January 24, 2005: Headlines: Alternatives: Eastern Echo: Groups help others internationally
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January 24, 2005: Headlines: Alternatives: Eastern Echo: Groups help others internationally
Groups help others internationally
Groups help others internationally
Groups help others internationally
Organizations include Peace Corps, Amnesty International, many more
By Sarah Bricker / Assistant Dimensions Editor
MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2005
Volunteering is not limited to the local or even national area. Many volunteers spend their time all over the world working on an unimaginable variety of tasks while learning about another culture firsthand. Whether it’s a longtime commitment like Peace Corps or a week abroad through special programs, volunteers can be found pitching tents and pitching tent anywhere in the world.
Several options are available to people wishing to experience a volunteer opportunity in a foreign country. Some are fully paid in terms of travel and lodging expenses, while others require at least some costs be covered by the volunteers. Here are a few of the most popular programs:
Peace Corps (www.peacecorps.gov)
First, peace corps is often overlooked because it seems like a lot of work for no money. In fact, this isn’t the case. Peace Corps volunteers are provided with all paid expenses, including travel, healthcare, room and board and a resettlement allowance of at least $6,000 after completing their two-year commitment.
Getting in is no easy task. Applications are reviewed seriously and volunteers could wind up in any number of places across the world. But once these volunteers complete their service and return home, they almost uniformly report that the experience was by far one of the best of their lives.
These volunteers do everything from professional work like providing medical and legal assistance to impoverished areas of the world to running education programs in villages deep within the developing world. Their demographics range across the board, from fresh college graduates (a four-year degree is required for almost every Peace Corps position) to retired professionals.
To find out more, visit peacecorps.gov.
Amnesty International (http://www.amnestyusa.org/activism/volunteer.do)
Amnesty International is a left-leaning politically motivated organization that is concerned with human rights violations worldwide. Prominent issues Amnesty has focused on include prison conditions at Guantanamo Bay and the continued political upheaval all over sub-Saharan Africa.
Amnesty International volunteers perform work stateside and overseas. Most student volunteer positions involve on campus roles as coordinators in local Amnesty International chapters. Positions also exist for summer work in Washington, D.C.
Typical work for Amnesty International can involve anything from clerical duties to actually traveling to foreign countries and participating in human rights awareness programs. For example, volunteers might travel to sub-Saharan African and lead awareness training for locals about the AIDS crisis in that region. Domestically, volunteers have worked on committees to abolish the death penalty in the US.
For information on what volunteer opportunities currently exist and how to apply for them, visit http://www.amnestyusa.org/activism/volunteer.do
Cosmos Education (http://cosmoseducation.org/)
Cosmos Education is focused on a highly specialized brand of volunteerism: teaching science to children in developing countries. Projects include topics like teaching children about water conservation and safety, tree planting, and telecommunications advances.
The premise here is that arming the youth of developing nations with knowledge about everyday science and modern advancements can only help these nations advance as independently as possible.
Cosmos has headquarters in both the US and the UK, with volunteers from all over the world. Volunteers are expected to raise funds to cover the costs of transportation and boarding.
Whatever you decide about life after EMU or during your spare time, know this: If you decide to volunteer abroad, your life will be forever changed if the stories from past participants are any indication. Seeing what life is like outside the United States, especially in the less developed world is certain to be a real eye-opening experience unmatched by any textbook or lecture. This is the stuff of real life learning, and it’s a real possibility for anyone with serious interest.
Share your volunteer stories on the Eastern Echo forums at easternecho.com.
When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
| Ask Not As our country prepares for the inauguration of a President, we remember one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and how his words inspired us. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." |
| Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help? |
| The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005. |
| Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia." |
| Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors. |
| The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
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Story Source: Eastern Echo
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