At any given time there are travelers across the world making a difference and ‘Doing the right thing’. From my vantage point here in Cambodia I am often lucky enough to meet them in person and be part of their process of giving back. I felt I would start off this dialogue with the first installment of Right Here, Right Now, a Q&A with travelers making a difference today.
I had dinner with Lee and Shannon Ferrier who are on tour in Southeast Asia, including a week volunteering here in Cambodia…
Who are you? (in two sentences or less!) We’re a retired school teacher and a working judge in our early 70’s from Canada.
What are you doing here? We’re returning to Cambodia and volunteering in the community with JWOC (Journeys Within Our Community) in conjunction with a holiday in Laos and Vietnam.
What brought you back? Really it was the volunteering. The idea that we could spend a week in Siem Reap working to benefit the local community was very exciting. It gave us an opportunity to really be involved with local people - go to their homes, see how they live and interact with them outside of a tourist setting. We learned about JWOC when we were planning our first trip, but we already had our dates laid out and couldn’t fit in a week of volunteering. This time, when we decided to return we knew we wanted to fit this in. Frankly the idea of having a week at a relaxed and tranquil hotel, while being kept busy helping the local community very much appealed to us.
I had dinner with Lee and Shannon Ferrier who are on tour in Southeast Asia, including a week volunteering here in Cambodia…
Who are you? (in two sentences or less!) We’re a retired school teacher and a working judge in our early 70’s from Canada.
What are you doing here? We’re returning to Cambodia and volunteering in the community with JWOC (Journeys Within Our Community) in conjunction with a holiday in Laos and Vietnam.
What brought you back? Really it was the volunteering. The idea that we could spend a week in Siem Reap working to benefit the local community was very exciting. It gave us an opportunity to really be involved with local people - go to their homes, see how they live and interact with them outside of a tourist setting. We learned about JWOC when we were planning our first trip, but we already had our dates laid out and couldn’t fit in a week of volunteering. This time, when we decided to return we knew we wanted to fit this in. Frankly the idea of having a week at a relaxed and tranquil hotel, while being kept busy helping the local community very much appealed to us.
So, what do you think so far? There are two aspects of this
volunteering. One is that you’re hopefully helping a little, but the
second is to really be able to interact and get to know an area. Being
here and being a part of JWOC for this week is like you’re part of a
big Cambodian family.
What have you been doing? Shannon: I’ve been sewing! Well, remembering how to sew! (Shannon taught Home Econ. back in Canada). I worked with the sewing class and I was very happy to bring some patterns as here no one sews to a pattern so they were very interested in it. I also brought some crocheting needles and how-to books and the teacher loved learning that. It was fun for me to be in that small group of 8 as I really got to know them. It was a natural fit to be a part of that group.
Lee: I’ve been doing two major things really. I’ve been in the classroom and I’m not an English teacher, but I feel I’ve made a contribution. You can tell the kids love having a foreigner in the class and after class they all come up and want to talk to you. One of the classes is the conversational English so having a native English speaker is great. The point I would want to make is that even though I’m not a teacher I can contribute. The teachers invite us to be involved when appropriate and we follow their lead. I’ve also been doing some mechanical work. By that I mean the schools need some new flashcards so I’ve been working on a computer…a very slow computer…to find pictures and make flashcards. I realize it isn’t glamorous, but someone has to do it and I’m happy to help.
Would you volunteer as part of a vacation again? We would love to do this again. We wish we had done this in our 30’s (Shannon then chimes in…”or in our 60’s for that matter”!)
Any advice for people considering giving some of their time when on a trip? Sure, DO IT! It really is a unique way to see a place and I think it offers a nice balance to touring.
So Lee and Shannon Ferrier obviously had a great experience and JWOC and its students also benefitted greatly, but not all volunteer experiences are this successful. Here is what Lee and Shannon did right that helped shape their experience:
1. Be flexible: every organization is going to have different needs at different times so no two experiences will ever be the same, go with the flow and enjoy the experience rather than trying to micromanage the details. Also, understand that it isn’t all glamorous work, Lee had to battle it out with an old and slow computer in a hot office, but it was needed!
2. Volunteer before you head off on your trip: Lee and Shannon both agree that this was a great way to START a trip. They both said that at the end of a trip they are ready to head home so being somewhere for a week would be tough, but at the start of the trip it allowed them to get over their jetlag, not have to repack every few days and get used to the climate.
3. Find out what the group needs before you arrive: Shannon sent us an email before she left and let us know what her skill set and background was, this allowed us to tell her about the sewing class and ask her to bring patterns and anything else she thought could help.
4. Volunteer in a community you have already visited once: While this isn’t always possible Lee and Shannon are a great example of how beneficial it is. As Lee said, “I have a general idea of where things are and I’m comfortable just being here because I remember it from touring last time.” And as Shannon said, “it’s nice to not have to go and see the touristy things, we can really just focus on volunteering.”
5. Understand that volunteering is for you too: Often when I speak with volunteers they are just focused on what they can do for the local community. While I am not complaining about this altruism I think it’s important for volunteers to recognize that this is an experience for them! As Lee said, “it’s really about being able to interact on a different level than the average tourist.” I find that volunteers that embrace this idea, and enjoy the experience for themselves, end up having the most impact of the people they’re working with, a good attitude and a general seizing of the moment goes a long way.
As always comments are welcome and if you have questions for Lee and Shannon feel free to write it in the comments, they will be here for the rest of the week Doing the Right Thing!
What have you been doing? Shannon: I’ve been sewing! Well, remembering how to sew! (Shannon taught Home Econ. back in Canada). I worked with the sewing class and I was very happy to bring some patterns as here no one sews to a pattern so they were very interested in it. I also brought some crocheting needles and how-to books and the teacher loved learning that. It was fun for me to be in that small group of 8 as I really got to know them. It was a natural fit to be a part of that group.
Lee: I’ve been doing two major things really. I’ve been in the classroom and I’m not an English teacher, but I feel I’ve made a contribution. You can tell the kids love having a foreigner in the class and after class they all come up and want to talk to you. One of the classes is the conversational English so having a native English speaker is great. The point I would want to make is that even though I’m not a teacher I can contribute. The teachers invite us to be involved when appropriate and we follow their lead. I’ve also been doing some mechanical work. By that I mean the schools need some new flashcards so I’ve been working on a computer…a very slow computer…to find pictures and make flashcards. I realize it isn’t glamorous, but someone has to do it and I’m happy to help.
Would you volunteer as part of a vacation again? We would love to do this again. We wish we had done this in our 30’s (Shannon then chimes in…”or in our 60’s for that matter”!)
Any advice for people considering giving some of their time when on a trip? Sure, DO IT! It really is a unique way to see a place and I think it offers a nice balance to touring.
So Lee and Shannon Ferrier obviously had a great experience and JWOC and its students also benefitted greatly, but not all volunteer experiences are this successful. Here is what Lee and Shannon did right that helped shape their experience:
1. Be flexible: every organization is going to have different needs at different times so no two experiences will ever be the same, go with the flow and enjoy the experience rather than trying to micromanage the details. Also, understand that it isn’t all glamorous work, Lee had to battle it out with an old and slow computer in a hot office, but it was needed!
2. Volunteer before you head off on your trip: Lee and Shannon both agree that this was a great way to START a trip. They both said that at the end of a trip they are ready to head home so being somewhere for a week would be tough, but at the start of the trip it allowed them to get over their jetlag, not have to repack every few days and get used to the climate.
3. Find out what the group needs before you arrive: Shannon sent us an email before she left and let us know what her skill set and background was, this allowed us to tell her about the sewing class and ask her to bring patterns and anything else she thought could help.
4. Volunteer in a community you have already visited once: While this isn’t always possible Lee and Shannon are a great example of how beneficial it is. As Lee said, “I have a general idea of where things are and I’m comfortable just being here because I remember it from touring last time.” And as Shannon said, “it’s nice to not have to go and see the touristy things, we can really just focus on volunteering.”
5. Understand that volunteering is for you too: Often when I speak with volunteers they are just focused on what they can do for the local community. While I am not complaining about this altruism I think it’s important for volunteers to recognize that this is an experience for them! As Lee said, “it’s really about being able to interact on a different level than the average tourist.” I find that volunteers that embrace this idea, and enjoy the experience for themselves, end up having the most impact of the people they’re working with, a good attitude and a general seizing of the moment goes a long way.
As always comments are welcome and if you have questions for Lee and Shannon feel free to write it in the comments, they will be here for the rest of the week Doing the Right Thing!
What a lovely way to hear the benefits and things to think about by hearing Lee and Shannon's story and experience. We are planning a trip to Cambodia next year and I am already thinking about what I can bring and how I can contribute