In this Issue
Bolivia Photo Illuminates Volunteers' Impact
In a recent ad for Student Traveler Magazine, we
selected the above photo to draw attention to our
volunteer programs, many of which involve at-risk
children and orphans. Though shot by an amateur,
Executive Director Michael Sandy said this particular
photo is a dramatic example of the impact made by
volunteers in Bolivia over the past seven years.
The children in the photo are residents of Hogar De
Ninos Orphanage in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The
orphanage was built from the ground up by hundreds of
Amizade volunteers in cooperation with the Rotary and
Lions Clubs of Cochabamba between 1998 and 2004.
Some 40 Quechua children (members of an Andean
indigenous population) who would otherwise be
homeless, are currently being cared for at the facility.
A volunteer even donated the television the children
are watching.
Programs at the orphanage have been so successful
that the facility is expanding, and volunteers are now
working to build an addition. The extra space will
enable more children to be cared for in a safe and
healthy environment, Sandy said. Amizade volunteers
remain directly involved with children at the facility,
engaging them in educational projects or creative play.
"The light streaming through the window onto the
eager face of a child is a powerful testament to the
important work our volunteers have done in Bolivia,"
Sandy said. Amizade is currently registering volunteers
for programs in Bolivia in October and November 2005;
and April, July, October and November 2006.
Student Traveler Magazine
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Greetings!
As students head back to school this month,
we invite you to consider the educational possibilities
of volunteering or taking a service-learning course for
college credit. Through an academic partnership with
West Virginia University, Amizade offers numerous
service-learning options in countries around the world.
Study the peace process from the streets of Belfast,
Northern Ireland; or learn how global economics have
affected the people of the Navajo Nation. We are
currently looking for graduate students, professors and
others to help facilitate our programs in cooperation
with faculty from WVU. And, as always, we are
registering students for courses and participants for
upcoming individual and group volunteer programs.
Sincerely,
Alyson Walls, Public Relations Coordinator
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Volunteers Experience Rural Africa, Construct AIDS Orphanage in Tanzania
Since 2003, Amizade has partnered with
Nyakahanga Hospital and the Lutheran Church in
Tanzania on several projects, including construction of
an orphanage for children suffering from AIDS. The
vision is to provide a
safe center where children can stay while awaiting
placement in foster care, as well as education and
training. Amizade also partners with other organizations
in the Karagwe and Kagera
Districts, including the Family Alliance for Development
& Cooperation (FADECO), which focuses on economic
sustainability and fair trade, and the Women's
Emancipation & Development Agency (WOMEDA), which
addresses economic and human rights issues.
Dr. Linda A. Winkler, associate professor of biological
sciences and anthropology at the University of
Pittsburgh in Titusville, PA, and Joseph Croskey,
Amizade board member and program facilitator, led a
group of eight volunteers in the villages of Omurashaka
and Nyakahanga in July. "This program is a wonderful
way to serve and experience rural Africa," Winkler
said. "We read about these areas often, but very few
people are actually able to experience them. In that
way, the Amizade program is unique."
The group finished laying bricks, installed beams and
began roofing a portion of the orphanage; supported
staff at Nyakahanga Hospital in the area of AIDS
research, and worked with FADECO and WOMEDA.
Volunteers also visited Karesco Secondary School,
donated books
and money for projects, and purchased
handicrafts from the Bishesha Women's Cooperative.
The trip ended with a three-day wild life safari. Winkler
said the group delighted in learning several words in
Swahili, making new friends and visiting the Ngorongoro
Crater Wildlife area, where they saw rhinos and blue
monkeys for the first time.
Future projects in Tanzania include inside work on the
orphanage and building homes for AIDS widows
and orphans. "This area will always need buildings and
the people will always need technical assistance and
expertise, especially in the areas of computers, health
care and AIDS education," said Croskey, who has
traveled to Tanzania three times since 2003. He added
that an internship exchange program would greatly
benefit the villages. "Engineering students could learn
about water management issues, solar power and
construction challenges. Teachers and student nurses
could also share a wealth of knowledge and skills."
Croskey called Amizade's Tanzania program the best
service-learning/study abroad program for the
money. "Where else can you experience rural African
culture, contribute to worthwhile projects and get a
safari all for less than $3,000?"
Learn more about FADECO, our partner in Tanzania »
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Open Your Mind to the Newest Trend in Higher Education: Service-Learning
Would you like to travel to another country to study
history, economics, or travel writing while contributing
to a valuable service project such as tutoring
children or building a community center? Or, perhaps as
a professor, you are feeling constrained by the
limitations of traditional classroom lectures. If so, an
Amizade service-learning course may be for you.
Global service-learning courses integrate academic
content with community service experiences. Classes
may incorporate everything from an economics lesson
in a sugar cane field to a journal article on the meaning
of individual activism. No matter what the assignment,
your knowledge of the academic subject area will
deepen in conjunction with cross-cultural service. Be
prepared to study, research,
present, write, and stretch yourself in new ways to
apply academic concepts historically reserved for
textbooks to complex issues of the real
world.
Our past courses have included "Holocaust History"
taught at the Auschwitz concentration camp in
Poland; "Global Citizenship" taught in Bolivia; "Health
and AIDS Issues" taught in rural Tanzania, and "Film
Studies" in Jamaica, to name just a few.
In 2006, students may choose from 10 service learning
courses!
Credit is offered through an academic partnership with
West Virginia University and may be transferred to the
individual college or university the student is attending.
Classes are taught by WVU professors and facilitated
by Amizade
staff. Please call our office or visit our web site for
more information on service-learning courses or
alternative Spring Break volunteer options.
Check our service-learning web site for course updates »
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Don't Miss Your Chance to Volunteer With Amizade This Fall
Amizade has several upcoming Fall volunteer programs,
so don't miss your chance to make a difference.
Fall programs include: Bolivia - Oct. 1-15 and Nov. 5-
19; Brazil - Oct. 16-30 and Nov. 20-Dec. 4; Jamaica -
Oct. 14-23 and Nov. 11-20; Mexico - Sept. 11-17;
Navajo Nation - Sept. 18-24; and the
Greater Yellowstone Backcountry - Oct. 2-8. You can
also sign up as a long-term volunteer (one month or
longer) in Bolivia, Mexico, Jamaica and Brazil. You
choose your own dates of participation with our long -
term programs.
In Bolivia, volunteers will help convert a cow stable into
a school. In Brazil, volunteers will be engaged in
constructing a community center and mentoring at-risk
children in after school programs. At the Navajo Nation,
volunteers will tutor Navajo school children in math,
reading, science, art and other subjects. In Mexico,
volunteers will teach English as a second language in a
rural community. In the Greater
Yellowstone Backcountry, volunteers will repair and
restore log cabins and other structures in partnership
with the U.S. Forest Service.
In addition to specialized long-term volunteer
placements in Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Jamaica, we
can customize programs for groups of six or more. So
why not pass on the typical Fall leaf peeping tours,
most of which cost about the same or more than many
of Amizade's volunteer programs, and do something
worthwhile. Explore. Serve. Understand.
Last chances to volunteer in 2005 »
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