Volunteer Abroad Safely

We all want to take these adventurous trips abroad to save the planet and do something meaningful, but with all if the excitement of traveling, there are always some safety issues that come up.


Traveling to a different country can bring about some frightening instances. It is hard to adjust to a new place when you are not familiar with the area, you may not speak the language, and you do not know anyone to contact if something were to go wrong.


STA Travel offers a programs that allows you to choose the country you would like to volunteer in and it provides a feeling of safety.


There are not only programs that save the Eco environment, which is what I am focusing on, but there are also programs to aid the social environment in these countries.


STA Travel came up with I-To-I Volunteer Abroad, a program that is for volunteers but you do have to pay. I know it does seem odd that you would have to pay to volunteer, but it is this extra aspect of safety that your money will go to.


According to the STA Web site http://www.statravel.com/cps/rde/xchg/us_division_web_live/hs.xsl/home.htm, the money will go to helping you locate these remote places that are not very tourist friendly, but are indeed the communities that need the most help, your accommodations and some meals are included, you have an in-country guide to ensure nothing goes wrong. The money will go to a few other things that overall are meant to make you feel more at ease in a foreign country so that you can focus on the job at hand.


"I am going to travel when I have saved enough money by the end of the year,"said 22-year-old Lexi Green. "My parents are helping out as my graduation present, but I think they would be a lot happier if they knew I would be safe."



Green explained that she is interested in working abroad she admitted that she was not completely thinking about saving the environment, but she does have a strong interest in veterinary studies and helping the local wildlife would be a great experience. Saving the local wildlife includes saving their habitat.


"Since I am taking this trip all alone, I do think I would feel a lot better with a guide," said Green. "Maybe I could meet other people my age doing the same program so I would have people to hang out with while I am there."


Possible countries offered in the I-To-I Volunteer Abroad Program include Thailand,Brazil,Costa Rica,Egypt,India and the Philippines, along with many more. So you can basically choose which country you have always wanted to see and there will most likely be a program that you can participate in to enrich your experience.


For example, you could live in Madagascar, the only place you can still find lemurs in the wild,according to the Web site, you would wake up early every morning and carry fruit baskets out to the wild lemurs!!! The program needs volunteers to help staff learn English to communicate with the visitors. You would be explaining to the visitors what the program does for the animals and their habitat. Check out the Madagascar trip, which is one of many, here http://statravel.i-to-i.com/ProjectBooking.aspx?mid=537&tabindex=2&tabid=134&subtabindex=0&subtabid=218&ci=en-us&pmt=840&prj=3&dst=156&pkg=1&stg=2

Viva Italia!

Italy seems to be leading the rest of Europe in a green revolution, and their weapon is something called the Eco Label, which is awarded to businesses that have found alternative options that are better for the environment.

The Eco-label is a flower symbol that businesses must apply for. They have to fill out an application and explain projects that the business partakes in that benefit the environment.

According to the Eco Tip Web site, since early summer, Italy has taken a the lead over the other European nations by almost doubling the amount of tourist accommodations that have been accepted to bare the Eco-label.

In June and July the number of accommodations, like hotels and campsites, with the logo increased from 30 to nearly 60 awarded Eco-Labels!

"I just spent three months traveling around Italy, I wish I would have known to look for the flower at the places I stayed," said 21-year-old Corey Wlodarczyk. Wlodarzyk supports environmentally friendly travel. "I always recycle, but while I lived in Italy I felt like a lot of the younger Italians I hung out recycled way more that my American friends. Wlodarzyk understands that it is just little efforts that can make a difference. I also reused my own water bottle for the whole trip, I just refilled it instead of buying more and more plastic bottles."

The Eco Label aims to promote greener options for services and products that businesses provide, mostly involving the ever-growing tourism market. The Eco Label wants Europe and its visitors to know that the flower symbol is not given out easily, it is difficult to qualify for. Some credentials that businesses need to have in order to have the flower include the products/services must have scientific evidence to support its friendly potential to the environment, attainability, reasonable prices, and the list goes on. You can check out the list of credentials at the Eco Tip Website. http://www.eco-tip.org/Hotspot/hotspot.htm

Some places in Italy that have recently been awarded the Eco label Include the Hotel Villa Di Campo in Lomaso, the Hotel Tevini in Commezzadura, and the Hotel Scoiattolo in Andalo.

Italy's future with the Eco-label looks just as bright as the present, currently there are 39 businesses that have applied for the Eco Label.

If you are a business you can apply online to get your products/services awarded with the Eco-symbol. Also, there are a lot of opportunities for students who want to travel. There are offered traineeships that you can apply for based on what kind of businesses and/or products interest you. You are also able to choose from a list of European countries that are looking for students to help out and write thesis on certain projects.

"I went to Italy this summer, and all over Europe, now I really just want to go back," said 23-year-old, Business Management graduate from Northern Arizona University, Ryan Summers. "I have been looking into some career opportunities in Italy and Switzerland, this sounds like something I could be a part of, like maybe marketing or something," said Summers.

For another link with information about Europe's growing awareness of Eco-friendly tourism, check out this site as well http://www.ecotrans.org/2007/html/projects.html

Africa After Graduation

Hey does anyone speak French? I found an awesome abroad program in Africa, but you need to be able to converse somewhat easily with a French speaking person because most of the members of the staff are only French speaking. An intermediate conversational speaker is recommended and upper levels would be even better.

The program is in Cameroon, Africa, near a town called Belabo. You will actually be in the forest about 15 miles out from Belabo. You would be working with the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center.

I would not suggest this program if you are not comfortable being away from home for very long periods of time because there is a 6 month minimum stay. This may sound like a long time to leave your life behind, but I think it really depends on where you are in life right now.

"When you are graduating in a few months and have absolutely no idea what your going to do,travel is the best option," said 23-year-old Victoria Yarnish . "I think you should sell your car and buy a plane ticket to South America and work your way over to Africa," Yarnish explained to me. Honestly that does sound appealing if you are on the verge of graduating and life is at a crazy turning point. Sadly Victoria, nor I, can save the Chimpanzees in Africa because we have absolutely no French skills, but I do know someone else who is interested.

"I spent a semester in France and I like to think of myself as fluent," said 21-year-old Kateland Butler. Butler graduated from University of Arizona last May with a degree in French. " I always wanted to visit Africa, but I don't really no how I would be with Chimpanzees, I have never really been near one," said Butler of the program opportunity.

No need to worry if you are considering this volunteer opportunity but you might not be completely engulfed by the world of primates. In the program you will have a bit of contact with the chimps and maybe some baby gorillas, but mostly you will be helping the staff with construction projects, purchasing supplies, or painting, but you will get to help out with feeding the chimps. The program is looking for people who are open to soaking up a new cultures and working with new people.

This program was put together by the In Defense of Animals -Africa organization. At IDA, their mission is to save these chimpanzees or our "next of kin" as they refer to them, from the bushmeat trade. These primates are orphaned after their parents are killed for meat. The IDA brings them into a safe environment that is maintained to match the natural environment they would otherwise be living in with their parents.

Check out more details about this opportunity at http://www.universalgiving.org/volunteer/chimpanzee_sanctuary_in_camero/id1939.do#expenseDescription
Also if you want to know exactly where this would be taking place, because I don't know about you but I don't really know Africa like the back of my hand, check out this map at http://images.nationmaster.com/images/motw/africa/cameroon_pol98.jpg

If this program is too intense for what you are looking for. maybe because of the length, the French, the shots you will have to get, or whatever you are concerned about for your time abroad, but you are still interested about helping out the primates in Africa who are in danger of extinction, you can donate money to sponsor a chimp at https://www.universalgiving.org/donate.do?receiverId=1853&targetPage=/volunteer/in_defense_of_animalsafrica/id1853.do?id=1853&fresh=true

Tips Before Take Off

So I have been thinking that with all of these travel opportunities that I will be informing you about for the next few months, I think now would be the right time to tell you how you can get to.... let's say Costa Rica to surf and save turtles while traveling "greenly."

Obviously to travel internationally on some kind of time schedule, you are going to have to take an airplane. This means that you will be releasing CO2 into the environment. This makes your trip to save the environment a bit counterproductive, so here is what you can do about it.

At http://www.climatecare.org/about/offsets-made-simple/ you can calculate the amount of CO2 emissions you and your plane will be letting out into the air on your journey. For example, if you were to take off from Los Angeles Airport in California and land in Costa Rica, according to the Climate Care site, the total CO2 emissions from your flight would be 1.21 tonnes of CO2. To offset this damage the cost would be $19.00. This money would then be donated to one of many environmental awareness projects. The Kibale Rainforest Restoration project in Uganda is one of these projects that Climate Care is funding in order to restore an important area of the western rainforest that, once fully restored, will be home to about 30 native species of trees that provide a home for endangered primates.

So while you are on the plane flying over oceans, you will be feeling pretty good about offsetting the damage your flight is doing to the environment, so let's keep the trend going by whipping out your eco-friendly travel pillow. This pillow from Earthsake products is called the Pure Grow Wool Travel pillow. It is made with pure organic wool. No chemicals, no synthetics. You can get it for $40.00 at http://www.earthsake.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/pgwpillowlitestd.html.

After your environmentally friendly slumber on your green smart flight, you arrive in a new country ready to protect it's existing surroundings so others can enjoy this experience. Now is the time to find your hotel. May I suggest choosing from a long list of hotels that are currently working with the Green Hotels Association. http://www.greenhotels.com/whatare.htm. These hotels are joining in the effort to save the environment, by saving energy, water, and limiting overall waste. The Green Hotels Association offers it's members advice on how to make their hotels greener. They also have a catalog that hotels can buy items such as towel rack hangers and sheet changing cards to encourage guests to use towels and sheets more than one time. Some hotels currently buying from Green Hotels Association include: Best Western, Double Tree, Holiday Inn, TraveLodge, Amhsa Hotels, Hilton, and many more.

So now you know of some easy steps you can take to keep your journey abroad eco-friendly and you can really focus on the environmental work you will do in a foreign country!