So you’ve decided you want to make a difference in the world. And after some thought and exploring your options, you’ve decided you want to participate in an international volunteer programme. Wonderful!
But now what? What should your next step be? How do you decide where to go and which organisation to choose?
John Connel volunteered at Globalteer's Helping Hands school in Siem Reap as part of his Cambodia Community Project volunteer placement. In addition to volunteering, John helped to raise awareness and funds for the project in an amazing way; by taking on a 15 day cycling challenge down the length of Vietnam: from Hanoi to Ho Chi Min. An inspiring effort!
Whether it is a requirement for your University degree, you are looking to beef up your resume, exploring a career change or are just looking for a change of scenery; interning abroad provides an invaluable experience. In addition to gaining valuable experience, interning abroad exposes you to new cultures and experiences, as well opening you up to a wealth of new opportunities.
Kayla Recently spent 2 months as our Communications and Marketing Intern, based in our Cusco office. Continue reading to find out what it's like interning with Globalteer.
Countries all over the globe are bursting with Soccer fever at the moment. Each hoping their team has what it takes to win the World Cup. Fans with painted faces, soccer ball shaped hats, team jerseys, and air horns, chant and scream for their home countries with a fervour that is rarely seen during other soccer tournaments. Even if your team isn’t in Russia, you are likely to still be enjoying the festivities.
But are you likely to see such revelry this month in Cambodia?
You may of heard about a friend’s summer vacation, how she travelled to Cambodia to volunteer for a few weeks. She had an amazing experience and made lots of friends from around the world. You admire her, she has exciting stories of travelling and humanitarian volunteering and, while you would love to do something like that you worry you will be lonely and would like a friend or maybe even a group to travel and volunteer with.
We grow up seeing pictures of elephants in National Geographic magazines or footage of them on the Nature Channel and think, "How cool it would be to see these amazing animals in person, and up close!" It is the exciting part of a trip, looking up the different activities and experiences you can have in another country. The website seems very legitimate and all the pictures look like the place is safe, and the tourists are enjoying riding the elephants. But is this the real picture?...
Globalteer was happy to host a group of Chinese students at our projects in Cusco, Peru. The group, who live and study in Canada, participated in volunteering and cultural exchange activities at two of our programmes. The students ranging from 11-17 volunteered at the Peru Dog Shelter and the Community Project. While in Cusco, the students learned some Spanish, tried Peruvian food and made a positive difference at the projects. These young leaders worked hard to make an impact at each project and experience the benefits of group volunteering.
Many people around the world do not know anything about Bear Bile Farming. Firstly, bear bile is a yellow liquid that is extracted from the gallbladder while the bear is still living. Bear bile has been used in Asian medicinal practices for centuries and some studies show it can help treat liver maladies. Today it is used to treat everything from a head cold to cancer although there has been no study confirming that the bile actually helps cure these illnesses. The bears that are captured and used for bear bile are the Sun Bears and the Asiatic (or Moon) Bears.
Anyone who has ever visited Cusco, whether as a tourist or volunteer, will tell you that the city is full of dogs. You will see them as soon as you leave the airport and head to your destination via taxi in any direction – small dogs, large dogs, old dogs, puppies, every colour, every shape and size, alone or in small packs – they literally can be found on every street and in every alley way.
We want to take this time to wish everyone a Happy Earth Day. We at Globalteer understand just how important our earth is and how important it is to help conserve it.
We were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Sudan, the last Northern White Male Rhino. This made us realize even more just how important it is that we all take on the responsibility to protect the animals and our planet. At Globalteer we work with conservation projects that deal with the environment and animals.
