This is a book for the volunteer traveler - the traveler who either bypasses the five-star resort... or who tags it onto the end of their vacation, once they have done the hard yards volunteering at an animal shelter, orphanage, school or forest conservation project.
The Voluntary Traveler is divided into two parts: an anthology of volunteer travel stories at the front; and a 250+ page volunteer guidebook at the back. The guidebook lists charities needing volunteer assistance and organizations coordinating service orientated travel.
About the Creator:
Zoologist Nola Lee Kelsey is a self-confessed serial volunteer for global animal rescue organizations. As she has meandered the globe, her humor articles have appeared in a diversity of publications from Reptiles Magazine to The Bangkok Post.
Expat Women's Interview with Nola
Expat Women: Nola, I am sure there is an element of volunteerism on your part just in putting this book together! How was The Voluntary Traveler born and what kept you motivated to complete it?
Nola: I came home to South Dakota over the holidays to help my mother, a cancer patient, who was having her hip replaced. My visit was to be for 8-10 weeks. That was about 2 years ago. Her health has never gotten back to the point where I would be able to leave without massive guilt. She'd have to go to a hospice. So for now, I can't travel - and I can't volunteer.
Anyway, you know what they say, "when life gives you lemons - mix it with tequila." The Voluntary Traveler is my way of trying to help non-profits and spread the gospel of give-back-travel, all from my little desk in the Black Hills. I needed no motivation. I simply cannot stop writing. It is both my bridge to sanity and the life I love, and yet, oddly maddening to research what I am not allowed by circumstance to do.
Expat Women: Have you always been a keen volunteer?
Nola: The truth of it is I am a very self-indulgent person. While some folks indulge in guilty pleasures such as sports cars or cheesecake, my passion is animal rescue and I indulge myself fully. Thus I have been an active volunteer since I was a freshmen zoology student and wandered into an understaffed wildlife rescue.
I volunteer for the passion I feel for the work, not out of a noble sacrifice and I am a voluntary traveler for the equally exciting cultural immersion, uniquely bizarre experiences and the fun, all of which combines into one self-indulgent, riotously good time. (Just do not tell anyone.)
I am convinced that if other people find the right type of volunteer adventures for themselves that they will also become serial volunteers. The work (the thrill) may be based on their career and sharing their talent to the benefit of others, or it may be inspired from their fantasy career - perhaps the path not taken in youth. I may never be Jane Goodall, but I will crawl across glass to volunteer with a primate sanctuary.
Expat Women: Please tell us about some of the colourful people that you have meet in your volunteer travels?
Nola: There are so many to choose from. Ultimately, I think it is the combination of those colourful people and the colourful places that make philanthropic journeys so much different than "ordinary" travel - whatever that is.
I remember one time in particular, I was sitting on the concrete floor of a barbershop with a Buddhist monk, a transgender lesbian, her wife and a small hairless cat with three teeth. One entire wall of the aged, brick buildings was covered with topless centrefolds. The barber was shaving a customer's head. His chair was the only furniture in the building. We needed to wait for the Barber to show us where a sick dog was held up among some nearby temple ruins. For me it was just another day in Thailand.
Then outside, I heard a diesel engine and looked up to see a bus full of tourists nestled safely away in their air-conditioned, sanitized surroundings. Half of them looked bored and half looked confused by the site of three ‘farang' women leaning against the great wall of porn. In that moment, I remember stepping outside myself and looking at the sense as they likely saw it. I thought, "You know Nola, things like this are just not normal for most people. In fact this is kind of a funny scene." I looked back up at the tourists. "Thank heavens I'm not normal!"
Expat Women: What tips can you give to expatriate women in our audience who may be thinking about volunteering - either in their expat location, or on their next vacation?
Nola: I'll give three tips: 1) Attitude 2) Attitude 3) Attitude.
Attitude #1: First, do not go in thinking you know what the experience will bring. Keep your attitude/expectations open to whatever will come along and enjoy the ride.
Attitude #2: Do not show up with the attitude that you are there to teach and dispel your wisdom to those less fortunate. Volunteering is always an exchange of time and knowledge. It should also be an exchange of respect.
In the real world, you might be a veterinarian in a posh Boston clinic and that is great. Nonetheless, if you are standing in the rain, contemplating pulling an injured feral dog from deep in an earthen burrow it calls home and you have no muzzle, leash, tranqus or equipment, I suggest you take a moment. See what the local rescuer standing next to you with the palm prawn and bikini top in his hand has in mind. You will learn the most ingenious things from your hosts.
Attitude #3: Be honest with yourself about what you can handle. There is no shame in starting small. If you are not sure you want to give up hanging out the beach for your vacation, don't. Start slow. Maybe email ahead and ask if an orphanage near the beach needs some help a few mornings while you are there. Or, volunteer with an organization that provides some creature comforts at the end of the day. Many companies coordinate give-back vacation/tour combinations. Heck, even Abercrombie and Fitch now offers volunteer opportunities with some trips.
Expat Women: Your guide dedicates one chapter to volunteers who want to set up their own long-term projects. What is the essence of the advice that Julie Schwietert Collazo shares in this chapter?
Nola: Julie, the managing editor of Matador Network, set up an after-school media skills program for ninth graders in Colombia. Her main advice is to:
1.
Assess local needs and resources while you're on the ground.
2.
Wait until you're back home to map out your plan and make initial moves.
3.
Avoid making promises you're not sure you can keep.
4.
Identify and evaluate the potential challenges and obstacles, and
5.
Ask yourself: Can you keep it going?
You will also notice when you read Julie's chapter that she did not just wake up in New York one day and say, Hey, I think I will pop on down to Colombia and start a charity. The need found her as she travelled. It was born form the experience. She observed the lives of the people, saw a need and grew Voces de Mampox there.
Expat Women: Nola, you are becoming an expat next year. Where are you off to and why?
Nola: I will start with the why. I like new things. I have lived in the USA most of 40+ years. I can drive its western half without maps. In other words, "been there, done that." I want the second half of my life to be full of new experiences and encounters daily.
Now, on to the where! I will likely be settling in Thailand. I have spent a great deal of time there and consider it my second home. My son's family is also there. As a bonus, I love the casual nature of volunteering for various rescue organizations around Chiang Mai. Thailand also offers easy access to so many other fascinating countries and culture; Lao(s) (which I adore), Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Malaysia... all a very affordable hop away and offering a full-palette of volunteer projects. Admittedly, I do have some apprehension as I am not technically old enough for a retirement visa and Thai regulations tend to appear a tad fluid for those who are self-employed.
Expat Women: Nola, congratulations on the recent release of The Voluntary Traveler and all our best wishes for both your move abroad and your future volunteer travels!
