and before that he was an international truck driver and he’s still just out of school). Mircea is Mircea. Ali is Mircea’s sister and runs the drama programme which needs to be advertised all over the world – there’s nothing like it anywhere else. Râzvan has just set up new placements in physiotherapy and animal care – the latter involves looking after bears in a bear sanctuary – and he also looks after Romania while Mircea is in Africa or Asia.

It was about 15 degrees below zero in Braşov so frequent libations of Cognac were needed. My memory of an hour or so of skiing is blurred. I think I could still remember how to turn, stop, and schuss – so Grenoble watch out!

Test your Travel Knowledge - take the Projects Abroad Travel Quiz!

Are you all that and a bag of chips when it comes to knowing your travel facts? Take the Projects Abroad travel quiz and find out what you really know…or don’t…about some of our fantastic destinations. Just follow this link, put on your thinking cap, and see how you do!

www.projects-abroad.org/more-info/travel-quiz

Let us know how you scored in a blog comment…if you dare.

As many of our volunteers have to often fly half way across the globe for their projects I thought you folks would be interested in this amazing video. One thing I think this video does well is visually translates why flying to Africa is so expensive! You will notice a dearth of flights within and to the continent. Pretty interesting stuff, hope you enjoy!