Tag Archives: study tours

You Can Go Away for Good

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Another great article from the latest issue of World Ark magazine. In “Go Away for Good,” Lauren Wilcox explores the rise and ramifications of voluntourism–the combination of tourism and volunteering:

“For those who want to become more engaged in hunger and poverty work, educational travel can be an invaluable tool. ‘Nothing beats face-to-face interaction if you want to learn about an issue, a community or an organization,’ said Nancy McGehee, a sociologist at Virginia Tech who studies volunteer tourism. ‘All the Web surfing, social networking and YouTube videos in the world cannot come close to the actual person-to-person experience.’


“But all education travel and ‘voluntourism’ opportunities are not right for all travelers. Determining how a visit is run, identifying your own goals for the trip and having an idea of what you can expect are all essential to ensure that the experience is a positive one—for the people and the places you are visiting, as well as for you.”
And we’re not the only ones who think it’s a great article. Fox Business cites the World Ark piece in its own article, “The Selfishness of Good Deeds”:
“In the summer issue of World Ark, the magazine of Heifer International, Lauren Wilcox writes about learning- and service-based travel in a piece titled “Go Away for Good.” In it, she quotes Katherine Lu, director of Heifer’s Study Tours.


“ ‘For our Study Tour participants, the real service work of the trip comes after participants return home and begin to make changes in their own lives based on what they have seen and learned,’ Lu says.


Bravo.”

Heifer is offering just such an opportunity through our first service-learning study tour to Rwanda this September. During this trip, we’ll join with members of the Muhazi Women’s Dairy and Horticulture Project to build zero-grazing pens, as well as experience Heifer projects in action and participate in a Passing On The Gift ceremony. You can learn more about this exciting opportunity here.

Read the entire World Ark article online.



Much More Than a Warm Welcome

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Shi Cao Gou Village Welcomes UAA students


“Such a generous and beautiful welcome was rather overwhelming. I do not think I was able to capture how touching it was that this village had opened themselves to us and had taken the time to give us an opportunity to learn from them…”

“The visit to this village was significant for us, and not just because of the grand welcome. The story of one man moved the entire group in a way I cannot adequately describe. Mr. Zhang Xiu lives with his wife, who cannot speak, in a small two-room house. His house was one of the smallest we, as a group, had seen so far on our trip. Standing outside their home, a translator explained to us that with the extra money Heifer’s project had enabled the family to earn, Mr. Zhang Xiu and his wife had purchased a window, which allowed sunlight into the home. One the other side of the house, instead of a window, there was a plastic bag covering a large hole in the wall. It is the hope of the couple to buy a second window some day.”

These words were written by University of Alaska Anchorage student Meneka Thiru about her recent visit to the village of Shicagou in China. Last month she joined a group of students and faculty from the university in a 12-day study tour of Heifer projects in China’s Quan River and Dabie Mountain areas. Meneka and a number of other UAA students created a blog to chronicle their experiences, and you can read their compelling stories here.

Giving Women a Voice in Peru

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The following post was written by Heifer volunteer Sandi Watson, and first appeared on our blog for Boston area volunteers. Sandi was part of a group that visited Heifer projects in Peru last month, and you can read her posts about the trip here.

Simply put, gender equity is about fairness, understanding, and respect. Martha Hirpa, Heifer International’s Director of Gender Equity, writes: “The way women and men share resources, make decisions about their livelihoods, and plan for the future of their children, family, community and society at large—these are all issues that pertain to gender.”

During our volunteers study tour in Peru, we witnessed the ways that Heifer, in conjunction with a number of NGOs (non-government agencies), is working to help women throughout Peru find a voice both within their own families and in their communities. One NGO working with Heifer in this area is the Community Education Center of the Highland Provinces of Cusco. They are training and supporting women leaders in 8 districts. The 370 original recipients will pass on the gift of knowledge to another 1,000 families.

For example, in the Province of Canchis, Julia Mercado and Yoni Mamani are representatives of womens’ groups. Their primary goals are education for women and training in things such as:

  • Self-esteem
  • Awareness of women’s rights
  • Leadership
  • Budgeting
  • Organization
Yoni told us that from this training she learned that the women in her town had the right to speak up when they discovered that the local mayor was corrupt (he was not distributing government-supplied foods in an equitable way). The women organized and went to meet with him. Yoni said “We are not afraid anymore. Now we speak up.”

In October 2009, the first Women’s Congress in this area met and, as a result of their new organization, gained a voice in budgeting decisions for their district. In March of this year, 800 women gathered to celebrate International Women’s Day. This required a lot of planning and a great effort by all the participants who traveled to the meeting.

We asked how men have responded to changes resulting from gender equity training. Yoni answered that her first husband didn’t react well but that her second husband is a good man, who is gentle and supports her in every way. Julia added that her husband is also a good man; that they “treat each other with justice” and that his support makes a big difference in her life.

Heifer Peru staff added to our understanding of this process. They said that one way to help men shift their thinking on gender issues is to take them to visit places where the gender equity training has been in place for a while, to see the improved economic conditions for entire families and communities.

They also told us that in Pasco, a Heifer project that was still in progress met with local staff for assessment. When asked about the best part of participating in a Heifer project, both men and women said that the most important aspect was the gender equity training – that this was even more important to them than the animals. They said that the families were better off; relationships were stronger, and that they felt their children would have a better future.

Study Tour Offers Up Close Look at India

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I’ve really enjoyed reading Annie’s updates from her recent trip to India, where she visited Heifer projects in Rajasthan. She shared her first-hand accounts of the difference Heifer’s model of training, empowerment and Passing on the Gift is making in rural villages there. If you’re like me, you wish you could go there and see this up close.

Heifer International is offering just such an opportunity this November through our India study tour. This trip is planned for November 7-16, 2010. Enrollment is open to the public, but space is limited. You can learn more about it and download an application here.

Through organized group trips, our study tours visit the farmers and families who are working with Heifer to improve their lives. All of Heifer’s study tours let participants observe Heifer’s model of sustainable development in action. A study tour has the power to change your whole outlook on the meaning of the words hunger and poverty, and expose you to new cultures and ways of thinking. Read what study tour participant Judith Capen had to say about her experience:

“The Guatemala study tour deepened my understanding of poor farmers and global issues, and has caused me to look at what is really important in my life and realize how we are all in this together – that we can make a difference.”