Harambe E-Newsletter-Winter Edition 2010
Happy International Volunteer Day
What were your contributions to society in 2010? How has being engaged with GCN inspired you? Every year on December 5, governments, the United Nations system and civil society organizations have joined volunteers around the world to celebrate the The International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development (IVD).
The GCN global community thanks you for volunteerism internationally, nationally, and locally. Over 1,300 people have been GCN trip participants since 1992. To you we say gracias, tashi delek, asante sana, ahe-ee, sawatdee, tlozohcamati, namaste. Your spirit of volunteerism is inspiring and contagious. Your story may not make the news, but it is changing the world. We encourage you to continuing sharing your story and spreading the power of volunteerism. GCN wants to know what YOU did this year to volunteer in your school, community or around the world! Did you clean up rash in a park around school? Did you serve at a local soup kitchen? Did you participate on a GCN trip? Share your story on our "Join the Dialogue" page by clicking here.
The cultural form and definition of a volunteer may change depending on circumstances, but the underlying principle never wavers: every individual can make a difference in society. Beyond helping to promote the greater good, volunteers enrich their own lives. As one volunteer recently put it, “I feel as though I am able to make a difference in the world and use my skills. It allows me to genuinely feel as though I am part of the world community.”
-United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, International Volunteer Day, December 5, 2008
Join us for Ten Thousand Villages & Social Hour
It’s getting to be that time . . . holiday shopping time!
JOIN US TO GET YOUR SHOP ON
Thursday, December 9, 5-8pm
867 Grand Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
Ten Thousand Villages Holiday Benefit Event
***20% of all in-store purchases from 5-8pm will be donated to the Global Citizens Network Community Development Project Fund.***
Join GCN at Ten Thousand Villages at 867 Grand Ave. in St. Paul, MN on Thursday, December 9. 20% of all purchases from 5-8pm will be donated to GCN's Community Development Project Fund. The projects determined by our community partners throughout the world - such as school cafeteria and health clinic construction, roof restoration, landscaping improvements, and more - are funded in part by the Community Development Project Fund. Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade retailer of artisan-crafted home decor, personal accessories, and gift items from across the globe. Join the event on our Facebook group and share it with your friends by re-posting it to your page. The more the merrier!
Then, join your fellow global citizens across the street at Axel's Bonfire at 850 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN for a no-host Social Hour from 6-9pm. Celebrate International Volunteer Day by sharing your stories of cross-cultural immersion. Meet returned trip participants, future trip participants, globally-minded neighbors, & GCN staff. The agenda: socialize, swap big ideas, & share your experiences with a captive audience. All are welcome.
As we look forward to the new year, GCN would like to extend to you our special discount to “lock in” at our 2010 rate for any upcoming 2011 trip. You can do so by mailing us your application and $300/person deposit. This offer is good through December 31, 2010.
It’s not too late! Year End Giving to Global Citizens Network …
While GCN’s initiatives can be defined as small scale and low-profile, the experiences pay very high dividends. Friendships are created, projects are accomplished and lives are changed. Together we promote mutual understanding between peoples of the world.
With your help in 2010, we reached our goals of increasing opportunities for all, reaching out to families, advocating for indigenous peoples, and changing the way we do project work with our host communities. Nevertheless, there is still more work to be done. We’d like you to consider donating to GCN so that we may continue to support development & project work.
Community Projects for Refugees/Volunteer Scholarship in Nepal
Partnership with Lodrik Refugee Welfare Committee
Goal: In the Pokhara Valley, 45 minutes by plane from Kathmandu are the four Tibetan refugee settlements of Tashi Palkheil, Jampaling, Tashi Ling, and Paljorling. The Lodrik Refugee Welfare Committee invited Global Citizens Network on an exploratory visit to the settlements in October 1999. GCN volunteers have partnered with them on a number of community projects, including roofing repair, building a public bathhouse, renovating an irrigation canal and water drainage ditch, business development of a recycling center, among others.
Project Request: $1,200 USD
Our work cannot be done without the generous support of individual donors like you. We seek your overwhelming commitment to world peace. We ask for as significant contribution as you can make at this economically challenging, yet hopeful time. Donations are 100% tax deductible.
Please make checks payable to:
Global Citizens Network
129 North 2nd Street, #102
Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
Or donate online through NETWORK FOR GOOD by clicking HERE!
GCN succeeded in raising $2,947 in 5 days for a health clinic for our partner community in Odienya, Kenya! One hundred and forty nine individuals helped us “tip the bucket” and support the Luo people to get one step closer to making this dream a reality. www.tippingbucket.org
We received a Facebook message from our Kenyan community host, Mike Agedo, "TO ALL THE G.C.N. team who participated towards this cause, either in kind or monetary, I on behalf of Odienya do thank you. AND indeed I can’t wait to meet and work with the team coming later this year. EROKAMANO!"
Words from Carole- 2005 & 2010 GCN Trip Participant, Xiloxochico, Mexico
In November of 2005, Global Citizens Network (GCN) sent the first team of volunteers to Xiloxochico, Mexico to help the community build a casita for the women of Sital Siwame. The Sital Siwame (Star Women) organized in the 1990s to work on issues related to domestic violence and to find ways to help support their families. One of these economic endeavors is a hotel in the nearby village of Cuetzalan. Since the women built the hotel, they have created handicrafts that they sell. The casita project is designed to provide a meeting place for the Sital Siwame as well as a space to work together on craft projects.
In 2005 the Sital Siwame asked GCN to provide funding and work crews to build the casita. The 1st team, in conjunction with the community, cleared the construction site and laid the foundation. The 10th GCN team arrived in October 2010 to finish the project and to be there for the dedication of the casita. Three members of the original team were part of the last group. The Xiloxochico community has consistently opened their homes to the GCN teams and provided lunches and coffee. Most important was the warmth of the welcome provided.
The dedication of the casita was a warm and joyous occasion. There were balloons, a guitar and violin trio, unlimited supplies of food and dancing. The thank you from the women of the community was inspiring. It was an honor to be a part of the celebration.
The members of the 10th team basked in the warmth of a kitchen while drinking coffee (beans picked from a tree in the yard) and eating “just picked” mandarin oranges from the back yard. The mayor of the village explained to the team that the women of the village had become stronger as they organized to improve the lives of their families. Franscio continued by saying that in this effort, the men had become stronger and, as a result, the community is stronger. He continued by saying ‘Thank you GCN”.
And from all of us who participated on the ten teams, Thank you, GCN!!!
The GCN team wants to give a special thanks to Bridget, our fall intern who has worked with Regional Coordinator for Latin America to develop our upcoming exploratory visit to Brazil. Bridget is fluent in Portuguese and is a fantastic writer. Future GCN team leaders and trip participants will be fortunate to benefit from her great research and prep work for our trips to Brazil. We asked Bridget to share her reflection from her time with GCN:
The way Global Citizens Network seemed to present itself to me from out of the blue is amazing. Even more amazing is that I could not have envisioned anything more perfectly suited to capture and direct my passion. Ever since a Rotary exchange year in Brazil, I’ve always felt intense solidarity with the people, the country, and that beautiful language. How serendipitous that GCN was working to establish a new site in this very country and I was looking to become involved in an organization that would allow me to work towards positive intercultural developments.
Cultural immersion experiences are inexplicable and invaluable life-changers that only promote further cooperation between otherwise [supposedly] disparate communities. Being able to apply my abilities to an organization that promotes this type of experience in youth and adults alike is an exciting privilege. What’s more, it’s clear that the GCN staff share the same passion for this type of exchange. I had a great time this fall at GCN and only wish it could continue!
If you want to expose your children to other cultures in a way that is more real, in-depth, personable and memorable – by working in community with them rather than just traveling – this is the way to really learn about another culture.
We were exposed to something few of us get to experience. Most often we simply drive through communities. This time we got to meet and really get to know people, and they were so generous. We got far more out of the experience than we gave.
Kathy P., Rock Point, AZ (family of 4)
This was our best family vacation and a phenomenal experience. I feel extremely fortunate that I was able to do this with my children. My children realized that although the people in the community we visited didn't have a lot of material possessions, they had some things we didn't. The community members were funny, loving and generous.
The group experience was what made it so great. The team leaders were remarkable. They never passed judgment and treated my children like full members of the group, so they acted that way. The experience made them more confident and more excited about taking other travel adventures.
Marcy G., Xiloxochico, Mexico (family of 6)
Volunteering in Tanzania was a life-changing experience that opened my eyes not only to the needs of our fellow global citizens, but also to the lovable and exhilarating culture of Bukoba.
Megan age 19, Bukoba, Tanzania
GCN wasn't just a volunteer trip but instead a life altering two weeks that helped me discover myself.
Shannon age 15, Bukoba, Tanzania
Our GCN sponsored program in Tanzania wasn't a vacation but rather a deeply moving experience our family will cherish for a lifetime.
Sean, Dad, Bukoba, Tanzania
Working side by side with my husband and children, helping, reaching out, and learning from people in a culture vastly different from our own together as a family was one of the most valuable experiences of my life. We are already planning our next volunteer vacation.
Karen, Mom, Bukoba, Tanzania
This experience changed all of us. Nothing can compare with it. It's made my kids into global citizens. Before we left for Kenya, I was concerned that my kids were getting spoiled, but the trip showed them how happy people were, even though they had so little by comparison. They also discovered how much more important it is to have experiences instead of things.
My kids are so mature now as a result of the trip. They have a new and broader world view.
Nancy F., Maili Tatu, Africa (3 time repeat participant with 2 kids)
I took each of my two granddaughters on a trip when they turned 13, as a rite of passage. It was tremendously bonding for us. It deepened our love and our relationship, but it also sensitized the girls to different cultures and helped them gain an understanding and empathy for others.
One of my granddaughters was extremely wary. She said, "I don't know how to do this and I don't want to be there." But by the end, she was begging to stay. She had formed some amazing friendships. It was quite a transition.
My advice to families considering this kind of trip is this: Even if you have some hesitation, trust that the experience will be transforming for your child and for your relationship with your child. My two granddaughters are totally different personalities, but the same positive transformation happened for both.
We had so many one-on-one reflective conversations about what we were experiencing and learning. It's a different and more intimate way of being with children.
The team members were incredibly kind to my teenagers. The leaders were such good role models -- caring and inclusive.
Meg V., Rock Point, AZ 2003; La Push, WA 2007
The truly amazing thing about this community is the pride, character, and sense of respect you feel being with them. They carry themselves with esteem. Being with them, you know they will not only survive, they will succeed, collectively using the resources available to them for the good of the whole.
Joyce, Pennsylvania; Kenya Participant
With the beauty, the simplicity, the strength and comedy of this place, each day becomes an adventure to be anticipated.
Gladys, Ontario; Kenya Participants
I learned much more that GCN is about the process of building long term relationships with communities, not necessarily about the process of "building!" It was truly priceless to be allowed to be on the 'construction site' with a bunch of indigenous people in Mexico. Tourists DO NOT get that opportunity-nor should they. We all believed WE TRULY MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS.
Diana, Colorado; Two-time Mexico Participant
I have just this last hour arrived back home after what can only be described as an experience of a lifetime, the people at Jampaling were wonderful and I return with a feeling of accomplishment, and everlasting respect for a group of people who work so hard with such limited resources to achieve their goals.
David, Ontario; Nepal Participant
As a GCN volunteer you expect to fill the role of giver, giving of your time, efforts, money and heart. During a recent trip to Nepal, I felt more like a wide receiver for a pro football team, with countless blessings being passed my way! It started before I even left with support from a bunch of people, some of whom I don't even know, my sponsors through fundraising.
Cherril, New York; Nepal Participant
A positive growing experience that will unfold as time moves on. I do appreciate the warm hospitality of the local Navajo people and thank them for all they did to open our eyes and heart to their life, culture and values.
Jerry, Minnesota; New Mexico volunteer
It has become the most meaningful thing I've experienced in my life. It was more than a casual cultural exchange. I never felt like a tourist - I felt like I was coming home.
Ted, New York; New Mexico volunteer
The trip to Rock Point was a wonderful experience for me. Our team really "connected" and are talking among ourselves of doing other trips together! We all agreed we haven't laughed and sung songs like we did there for a long time. The Navajo people are wonderful, and we were able to share songs, dinner with them and they with us. We were able to complete the projects they had for us and still have lots of time for culture exchange.
Lynne, California; Arizona volunteer
My goal was to get lifted out of my personal and professional rut, to have my head and heart spun around and to land more solid and grounded. For the most part this happened.
Nancy, Vermont; Guatemala volunteer
Because of a scholarship provided by Global Citizens Network, I was able to spend two weeks volunteering in Guatemala, in a rural village called Llanos de Morales. This was my second trip volunteering in a developing nation (I went to Nicaragua two years ago), but my first time working with GCN. My experience was unforgettable and I would recommend it to anyone!
The best thing about the trip was getting really close-up pictures of horses. The hardest part of the trip was leaving Chirapa
Tana-Isabel, Washington; Peru youth volunteer
I wanted to be "in the middle of nowhere" and enjoy it as well as learn about the Quechua culture. My comfort zone has expanded and I enjoyed getting to know the people!
The most inspiring moment for me was receiving a genuine Quechuan percussion instrument as a gift from the community. It showed me that the community valued my presence and it is something that I will never forget.
David, University of Minnesota Participant; Peru volunteer
As I zipped into my sleeping bag, I reflected on this totally crazy, awesome experience, and in many ways wondered how (why) we are having so much fun. This is -- by far -- the best trip we have ever taken as a family and perhaps even my best trip ever. Everything is an adventure. We are living it rather than observing it. Amy S., Chicago, Guatemala volunteer
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