Colombia

I am writing this post on behalf of not only myself but also my girlfriend Christina and my good friend Emily. On June 8th, 2008, we will be embarking on a journey to Colombia, spending two weeks volunteering, helping a country develop educationally and economically. We based this decision on more than a couple of things: 1)We all have a passion for helping people, 2)we are tired of sitting around when we know we have the ability and skill to help people in need, and 3)we have the desire to travel.

I can't speak for Christina and Emily on this one, but I can speak for myself; I have never been outside the United States. No, Canada does not count. No offense to our neighbors from the north, but I live about two hours from the border. Getting a taste of "anything but Western NY" really inspired some adventurous attitude. I almost got up and moved to California after graduation. Thanks to a sketchy financial situation, I had to stay put. Less to say, I have the desire to get out there in the world and at least attempt to make a difference. It is what I want to spend my life doing, helping people by passing on a wealth of knowledge I feel privileged to have.

In a less developed country, that need is great. Although the journey will involve some site seeing, it is anything but a vacation. I am taking it as a mission. I will always say, with all things considered, if I can change one aspect of one person's life, whether I know the person, or ever see the person after the change happens, or if I ever know about it until I am lying on my death bed, I will consider my life worthy.

"And more importantly, from a human perspective, you can help alleviate the suffering of other human beings and have the experience of a lifetime. Living with people of a different culture can open your eyes to a new reality that you might not experience back at home. By viewing the world from a more caring and understanding perspective, you will develop a sense of social responsibility and activism." - From letsgovolunteer.com.

This quote came from the website of the NGO we are volunteering through. My thing is community development. Christina's thing is working with children. Emily's thing is working with the elderly. There is basically a place for all of us to work in through this NGO. We found the place by researching opportunities to volunteer abroad. Thanks to Christina's extensive research, we had quite a bit to choose from. We researched all of them and we chose this one based on the price, quality and opportunity. The price is cheap, they have been around for a while, and there are a variety of fields we can work in. The program takes place through and with the help of the University of Ibague, but is its own private entity. Ibague is a safe city and is in a prime location.

It was my intention to get involved in an international volunteer trip of some kind this summer, most likely through Habitat for Humanity. Thankfully I have met some amazing people who have intentions in life similar to my own. We decided to do this together based on how much more fun it would be, rather than doing it alone. We feel very fortunate to find something of such similar interest and intention.

We will soon be launching a fund raiser for the trip. Our personal goals are to raise at least 1000 dollars each, and have anything extra go toward a charity not decided yet. Hopefully, any of you who read this will support us all in any shape or form by either donating or just simply wishing us well on our trip. Any support will be greatly appreciated and any one of you will see how much good you will be doing.