cultural immersion

Be the Change You Want to See With ProWorld

ProWorld Volunteer in Cape Town

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.

World Endeavors: Wildlife Conservation in Ecuador

Iguana in Ecuador

Image source: Globalendeavors.com

Ecuador is the perfect storm when it comes to biodiversity. The high Andes Mountains, it’s tropical location on the equator, and two major ocean currents along the coast create microclimates for a dazzling array of wildlife. Not only is Ecuador home to 25,000 species of plants, 1,600 species of birds (more than half of the 3,000 species found in all of South America), 369 species of mammals, 350 species of reptiles, and 800 species of fish, it is also home to the legendary Galapagos Islands, the inspiration behind Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. Many of these animals are found nowhere else on Earth. They are unique and precious, both ecologically and scientifically. There is so much we can learn from these creatures and they are disappearing before our eyes.