The Ripple Effect: Terri Wingham’s Incredible Journey, Part 2
Image source: Terri Wingham
Yesterday we spoke with Terri Wingham about her journey of hope. Here is the second half of that interview. Enjoy!
The Ripple Effect: Terri Wingham’s Incredible Journey, Part 1
Image source: Terri Wingham
Welcome back to our new interview series, The Ripple Effect. The Ripple Effect explores the emotional impact of volunteer travel and its lasting effect on people’s lives. Today we’re speaking with Terri Wingham, a truly inspirational woman. As a cancer survivor, Terri has been through one of life’s greatest challenges and has come out the other side, vibrantly alive and passionate about to helping others. She has found hope through volunteering.
In her words…
In the last year, I have become a cultivator of hope. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Hope doesn’t make the misery go away or instantly transport you into a mythical utopia where unicorns frolic and vibrant rainbows ignite the sky. But, for me, hope is like holding onto a thick rope while walking through a dark cave. You can’t yet see anything, but you know that if you keep walking and keep holding the rope, you will eventually emerge out of the cold dampness of the cave and into the warmth of the afternoon sun.
Volunteer and Explore with Geovisions
Image source: Geovisions.org
It’s been a while since I wrote about a volunteer organization on the business side of the volunteering equation. The for-profit volunteer industry is one of the main engines driving our global increase in volunteer travel. These are travel companies that provide a vital service for communities in need while they offer great travel and volunteering adventures to their customers. The links between tourism and volunteering continue to blur as itineraries increasingly include volunteering stints amidst sightseeing and outdoor adventure. Often volunteering opportunities are half-time and include room and board, permitting a much more long-term vacation than would otherwise be possible.
Be the Change You Want to See With ProWorld
Image source: Proworldvolunteers.org
In America, we love the quick fix. We are bombarded by advertising campaigns designed to appeal to our short-term thinking. Lose 14 pounds in 2 weeks! Detoxify your body in 3 days! Take this pill to cure every malady under the sun! It’s natural to want our problems to melt away while we sleep—to disappear as apparitions on the wind because we ate acai berry, took a vitamin, or practiced positive thinking. Of course, deep inside we all know the truth: that real, meaningful, sustained change takes hard work and time. The equation is no different on a larger scale. The world’s problems are maddeningly complex. They’re the product of centuries of conflict, many of which were born of deep-seated philosophical differences. Cultures have developed within the framework of war, suffering, corruption, poverty, and loss. Changing something so vast, something with such a complicated and firm foundation must, of necessity, take great effort.
2012 Official Volunteer Abroad Report from Go Overseas
Image source: City-data.com
The volunteer industry is growing at an astounding rate. More students are choosing to spend gap years overseas. More adults are taking career breaks to volunteer. Honeymooning couples are choosing to spend their time giving back together, cementing their love by sharing their time and happiness. Empty nesters are finding new purpose and energy by sharing their experience, skills, and wisdom. It is a wonderful thing to see, especially in a world where economic crises seem to crop up everywhere you look, where poverty has reached record levels, and where the Internet joins us virtually, something that I think could keep people physically apart, if people let it. Instead, people are coming together across vast distances, bridging racial and socioeconomic divides, laughing in the face of ageism and sexism, and standing up to inequality and injustice.