Aid Organizations

Interview with Kimberly Haley-Coleman, Executive Director of Globe Aware, Part One

Kimberly Haley-Coleman, Executive Director of Globe Aware

Image source: Globeaware.org

This week I interviewed Kimberly Haley-Coleman, Executive Director of Globe Aware. Globe Aware is a non-profit volunteer/voluntour organization dedicated to promoting cultural awareness and sustainability. I’ve written about Globe Aware’s focus on volunteer support, feedback, and building a volunteer community, something I think other volunteer organizations should emulate. As an aside, I would like to commend Globe Aware for their stance against orphanage tourism, a big business that often results in the exploitation of the children it’s meant to support (more on this below).

UNITE: An Experience Economy

Drought in East Africa

Image source: 3news.co.nz

One of the most difficult challenges to overcome when traveling overseas, particularly to developing countries, is what I call economic armor. It’s the suit made of expensive traveling clothes, luggage, shiny rented cars… it’s the air of privilege that surrounds many American travelers like a cloud. It makes good sense that people without money or material goods see these travelers as an opportunity. They see economic gain for themselves and their families—food, shelter, a lifeline. Imagine yourself in dire straits, struggling to feed your family. Wouldn’t you see privileged tourists this way too?

Volunteers Become Scientists with Earthwatch

Earthwatch Volunteers in the Andes

Image source: Cooler.mpora.com

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may know that I love it when the name of an organization embodies its mission. First, it just makes sense. I know exactly what to expect. Second, it’s a smart marketing move. A brand is only as good as its name. Earthwatch is a perfect example of good naming in action. It is an international non-profit organization dedicated to environmental research. With scientists, citizen activists, volunteers, students, and educators, Earthwatch works to improve scientific understanding: to monitor populations, protect threatened species and fragile habitats, and research the impacts of climate change. They use their knowledge to inspire change by working with local communities to support human populations while they protect wildlife and endangered ecosystems.

Voluntours with the Harnas Wildlife Foundation

Harnas Volunteer Covered in Monkeys

Image source: Harnasusa.org

Harnas Wildlife Foundation started on a cattle farm in the Namibian wilderness. The owners, Nick and Marieta van der Merwe, were farmers, making a living on the land, when a sick vervet monkey inspired them to do more. They began adopting animals, taking in the sick and infirm, even adopting a healthy pride of lions from a defunct zoo. As their love for animals grew, so did the farm. They hired a staff and expanded their facilities, eventually opening the farm to the public in 1993.

Return to Freedom: American Wild Horse Sanctuary

Wild Horses Runnig through Tall Grass

Image source: Returntofreedom.org

I started riding horses when I was six, just a gangly little girl with eyes that were too big for my face. I cried the first time, not from fear but from pure excitement. I was overwhelmed with emotion, as only a little girl can be. I’ve always loved horses—the way they run, the strong muscles beneath their rippling flanks, the swish of their tails—and I’m not alone. I don’t know that I’ve ever met a little girl who doesn’t love them, even if she’s never seen one in person. It’s just magical that there is an animal willing to let people ride it. The relationship between people and horses is ancient. Horses are depicted in the 25,000 year-old paintings of Chauvet Cave in France. Their influence is obvious in our culture. Horses were pivotal players in our great western migration and in our most famous battles. What better animal to help teach people the value of nature and the importance of conservation than man’s age-old companion, the majestic horse?