Helping out...

[Samuel]

Hi ya,

My name is Sam, and me and my girl is going backpacking in september. We don't know how long we'll be travelling, and we don't know how far we reach - but we do know that we wish to use the trip to help the poor and needing where we can. We know of many opportunities so far, only a few of them is within our economic reach.

We are going to live and travel economically, and we both have an wholehearted wish to actually do something meaningfull with our trip, so that it will become MORE than just a vacation.

For instance; an rescue-park for Elephants in Thailand, an orphanage in Vietnam, planting trees in the ravaged parts of the rainforests around the world, ships sailing around the world providing medical help, building schools in Honduras.

In addition, we will put up a blog to write about everything we experience while we travel and help - so everyone here will be able to follow us and see what happens out there!

In the end, these experiences will hopefully result in a book about all the different ways of international aid - hopefully inspiring others to use their time and wealth to help in their own ways.

Please invite all your friends to the facebook-group; in itself that is support.

The Facebook-group can be found here

Ways of contributing:

1. Inviting all your friends your friends to the group

2. Telling me all about your own experiences with backpacking/low-cost travelling

Thanx alot!

 

[jonom]

i applaud your desire to help others during your travels and welcome you to the site.

but i'm with rememberdoesn'tquiterolloffthetongueusername... we could all use a buck.

 

[wizehop]

Ya man, the squatting and transient community are not the best places to go in search of cashola. Especially to go to Thailand.. Asia's a good time though man..but its already over flowing with people who want to help in order to live on a beach.
widerstand has a good point, try Haiti, Congo or Somalia they could use a hand for sure.

 

[wizehop]

Ya man, the squatting and transient community are not the best places to go in search of cashola. Especially to go to Thailand.. Asia's a good time though man..but its already over flowing with people who want to help in order to live on a beach.
widerstand has a good point, try Haiti, Congo or Somalia they could use a hand for sure.

 

[mksnowboarder]

If you want to do some real good why don't you just get a plane ticket to Haiti and go help them? Oh wait that would probably be hard work, in a tough shitty place and no where near as nice as traveling to the rain forest to plant trees.

Last I checked, the airports were full, Haiti was out of fuel, and they couldn't support any more relief workers. Sucks, 'cause I really wanted to go. Eh, maybe it'll clear out; I'm more into rebuilding anyways.

Kudos though, asking the people of this site for spare change was pretty classy as far as I'm concerned. If you have a diploma, why not do the peace corps?

mike

 

[RnJ]

I can understand where the original poster is coming from. I entirely support people who admit they're going traveling, and want to help in their travels.

But there's a difference between helping in your travels, and traveling in your help. If you're going country hopping, you're not gonna find a whole lot of people take your efforts seriously enough to donate to them. Where's the commitment to a place or a people?

Second, this is not a good first post to make. Not only does it look like spam, it's also pretty hard for people to put their trust in someone so new, who seems to have come here looking for money. You'd fare much better if you had posted and gotten to know people.

Third, most people on here are proudly dirt poor, or proudly complain about being dirt poor and/or collecting spare change on the street just to blow it on another 40. Identities are a stake if people choose to scrounge up some donations.

Honestly, what you are doing is pretty cool. I dig that style of travel, but I've never personally felt good about getting other people to fund my travels, not even local trips. I'm hoping to do some long-term humanitarian trips in the future, and trying to find ways to earn my own support by simplifying my life and travel. Perhaps one day I'll be humbled by another person's support after draining my funds and not having a job, but I can't even imagine ASKING for it; maybe, just maybe, if I prove my simplicity and long-term commitment to people I know personally.

Good luck man. I hope the trip is a blast, educational, convicting, a lifetime of stories, challenging, etc. All that good stuff.

By the way, check out some of the threads in the International Travel forum. I know there's one I started on making money in third world countries, and a bunch of other good ones. Check that out if you're serious about going "simple" in your travels.

 

[Deleted member 20]

How are you accepting your $1 dollar donations? Paypal?(never mind that question IU just reread it and answered it myself. I am all for sending a buck to a cause I would just like more substance in the cause with some kinda achievment for others. Like a nomadic bus tribe, pirate ship, or some other commune style event, like the purchase of a keg for a gathering or something. Something with some real value, I am all for being selfish & or asking for stuff for me but to ask for free beer for others, well that is fucking perfect. Does anyone have a paypal & is meeting up at Mardi gras for the mini stp gathering. I am willing to send $5.00 us dollars towards a confirmed & actual kegger for this event. If I attend or not & consume more than my "fin" is yet to be determined & irrelevant.

 

[Samuel]

Well, I agree with most of you guys in your feedback to me. Especially the fact that I chose to introduce me this way - it wansn't the best idea, I see that now.

However, I do feel the need to clarify something that is assumed a few times; I do not ask for money to travel. When I've researched humanitarian aid here from Norway, I've seen that most places that takes in volunteers, also requires a donation. This donation is used for building-materials, food, shelter and so forth. While I am planning to travel the world, these costs might be far off my charts. I don't have alot of money to do this trip, so I'm planning to work and struggle my way around the world. At the same time, I sincerely want my trip to be more than a vacation and the struggle for money to get from place to place.

So I found it in myself to let go of my pride, and ask humbly for help to be able to help more places. I've already set a good chunk of my own money to this - as much as I can - so that's why I'm trying to do this to get just the little edge. As mentioned, my hope is to gather my experience into a book that in turn might inspire others to do the same. That's why I want to do several different types of aid work - to write a book that talks about several different ways to help out, not just one type.

But I do understand your disagreements with my thoughts, and I respect and appreciate that you share them with me so honestly. And I am also grateful for your tips and the understanding I meet.

RnJ - I'll check them out immediately!

 

[finn]

I don't know about this, I mean there is only so much that unskilled backpacker types can do- not to say that volunteer tourism doesn't help, I just think its significance is overdone. If you had a trade or skills or were basically willing to risk life and limb, that's one thing, but more lasting help requires a bit of commitment in one way or another. I've met plenty of volunteer tourists who were worse than useless in New Orleans.

 

[veggieguy12]

You should try clearing landmines in battlezones. I'm not being a dick or joking, I'm totally serious; that seems pretty cool to me, how many people have done that?, and it's helpful in a real way to the community you're working in. And it won't cost you any money.

 

[Samuel]

finn; well, there will always be scepsism against 'doin something' - I've seen it too many places to give it any real regard. Projects as http://www.the7interchange.com/ shows that the use for unskilled people that are willing to learn is quite big. Currently they have over 300 projects listed.

veggieguy12; I'll be totally honest: It actually sounds crazy enough to be fun, but I do believe that they have professionals to do this for this for a reason But if I ever come to an area where they allow amateurs to give it a try, I'll give it serious thought!

 

[finn]

I am not skeptical about 'doing something,' I am skeptical about short-term unskilled labor from people unfamiliar with their surroundings. Perhaps I should have been more clear, but I am encouraging you to develop a skillset (building, medical, etc) which will allow you to be effective in helping a community with the small amount of time you will be spending in it. If you want them to hold your hand and train you so that you can be useful, just remember that if you had learned those skills earlier, you could have spent that time actually being useful.

Is it really that hard to learn that stuff where you are? I mean, I'd think it'd be easier to get some skills in Norway than some poor community in the middle of nowhere, but on the other hand I'm not really that familiar with Norway.

 

[RnJ]

finn, I sometimes criticize myself for deciding to go to university to learn about this kinda of "doing stuff," because sometimes I feel like learning while doing is more important. Most of the time though, I realize there is no between way between formal and informal education. Dumb action is no better than smart inaction. However, it would seem to me that if someone wanted to further themselves in sustenance farming, they would stick with that instead of jumping from one kind of work to the next, spreading themselves so thinly. However, just like my technique for enjoying a good buffet, in the first round I try a smidgen of everything to find out what's good, and in the second round I go ape on the very finest foods. I'm still a indecisive as anyone when it comes to deciding what I would like to focus on, so I can understand why he would want to do this.

Removing landmines would probably be a pretty scary job. I once met a guy who worked for 6 months of a year in the US to support himself, then spent the other 6 in Cambodia at a home for people who'd lost limbs to landmines. He had also built his own machine/contraption for removing landmines. It seemed like that was his life work. Cool.

 

[finn]

RnJ, I see your point, but there is a significant difference in learning in different settings. For instance, if I mess up while learning carpentry through a habitat for humanity in a large US city, versus messing up doing the same thing in a small cash-strapped community based group in a poor country, you see what I mean. I can understand that during emergencies, sometimes there isn't that option, but most of the time it's there. It only takes a few months to get a pretty solid skill, maybe less depending on how focused you are. Even something like bike repair has skills than can be transferred to other mechanical skills.

I give massive props to the landmine removal guy, he sound pretty awesome.

 

[Beegod Santana]

I kinda see what your saying about donations and all, and hey, I've spanged $ just to get drunk before so who am I to judge... but at the same time I think this is just the wrong spot to be asking.

For Example

I've done plenty of free carpentry for people down in nola and traveled there with a vechicle and tools before on my own dollar. If I had run out of gas $ on my way there I would've gone to a gas station and asked a few well off people to spare a little gas to get me the rest of the way. I wouldn't of however, gone up to the kid spanging in front of the gas station and asked him to kick me some of his $5 in change the he spent all day trying to get. I would offer him a ride however.

Milk the fat cattle man, that's what they're there for.

 

[RnJ]

RnJ, I see your point, but there is a significant difference in learning in different settings. For instance, if I mess up while learning carpentry through a habitat for humanity in a large US city, versus messing up doing the same thing in a small cash-strapped community based group in a poor country, you see what I mean. I can understand that during emergencies, sometimes there isn't that option, but most of the time it's there. It only takes a few months to get a pretty solid skill, maybe less depending on how focused you are. Even something like bike repair has skills than can be transferred to other mechanical skills.

I give massive props to the landmine removal guy, he sound pretty awesome.

Well, what organization would take someone completely unexperienced if he was gonna end up costing them supplies due to serious rework? I'd assume if the org is welcoming you, they'll train you or are glad for any bit of work they can get out of you. I also agree that one doesn't have to go to foreign countries to learn skills, especially not one like construction which is fairly universal with a few varying factors.

As for the man, he quiet and timid, but he was friendly. The Khmer leader of the organization used to be a Khmer military captain in command of over a hundred men, til he stepped on a landmine and lost his legs. So he decided to go through school and start an organization for other victims. I loved watching him wheel his way around the compound, because it said "don't let it take you down. Grab life by the balls and keep giver'in."

Picture and more info here: http://www.angkorad.org/ourstory.htm

 

[finn]

Well, what organization would take someone completely unexperienced if he was gonna end up costing them supplies due to serious rework?

Common Ground Relief in New Orleans. Ask anyone who was there in the first two years who wasn't in management. This is a problem with mostly newer groups which don't have good organizational skills. I've personally found that it's a good practice to never assume that the organization welcoming you is competent, but who knows, maybe I just have bad luck.

 

[RnJ]

Oh wow...good example. Ok, you're right. I have to admit I've never invested myself to hard into a organization to the point where I felt they were buckling underneath my skill, or that I had to work with unskilled people. I can't even do construction, therefore I'd be the unskilled one.

 

[Samuel]

I understand your points very clear, but Norway is probably one of the worst countries in the world to learn new trades. Nobody will train you without at least 3 years of school in advance (carpentry, medicine, anything practical), except Red Cross - who freely give out first-aid coursed (and I'm already an instructor, but still I'm far away from beeing adept in medicine). In addition, I have to keep my job until my journey starts to be able to fund the trip and those aid-projects I can afford on my own account.

This started out as me and my girl planning a trip backpacking around the world, and then we decided to try to use the trip to do some aid-work as we went. We have already set off a more than decent part of our money to this, and we are just crossing our fingers that someone sees the value of such an endeavour. I have already been contacted by members on this forum, so it wasn't completely off the charts.

So, the thing is - I would love it if friends of mine could teach me the ropes of such trades, but since I don't have any friends within those industries, and no company or school will be able or willing to train me - I'll have to do with what I got as best I can.

Don't think that I don't understand your points though. Skilled and professional will always be able to do a better job than me - and I hope as many as possible already are. I'm just hoping that I can be of any service along the path - and I know about many projects where they turn a unskilled helper into good worth.

I value this discussion, and your input is valuable for me - it really is. I hope what I wrote here gives a better understanding of my limitations and my ambitions.

 

[RnJ]

Thanks for your European perspective. We can't see all sides from the West, and even those who know that (like me), sometimes forget. I have to say, I feel bad that an introduction thread has turned into a debate over the helpfulness of uneducated and unskilled, but willing volunteers. Upon reflection of the Haiti disaster, in which most people believe the best thing they can do is donate money, I feel like perhaps it's really the easiest thing we can do (which is certainly better than doing nothing at all). Honestly, I am for hands-on training, cross-cultural exposure, trying to see the world from as many angles as possible. I am excited for you and hope that your trip is, through the people you meet and ways you get involved, to be rewarding and life-changing, as opposed to merely a drunken tour through world hostels and pre-packaged tours of the jungle and commercialized indigenous.