Features | NGS Movement

Margot Schein, Cultural Embrace

Name: Margot Schein
School: University of California, San Diego
Type of Work: Education, Childcare
Region: Central America, South America
Length of stay: 3-6 months

Tell us about the organization you work for and what you do for them.
I worked for Cultural Embrace when I volunteered in Guatemala and Costa Rica. I was doing considerably more meaningful work in Guatemala as I was teaching Mayan children basic math, reading, and writing (whereas in Costa Rica, I was teaching English). My day included taking a chicken bus out of Antigua (where I was living) to a small town called Santa Maria de Jesus. It would come to work at a small school that was almost all volunteer based. I would help the teacher with individual students or run lessons for groups. I helped distribute food and donated clothing and toy items to students. This work is particularly important because these children do not have the opportunity to attend state public schools and would end up working in farms like their parents who earn about $2/day. With basic skills, they can work in a shop or in town. It is not a huge improvement, but I learned the value of baby steps.

Share a favorite memory.
At the end of my stay, the students and teachers were so enamored with me that they sewed me a a thank-you note and preformed a dance in honor of my departure. I was extremely emotional in leaving the people who I was helping. They group hugged me goodbye and I nearly fell over! Their show of appreciation has caused me to dedicate my life to helping others.

What have you learned from your experience? How has it affected your long-term goals?
I have learned that one person can change lives. I constantly have to fight disillusionment with the slow progress of world aid, but I am filled with hope when I think about the children who I know I helped directly. And there are those out there just like me- helping one little girl or boy at a time learn to do basic math. My future goals include anything that involves doing good. I want to use my education as a force for the betterment of all people.

Some of the female Mayan children.

What is the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job was being brave. I was in a third world country as a young female. But I still got on that over-crowded bus everyday and walked up a hill to that small school because I was in love with helping. There was one day with torrential rains, but I suffered through, arrived and left work quite soaked, and smiled the whole time. Stay Brave.

Do you have any advice for prospective gappers?
Love what you are doing. If you don’t love it, change volunteer positions. You can only be beneficial if you are totally dedicated. Volunteering is not easy, so you better be in for the long-haul. And again, be brave and try new things. I know it is cliche, but it will take you very far.

For the Love of Travel

The travel team is in the thick of things. Most of the team is leaving in just a little more than a week. And things are, to say the least, a slight bit stressful. Just this morning I woke up in a cold sweat about the newly learned fact that I have no remaining pages left in my passport and I will have to send it in, along with my arm and leg as payment, to get expedited service for more pages. I have spent more time and gotten familiar with more foreign consulates in San Francisco than I ever wanted to. I am friends with both the security guy at the Chinese consulate (paradoxically located in Japan town) and with our representative at the visa processing company on Market street downtown. After this whole process I don’t claim to be any sort of travel logistics expert but I do feel I have some tips that could help a fellow panic attack stricken traveler:

1. Passports. I know its obvious but I cant tell you how many times I have overlooked these things. Make sure it’s valid and will be valid for a while. Duh. Make sure there are 2-4 additional visa/ stamp pages are in your passport AFTER you have secured all the visas you need. Make copies in case you loose it or it’s stolen.

2. Visas. It seems to me completely random which countries require visas for US citizens to visit but there are quite a few of them. The US state website has a list. They are all absurdly expensive. Usually they only charge us so much money as a reciprocity fee for how much their citizens are charged to come here. Thanks America. You will have to wake up very early to be first to beat the huge crowds at the various consulates. You will wait in long lines. You will have to come back a few days after they tell you in order to make sure the visas really are done. In the end you will have spent almost as much on visas as you did on your flight.

3. Health. All the travel team have spent a lot of time at the Dr’s office. We’ve gotten tons of shots and various just in case prescriptions. We’ve cried on the phone with our insurance plans trying to get them to pay for what they’re supposed to. But in the end its way better than getting some crazy disease. So go to your doctor early and make sure everything is in order. And make sure you have travel insurance.

4. Packing. You will not fit everything in your bag. End of story. Pack what you need and remember that you can buy things in other countries.

5. Forget it all and get excited. Remember that all these tears and blood have been spent in the pursuit of an awesome trip that will be worth it all. Read your guide book. Look at pictures of your destination. Forget all the things you have left to do and start getting giddy! If there’s anything I would risk my sanity, money, and time on it’s a great trip!

written by the Give your Gap team

in Features / Give Your Gap by NGS Movement 03 Jan 2012 0 comments

“The most important things I’ve learned haven’t been in a classroom”

The most important things I’ve learned haven’t been in a classroom” What traveling/volunteering has taught me.

Kelley and her teachers

This is my first blog posting since joining Give Your Gap. So, a big “Hey there” to all my fellow gappers. I wanted to take a minute to explain why I am drawn to give your gap.

Oscar Wilde once said, “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” As I work to pay off my sizeable college loans, I don’t quite agree that nothing can be taught but I still like his message. I believe that the most important things I have learned and that motivate and inspire me everyday are not things from school. They are lessons learned the hard (but fun) way…through experience.

One of the most amazing things I have been realizing is that most things we think are extremely normal in our lives are in fact completely culturally biased. No one way of doing something is the right way. I remember once when I was talking to a Korean student when I was teaching ESL. The student said they had had a stomach ache the other day and so pricked their fingers to let some blood out. All the western students in the class and I looked shocked. The Korean student could not figure out what we thought was strange. He explained that in Korea, when people have stomach aches from eating too much food or something, they let a little blood run from their fingers so they feel better. To him this was the best and most normal way to deal with the issue. To us it seemed crazy. Every time I think of this story I am reminded that even the most normal and logical parts of our daily lives are strongly influenced by our culture and the culture we live in. It helps me remember that often no one is right or wrong. They are just speaking different truths.

Another time when I was volunteering at the Mosaic Project, a non-profit outdoor school program that teaches kids about the importance of diversity, peace building skills, and conflict resolution, I volunteered to wrap a gift for someone, sharing that I had been a professional gift wrapper at a store before. One of the staff members jokingly told me, “Never let a non-profit know you have a skill. They will exploit you.” What I learned from this experience was not to hide my skills like my collegue suggested, but rather to remember that I always have something to offer to an organization in need. No matter how little I think I know or can do there is always someone who will benefit immensely from my help. This has inspired me to never stop giving and to never believe I am not talented enough to make a difference.

These and countless other lessons I have learned have only inspired to learn more. I hope everyone has the chance to go out, explore the world, give back, and learn amazing lessons that were never taught in the classroom. I believe Give Your Gap offers people a way to do this and so am extremely thankful and excited to be a part of it.

in Childcare / Education / Features / Give Your Gap / Updates From the Field by NGS Movement 19 Dec 2011 1 comments

Kylie Holloway, Global Leadership Adventures

On one of our excursions we traveled to the island of Bartolome where Master and Commander was filmed. We spent the afternoon on the beach to the right of me in the photo and snorkeled in that inlet.

Name, Age: Kylie Holloway, 18
University, Major: UC San Diego, International Studies and Theater
Region: South America
Length of stay: Less than one month
Type of Work: Environment/Conservation

Tell us about the nonprofit/social business you work for:
Global Leadership Adventures. My specific program was in Quito, Ecuador as well as the Galapagos Islands, working on a giant tortoise wildlife reserve for two weeks. The website is www.experiencegla.com

How did you find your position?
Google search for teen volunteer programs.

What’s your typical day like?
We woke up early (around eight) and had breakfast with our host family. Then we traveled by bus to the giant tortoise reserve about a half hour away. We spent the first half of the day cleaning and performing general maintenance on the reserve for about five hours with a break for lunch. After work the group traveled on several excursions such as snorkeling, hiking, and visiting the Charles Darwin Research Center. In the evening we would have group bonding activities after a dinner at our host family’s house.

What kind of people do you work with?
I traveled in a group from Miami with fellow students ranging from ages 15 to 19. The group stayed together until we departed from the Quito airport two weeks later. Some of the fellow students were international, for example one was from Mexico and another was from Taiwan.
We had a lot of opportunity to interact with the natives as we stayed with two host families, worked alongside year-long native employees, and had plenty of free time to explore the town and get to know the locals.

The group in the ditch we spent 3 days digging. We later filled it in with rocks to make a pool for the tortoises so that they do not overheat in the summer.

What are your living accommodations?
We stayed in simple homes, nice for the poverty level of the area however. The food was great and so was the company. We had power and often watched telenovelas with our host family. However the shower water was very cold and bugs were not uncommon in the rooms, never in the beds however. There was internet access in the hotel in Quito, but no internet or phone access for the rest of the trip except for emergencies, however this was very refreshing.

What do you do in your free time?
Our home was about a quarter mile from the beach so a lot of time was spent there. Most of the time we just wandered and explored the town. We were required to stay in small groups and the area was very safe so we were free to do as we pleased. We usually bought cheap snacks and Cokes at the store and sat in the hammocks in the town center and talked with a few local teens we had made friends with.

Share a favorite memory or story from your experience!
While we were in our second home on the island of Santa Cruz, we took a day trip to Las Griettas, which are basically small fjords that cut into the island with cliffs overlooking them. The water in incredibly clear and the area is just beautiful. Our group climbed on the cliffs and jumped from about thirty-forty feet up into the water and had a great day swimming around and just playing on the cliffs. Challenging myself to take the leap (literally) was a truly amazing experience.

Probably my favorite part of the trip; jumping off the cliffs that lined the walls of Las Grietas. The water was incredibly clear and it was just beautiful.

What inspired you to do this kind of work?
Travel Bug!

How are you financing your time?
Personal savings.

Do you feel like you are making a positive, critical impact on the global community?
Yes, I feel like we could have spent more time at the reserve but this program has the best, in my opinion, balance of excursions and volunteer hours. I did feel like we made a difference to the reserve however. Looking back at the work we did, the land we cleared and the pond we built, I do feel as though we were successful in giving back to the community.

What’s next?
More volunteering and finishing school!

What is one thing you wish you knew before you came to your position?
Don’t drink the milk in South America, but eat the steak, its fantastic.

Do you have any advice for prospective gap-givers?
Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, talk to people, make friends, say yes to new experiences.
“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” -Sydney J. Harris

in Environment/Conservation / Featured Gappers / Features / Give Your Gap / Less than one month / South America by NGS Movement 01 Dec 2011 0 comments

Ashley Bulgarelli, Volta Aid Foundation

Name, Age:Ashley Bulgarelli, 23
University, Major:Queensland University of Technology, Bachelor of Business
Region:Africa
Length of stay:26 Months
Type of Work:Medical/Public Health, Education, Infrastructure (building houses, roads, wells), Community Development, Childcare

Tell us about the nonprofit/social business you work for:
Volta Aid Foundation is based in the Volta Region of Ghana. We work in towns and villages including Ho, Adaklu-Goefe, Adaklu-Tsrefe, Adaklu-Waya, Tsito and Kilkor-Agbozume. Our website is www.voltaaidfoundation.org

How did you find your position?
I founded the organization!

What’s your typical day like?
My position as the founder and director means I have to work on all areas of the organization, everything from volunteer and staff management to project site overseeing to budgeting and accounting works. I work endless hours.

One of our intensive first aid workshops complete with resuscitation mannequins.

What kind of people do you work with?
Younger, older, locals, international – everyone! Education and training depends on the specific program volunteers work on but most training is done onsite.

What are your living accommodations?
I sleep in a single room attached to the office which holds my mattress and my gas burner. Simple but it’s all I need.

What do you do in your free time?
I play football (soccer)! I have joined a local team and have dressed everyone up in jerseys from my team back home and shin pads and we train daily and play every Sunday.

Share a favorite memory or story from your experience!
I lived with a little Ghanaian boy when he started to speak. One of the first words he could say was ASH, ASH, ASH. From that point on every white person he sees he calls them Ash, even to this day!

What inspired you to do this kind of work? If you are taking a gap year, what motivated you to do that?
I was traveling around the world and ended up in London and was applying for my Irish working holiday visa and searching for jobs. I just remember spending hours upon hours of time on the web and something clicked in my head and I thought this is not for me. Two weeks later I was in Ghana.

How are you financing your time?
I do not take a stipend from the organisation. I rely purely on my personal savings and friends support.

What kind of special skills do you need to do your job?
None.

Do you feel like you are making a positive, critical impact on the global community?
I believe that the difference I make is enormous. Through my efforts we have sponsored two forgotten girls to attend school. Two might not sound like a lot, but it is two less girls apparently destined to be a market lady. We have also trained over 200 people in first aid and provided over 500 people with diabetes counseling and information. The list goes on but I truly believe in education and empowerment (however cliche that sounds) – knowledge is power. I am not just talking about school education but broader education such as first aid, health issues, business skills, life skills, social skills. A good example is the children in our partner orphanages speak better English, have better social skills, and achieve higher grades in school because of the impact of our volunteers over the past two years. This kind of impact cannot be measured quantitatively but helps the child more than anything else in this world.

This is our lovely host family for our volunteers in Ho. Bea, Sena, Senyo, me, Clinton.

What have you learned about the nonprofit and social business world in your experience?
Unfortunately I have become very critical of NGO’s and not-for-profits operating in Ghana since I have spent so much time on the ground. I think there are far too many organizations doing the same job and a complete spread of resources and know-how. I also think many nonprofits have lost sight of their vision. On the other hand there are plenty of organizations out there doing amazing work and millions of people out there who want to help but don’t know how to go about it and don’t know who they can trust. This lack of trust is hurting the ‘industry’.

Do you think you make a unique contribution to your organization as a young person? Is your perspective or approach different from others?
Definitely. I founded the organization when I was 21 so obviously as young person – a very young person – I believe I am more down-to-earth with what can be achieved and my approach is very relaxed and personal. I believe to understand what people want you have to live side by side with them, in their homes, with their family, eat with them and cook with them, and only then you will see what they see and know what needs to be done. I have done this by being a recently graduated poor university bum who could not afford to live and act differently.

How do you see this experience fitting into your long-term goals?
It was changed my whole life. Before I was a globetrotting party animal, now I am a better person. I will always be linked with Ghana, development and social work.

Partner Orphanage.

What’s next?
Setting up a workshop in Ghana to produce goods to export to Australia.

What is one thing you wish you knew before you came to your position?
Nothing. I came with an open mind and unbiased point of view.

Do you have any advice for prospective gap-givers?
Come without expectations and, as we like to say at Volta Aid Foundation, be prepared to ‘give a little, learn a lot’.

Are you blogging about your work or travel? How can we stay in touch?
www.facebook.com/VoltaAidFoundation
www.voltaaidfoundation.org
info@voltaaidfoundation.org – For volunteer inquiries
ashleybulgarelli@voltaaidfoundation.org – For personal messages to myself

Would you be willing to take questions from potential Gappers?
Yes.

in 1 Year + / Africa / Childcare / Community Development / Education / Featured Gappers / Features / Give Your Gap / Infrastructure / Medical by NGS Movement 18 Nov 2011 0 comments

Mugdha Golwalkar, Project RISHI

Name, Age:Mugdha Golwalkar, 20
University, Major:UC San Diego, Human Biology
Region:Asia
Length of stay:Flexible
Type of Work:Medical/Public Health, Environment/Conservation , Education, Community Development, Arts, Childcare

Tell us about the nonprofit/social business you work for:
Project RISHI (Rural Indian Social and Healthcare Improvement) is a student-run organization that works during the year to raise funds for several sustainable projects, which we then carry out on a two-week trip to a leprosy colony in rural Maharastra, India. We have chapters at UC San Diego, UCLA, Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC Davis, and Northwestern University currently, but we’re always looking to expand! You can check out the website at www.projectrishi.org or specifically the UCSD chapter at www.facebook.com/groups/ucsdprojectrishi or follow us on Twitter @SDProjectRISHI for updates!

How did you find your position?
I heard about the first GBM through another organization on the UCSD campus called Sangam, and went from there!

What’s your typical day like?
When we visit, we have a fair amount of flexibility with the kinds of work we can help with there. I woke up every day at 5 am to wrap leprosy wounds in the hospital, and then spent most of the day either working on our projects, teaching dance lessons to disabled girls, teaching/helping out at the kindergarten and nursery, meeting with officials to assess the kind of project that the colony and neighboring villages still need that we could help with, and working in the pathology lab taking blood samples from patients and testing them for malaria. There are tons of opportunities if you take the initiative to ask about them.

What kind of people do you work with?
This colony does get other organizations that visit it, so you will be working with natives as well as international people most of the time. The majority of the administration speaks English, so language is not a big problem. The ages of people we worked with varied a lot depending on what each person chose get involved in in the community. Most people in the colony are minimally educated, but often knowledgable in the specific trades they have learned.

What are your living accommodations?
The colony has a guest house, which is generally a small room with several cots and an attached bathroom with western style toilet and eastern style baths (out of buckets). They aren’t the most comfortable accommodations, and sometimes there are bugs, but they do provide all the meals and the experience more than makes up for the adjustment. Internet is available at a central location, but it’s pretty slow and limited as this is an extremely rural area.

What do you do in your free time?
In my free time, we learned sign language form some of the locals, we went hiking and biking around the area. Sometimes we would go out into the main city to the market or to little local restaurants.

Most of these girls are either partially blind or deaf or were affected in some way by leprosy, but most of them already danced in the orchestra! Teaching them was an honor.

Share a favorite memory or story from your experience!
I got to teach Indian classical dance to girls affected by disabilities or leprosy! Honestly, they were so sweet, and they welcomed me with open arms and called me their “older sister” even though I was younger than some of them! They wanted us to teach them some western dance, but then spent the whole time making fun of me and my other friend who taught them when we tried to show them a latin dance to Shakira. They’re definitely friends I’m never going to forget, and they’re a big part of why I want to go back.

How are you financing your time?
I’m paying for the trip mainly out of my own funds, but with some help from my parents. The trip we take through Project RISHI generally costs $1500 and lasts for 2 weeks, but the leprosy colony we stay at would gladly welcome volunteers who want to stay longer, and it wouldn’t be too much more expensive.

What kind of special skills do you need to do your job?
None.

Do you feel like you are making a positive, critical impact on the global community?
Yes, I do. I feel like outside the trip, I’m spreading awareness about leprosy, which for a completely curable disease that 95% of the population is immune to, is IMMENSELY stigmatized. And on the trip itself, I can tell I’m really helping by volunteering around the community, because they really need the manpower.

Sunset at Somnath

How do you see this experience fitting into your long-term goals?
I have always wanted to work in public health, preferably in a rural community as a career, but my biggest problem was that I wasn’t sure if I could handle the conditions. I’m applying to Masters in Public Health programs right now, and I’m thinking about medical school afterward, so this experience really solidified my future goals and showed me that I can handle an experience like this, and probably can handle rural medicine, more long-term.

Do you have any advice for prospective gap-givers?
Take the initiative! Most communities you will work in are really open to having volunteers. Ask what you can do, and it doesn’t have to be overt work, like in a hospital or a school. Teaching the locals a new game or babysitting for someone for a night so they can have a night off can be just as rewarding!

Are you blogging about your work or travel? How can we stay in touch?
Our blog is at projectrishi.wordpress.com but as we didn’t have very stable internet there, our blogging was a little limited. Feel free to comment and ask questions though!

Would you be willing to take questions from potential Gappers?
Yes.

in Arts / Asia / Childcare / Community Development / Education / Environment/Conservation / Featured Gappers / Features / Give Your Gap / Less than one month / Medical by NGS Movement 18 Nov 2011 0 comments

Diewitt Duong, PDS & Pacific Partnership

Diewitt Duong and Eric Wang, about to board the Cleveland

Name, Age: Diewitt Duong, 22
University, Major: UCSD, Human Biology
Type of Work: Medical/Public Health, Education
Region: North America
Length of stay: Over two years with PDS, seven weeks with Pacific Partnership 2011

Tell us about the nonprofit/social business you work for:
I volunteer and work with the University of California, San Diego Pre-Dental Society and Free Dental Clinics. I attend weekly PDS meetings and I manage our Downtown clinic location on Wednesday nights. At our clinics, we provide free comprehensive care to uninsured low income families, veterans, and homeless individuals.
This past summer, I had the opportunity through UCSD PDS to spend seven weeks on a US Navy greyhull ship, participating in the US Navy’s annual humanitarian mission, Pacific Partnership 2011. The main focus of UCSD PDS’s involvement in this year’s mission was to be dental and health educators.

How did you find your position?
I begun attending UCSD PDS meetings through a mutual friend and stayed because of all of the interesting lecturers that we have speak to our club. We’ve had congressmen and women, surgeon generals, deans of dental schools, forensic experts, and others and I’ve realized how wide the scope of the dental field is. Through UCSD PDS, I began to volunteer as a dental assistant and x-ray technician with the Free Dental Clinics, gaining exposure and experience in being a dental assistant and I applied to participate in PP11 through UCSD PDS.

What’s your typical day like?
On Wednesday nights at the clinic I manage, I and my co-manager work to make sure that the clinic we run has an environment that is efficient, safe, and professional. We ensure that the volunteer dentist has all of the instruments and supplies that they need to provide treatment, our patient’s needs are being addressed, and that our volunteer students are being as helpful as they can be. Work outside of clinic takes about 3 hours and a clinic night can last 6 hours.
On the ship, my workday would average about 17 hours. I would wake up at 0430, get on shore at 0800, work on site from 0900 to 1500, get back on and and eat dinner by 1700, do offshore work until 2100, at which time I would go to sleep. (Though there was a rough six day stretch where I averaged 4 hours of continuous sleep in a day.)

What kind of people do you work with?
At the clinics, I work with other UCSD and local college students who are all interested in dentistry as a career and profession. I also work with dentists from around San Diego who volunteer their time on average once a month. We also have wonderful staff who help maintain the surrounding facilities.
On the ship, I worked with US the Navy, Army, and Marines. We also had a wonderful contingency from the Australian, Canadian, Malaysian, French, and Spanish armed forces.

What are your living accommodations?
For the clinics, I live in your ordinary UCSD student apartment housing.On the ship I lived in enlisted berthing area, with a small bunk and a community head.

What do you do in your free time?
In my free time, I like being outdoors. I enjoy playing and watching sports of all sorts (especially football and tennis). I am also a diehard fantasy football player (curse you jamaal charles!)

Share a favorite memory or story from your experience!
On PP11, we had a patient in Timor Leste who had two fused molars which were causing her extreme pain. The process of extracting both molars required the teamwork of both a US Navy dentist and a Japanese Army dentist. They spent about an hour extracting the teeth in a fantastic example of international forces joining together to provide essential humanitarian aid for those who most need it. Truly inspiring.

What inspired you to do this kind of work? If you are taking a gap year, what motivated you to do that?
I was interested in dentistry and UC San Diego just happens to have one of the best pre-dental societies in the nation. You get exposed to multiple facets of dentistry and healthcare. Going on Pacific Partnership was a once in a lifetime experience that I just couldn’t pass up. I hope to participate again in PP12!

How are you financing your time?
I work part time with UCSD and I have personal savings and parental support.

What kind of special skills do you need to do your job?
Medical expertise

Do you feel like you are making a positive, critical impact on the global community?
I feel like I am making a positive, critical impact. We were teaching nurses, teachers, families, teenagers, and children how to take care of their teeth and overall hygiene. We were exchanging essential information that will lead to sustainable growth. The overall dental and overall health of these regions will improve over time and only strengthen their overall growth.

What have you learned about the nonprofit and social business world in your experience?
I have learned that if you don’t ask for something, you will never get it. Before 2006, there were never civilians working on US Navy vessels on humanitarian missions. The adviser to the UC San Diego’s Pre-Dental Society worked very hard to get UCSD PDS to be on the first Pacific Partnership mission in 2006 and ever since then we have opened the doors for other non-governmental organizations to work with the military.

How do you see this experience fitting into your long-term goals?
All of this experience in dentistry has only advanced my plans. I have experienced and witnessed first hand the access to care issue in not only third world countries, but also locally, in a city as great as San Diego. I know that when I eventually go and graduate from dental school, I will give back to my community and I will continue to volunteer where I can. There are many who need and deserve dental care who simply can’t afford it. Dental pain, infections and mission teeth impair one’s ability to learn, to work, and to live. I view that health professionals have an obligation to provide their services back to their community.

What’s next?
Dental school is my next eventual goal. Between that, I am continuing to manage one of UCSD’s Free Dental Clinics and working with UCSD PDS. I also plan on working with Pacific Partnership 2012, possibly embarking in the mission this summer.

Do you have any advice for prospective gap-givers?
Give back to your community! Volunteer where you can to help out those less fortunate. Your experiences can humble you and make you aware of the need that is around you.

Are you blogging about your work or travel? How can we stay in touch?
You can reach me at diewittduong@gmail.com and also keep in touch with what University of California, San Diego’s Pre-Dental Society is up to at fdc-pds.ucsd.org.

Would you be willing to take questions from potential Gappers?
Yes.

in 1 Year + / 1-2 Months / Featured Gappers / Features / Give Your Gap / Medical / North America by NGS Movement 11 Nov 2011 0 comments

Non-Profit Video Feature: International Rescue Committee, San Diego

Welcome to GiveYourGap’s first feature on a nonprofit organization, the International Rescue Committee. As you may know, the IRC has branches all over the world, working for the IRC’s mission: to help lead refugees from harm to home. Through refugee resettlement prorams, career development, microenterprise and many other ways – IRC branches everywhere are making a daily impact in refugees’ lives.

GYG is here because the IRC has countless opportunities for young people to get involved.
IRC-San Diego has an innovative, sustainable approach to a common challenge for refugees: food security.Since this is branch of IRC-San Diego that is so special, our feature focuses on the ways IRC has helped refugees find security in what we so often take for granted: food.

Our feature here – the video we’ve created and the interviews we link you to – will never be able to give a complete picture of all the ways the International Rescue Committee and its volunteers make a lasting impact for refugees and community development. Our mission is to share some of these stories, learn about the amazing ways IRC and young volunteers give back, what they have learned about development, themselves, change and the nonprofit world. Get inspired and get involved.

Hear from IRC volunteers who can give you the real inside scoop on volunteer experiences at the IRC: Madison McLaughlin and Lara Hamburger.

A Bit Of the Background
The International Rescue Committee San Diego was our first choice for a first profile for a number of reasons.

(1) the GYG team consists of a bunch of UC San Diego grads, all familiar with the great work IRC-San Diego does in our community. San Diego has a huge refugee population, and the International Rescue Committee is dedicated to to restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure.

(2) the IRC is well-known for integrating youth into their projects and volunteer programs. Can you say, “perfect fit for GiveYourGap?”

(3) We had a lot of friends working for the IRC. That’s where it always starts!

In all seriousness, though, working with all the volunteers at the International Rescue Committee has been an amazing first experience. We can’t thank the IRC enough for their flexibility, willingness to be our first feature and in many ways a guinea pig.

Special thanks to IRC volunteers Jessica Baltmanas, Lara Hamburger, Madison Mclaughlin, staff Mallory Cochrane, and all the farmers at the New Roots Farm and coordinators of the Fresh Fund Program. Stay tuned for a special feature next week on the New Roots Farm!

Thank you IRC for all your help!

This video was produced by Courtney O’Connor.

in Community Development / Education / Environment/Conservation / Features / Give Your Gap by NGS Movement 04 Nov 2011 0 comments

Volunteer Feature: Cameron Price: Peace Corps, Swaziland

Cameron Price, Peace Corps Swaziland

Name, Age: Cameron P., 26
University: Northern Arizona University
Major: Communications
Type of Work: Medical/Public Health, Education
Region: Africa
Length of stay: 2-3 Years

Tell us about the nonprofit/social business you work for:
I have known that I wanted to apply for the Peace Corps since 2007, and I thought about it hard for several years. It was ultimately a tough decision to come to, as it is a two year commitment, and I would have limited ability to come home. But I made that decision, and spent two years living in rural Swaziland. Those two years were some of the most fulfilling I have ever had, but my third year extension here is proving to give them a run for their money.

I currently am working at Columbia University’s ICAP (International Clinical Support Program) in Mbabane, Swaziland, while donating my free weekends to Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative’s Teen Club Youth Support program. ICAP has been an awesome opportunity for me, and I have seen a lot of Swaziland that I wouldn’t have otherwise. NGOs can be frustrating, but my experience has been great and working on the Clinical and Psychosocial Support programming that we help the Ministry of Health with has been incredibly valuable experience to put under my belt.

To be completely honest though, I stayed for the kids and teens that I have built relationships with at Teen Club. Teen Club is a support group for HIV-positive youth, and currently has something akin to 450 young men and women attending at four different sites. Doing Peace Corps brought me to some of the most beautiful children the world has ever seen, and for that I am so very thankful.

Teen Club: swazilandteenclub.wordpress.com
ICAP: www.columbia-icap.org

How did you find your position?
Applied at peacecorps.gov. Sadly this is only available for US Citizens. I do know that there are awesome organizations like Skillshare… GVI… etc.

Parachute games at Camp. I got to be Camp photographer, and it was probably one of the best few weeks of my life. I can’t show pictures of the kid’s faces for legal reasons, but this picture always makes me smile.

What’s your typical day like?
I work at a 730-430 desk job now, and it is only OK because I get to do site visits and love rural Swaziland. Lots of paper work.

My weekends, however, I spend with the kids at Teen Club, and that is where I really love my experience.

What kind of people do you work with?
By day I work with some of the nicest office workers ever. By Night I work with chupacabra (pl). On the weekends I work with the most beautiful kids in the world.

Seriously though, NGOs are all pretty highly educated, socially minded people, and I dig them.

What are your living accommodations?

I stay in an apartment near the town center, but for two years I lived in a rondavel. A rondavel is, for those of you who don’t know, it is this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondavel

I often times miss my hut. Oh well.Someday I will build my own.

What do you do in your free time?
Volunteer at Teen Club, hike, travel, read, photography, swimming in Manzini, participate in shenanigans generally.

Share a favorite memory or story from your experience!
The following is excerpted from my blog itsbrilliantanyway.blogspot.com, and was written in August 2010:

How do you explain, on paper, the eccentric, erratic, serendipitous events that make life beautiful?

Writers have been trying to do that for thousands of years, so I don’t even want to begin to tackle that challenge. Frankly, I am just too lazy to try. But still, sitting here, I am faced with the task of writing to you lovely people to tell you what I have been up to.

It can be boiled down to a few catch phrases that I sometimes rattle off when you guys call or are on Skype, like: “The usual,” “Studying,” or “I’m awesome, it’s Avocado season.” Or I could relate a few quirks of life here… like the stuff I put on my Facebook status updates; e.g. “A chicken in a bag bit me on a khombi,” “I almost physically ran into the director of NERCHA with an armful of Hoola Hoops while carrying things into his building,” or the ever popular “I have a handlebar moustache.” But that wouldn’t really get anything valuable across… besides the fact that I am awesome at talking without actually saying anything at all. Which I am.

So why don’t I tell you guys a story. A story about Camp. I just got back from camp, you see, and it was truly the highlight of my service so far. I mean that in much the same way that Optimus Prime would say, “Defeating the Decepticons was the highlight of my service so far.” OK, he would probably never say that, but you know what I mean: Camp changed the way I see the world… and here’s how.

We ran the camp for two five-day sessions, with about 100 kids in all. It was sponsored by NERCHA, BIPAI, Young Heroes, and the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps. All of the kids were HIV-positive, were initiated on ARVs, and knew about their statuses. They ranged in age from 10 to 16, the older kids mostly coming in the first week, and they were all g-d-awesome.

The difference between when the kids came in, and when the kids left was breathtaking. It was simply the most amazing thing I have ever seen happened over the course of five days; they metamorphosed into something new completely. When they showed up, nervous, anxious, and probably homesick, they seldom smiled and didn’t know what was in store. I’m pretty sure a few were afraid of me as I was wearing a strange hat… also I have strange, pale skin. Anyways, after five days of games, songs, scavenger hunts, skits, and praise, they’d all been changed. By the time they left, even the shy kids were giving us hugs, high-fiving their new friends, and saying fond farewells to us all.

Cameron with Bunny Ears

But the magic of camp wasn’t just for them. Over the last six months I have been getting used to the idea of everyone now knowing I have a polyplural neuropathy called Charcot Marie Tooth. It’s a hereditary disease passed down from my dad’s side of the family, and will most likely limit my mobility someday. It slowly lessens my body’s ability to conduct electrical impulses to my limbs, and will lead to weakness and possibly chronic pain. I had been aware that I might have it for some time now, but it’s different when it’s on paper. Part of it is knowing that other people know. It’s one thing to feel broken all the time and keep it a secret, it’s another thing entirely for everyone to be on the know with you

Here’s the thing, and it’s something I go back and forth between feeling like an a-hole about and feeling blessed because of. These kids all have a disease that will cost them their lives, most likely in the next few years, and they never should have been exposed in the first place. Just because Swaziland didn’t get (and still sometimes doesn’t have) the medications and professionals to prevent it, these kids and a few thousand more won’t have a shot at being normal kids. I spent my 25th birthday asking myself what the f*ck I did to deserve this disease instead of a case of Pediatric HIV. It was a crap shoot and, even though I spent all this time thinking I was S.O.L., I am so shamefully lucky. I feel like a major cock for writing this down, but those kids fixed me. I think I got more out of camp than they did. Seeing them smile and beat me at soccer games did more for me than they will ever know: They just had a good time at camp… I figured out what I want to do with my life.

I may have a hereditary disease, but that’s OK. I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make kids like the ones I met at camp smile. I want to make them feel better, because when they feel better, I feel a little less broken inside. Ugh… and I still can’t properly construe what this means to me, probably won’t ever be able to. I want to live every single day like I am still at camp

… guess that’s the most important thing I learned there.

Anyways, seeing kids smile… isn’t it just the most beautiful thing that you have ever seen?

Best Wishes from Swaziland,
Cameron Price
PCV Group 7

Define yo’ terms!

NERCHA – National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS

Young Heroes – An NGO that sponsors AIDS orphans with regards to school fees in SD

BIPAI – Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative. Baylor Pediatric Clinic in Mbabane is amazing. They distribute meds, do testing events, reimburse for travel, and operate Teen Club Support groups in three regions of Swaziland… soon this will expand to all four. Also the Baylor docs are always incredibly cool, quick to give you straight answers, and sometimes even rides in cars. Hats of to you guys. Especially Doug. You deserve a Sivivane Kilo!

Association of Hole in the Wall Camps – Founded by Paul Newman, actor and Philanthropist (RIP), Hole in the Wall operates camps in countries around the world, specifically aimed at giving kids with chronic or terminal diseases a shot at a fun childhood. Their rep was awesome and totally is the reason our camp was a success… thanks Babe Jazz.

What inspired you to do this kind of work? If you are taking a gap year, what motivated you to do that?
I was born here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona and – though I still love it – I needed to get the hell out. I have wanderlust, and these roads aren’t going to walk THEMSELVES, now are they? I met a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, heard about her experiences in Nepal, and I knew I had to apply.

Going abroad is the best way to learn about where you are from. I never knew America until I left it and saw it through the eyes of others. I also was fortunate enough to meet some spectacular people along the way.

How are you financing your time?
Peace Corps pays my stipend monthly, and my NGO picks up the costs of housing.

What kind of special skills do you need to do your job?
Language, Medical expertise

Do you feel like you are making a positive, critical impact on the global community?
Yes. Absolutely. I have made friends for life. No matter how unimportant my filed forms are, I will always have another (Swazi) family.

What have you learned about the nonprofit and social business world in your experience?
That one must be careful of where one donates money; that people can do a lot of good and that the world will work out OK if you put some time into it.

Do you think you make a unique contribution to your organization as a young person? Is your perspective or approach different from others?
Yes. My 2 years in rural Swaziland allowed me insight into how Swazis live, that town-folk don’t always get. My age makes me relevant with certain things, and have abilities that some older people might not be aware of.

How do you see this experience fitting into your long-term goals?
I spent two years working on HIV projects in Swaziland, the country with the highest HIV prevalence and incidence rates. I want to go to Medical School so I can come back and make sure those numbers go down.

What’s next?
Medical School. Hopefully. And as for volunteering, I will always do it in any way I can.

What is one thing you wish you knew before you came to your position?
You can never be TOO open.

Do you have any advice for prospective gap-givers?
DO IT. If you don’t you will end up asking yourself, “What If?”

Are you blogging about your work or travel? How can we stay in touch?
yes, but you need an invited to read it. PC is strict about what gets published. Email me questions at brilliantanyway@gmail.com and I will furnish you with answers ASAP.

Cheers!

Would you be willing to take questions from potential Gappers?
Yes

in 1 Year + / Africa / Education / Features / Medical by NGS Movement 31 Oct 2011 0 comments

The Beginning to Give Your Gap

Amber and Kim before GiveYourGap existed. We still look the same.

The Beginning: How GiveYourGap.Org Was Born!

Here’s the basic timeline-rundown of how GiveYourGap.Org was born:

Graduatin’

June 2011: Amber and Kim graduate from UC San Diego, think to themselves, “what to do next??!” Collectively decide: “Travel travel travel!” Some jumping and screaming in excitement is invovled.

July 2011: Amber and Kim live it up a little as post-grads, but constantly think about the trip coming up. Brainstorm lists of cities, famous sites, read a lot of travel books and blogs. But also realize tourism isn’t going to be “enough.” Begin looking for volunteer opportunities at nonprofits and social businesses around the world via websites like idealist.org, gapyear.com, anywhere google searching took us.

August 11-15, 2011, 8am: Amber and Kim reunite to discuss the trip. Share the sites/opportunities/programs each found. complain about how hard it is to get good information about opportunities. How to know which ones are “legit”? How could we pay “volunteer fees” upwards of $1000/week? Why are the websites messy? How can there not already be a better site for people like us??!

August 16, 12am: Amber and Kim stare at each other…considering options.

“Ok Amber, what if we go from place to place and offer to profile nonprofits and social businesses and stuff? Maybe they will let us volunteer for free if we create videos about them and talk about them on a blog?”

“Omg, Kim, I think that could actually work. We could call it givingyourgapyear.com*”

August 16, 8am: Amber and Kim stare at each other again, preparing themselves for the road ahead. Simultaneously think to themselves, and then share out loud: “Damn, this is gonna be an adventure.”

August-November: Idea completely evolves through friends’ suggestions and support, non-stop emailing, networking, brainstorming, meeting with people, creating the GiveYourGap Team, recording videos and envisioning this site.

Our first sketch of the site.

November 4th, 2011: We launch the site. BOOM! WHAT UP. We hope you like it.

*Name later revised to giveyourgap.org, with some killer recommendations from friends. Check out our thanks to first followers for more of the story.

in Features / Give Your Gap / Updates From the Field by NGS Movement 31 Oct 2011 0 comments

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