Volunteering During The Happy Nomad Tour

Volunteering forms the basis for the traveling I do on The Happy Nomad Tour. Below are the volunteering experiences I’ve had so far.

Volunteering At An Ex-Tibetan Political Prisoner Camp

March 6, 2013

I was walking down the street on my first full day in Mcleaodganj/Dharamsala when I stumbled upon this sign. It would have been easy to miss, but I was in tune with my beautiful surroundings in this amazing place. It was about noon, so I got something to eat and hung out in the cafe [...]

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Lalitha – Transforming Delhi’s Red Light District Youth

February 27, 2013

A friend of mine in Delhi sent me an article about Lalitha and I had to get in touch and find out more about what she’s doing. What I discovered was amazing. I first met with Lalitha in a coffee shop to find out more about her. I think she also wanted to meet me [...]

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Volunteering At A Mother Teresa Home For Sick Children In Davao, Philippines

December 3, 2012

You may be aware that Mother Teresa had a home for old people to die in comfortably and with dignity in Calcutta, India, as well as a home for sick and malnourished children. What you may not know is that these homes are all over the world – in 133 countries to be exact. When [...]

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Visiting Kids With Cancer In The Hospital

November 26, 2012

What is one of the benefits of couchsurfing with a girl whose mom is a nurse at a hospital? Well, upon telling her about The Crazy Hair Fundraiser she invites you to her hospital to brighten up the kids in the cancer ward. It’s hard to believe that I haven’t tried doing this yet. I [...]

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Volunteering At Sunshine School In Veuntaen, Laos

October 1, 2012

Volunteering at Sunshine School in Veuntaen, Laos was truly a special experience. I really wanted to volunteer in Laos and I really wanted to experience the Southeast Asian countryside. I got to experience both here. The Sunshine School’s main presence is in the capital in Vientiane. But last year they opened a kindergarten in Veuntaen, [...]

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Volunteering With Smile Group In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam And Visiting A Buddhist Orphanage/Nursing Home

August 21, 2012

Smile Group is an organization started by Nguyen Van Hung to help children live in dignity with AIDS. More specifically, their mission statement is “to restore dignity and hope to children and families affected by AIDS, through financial, educational, moral and psychological support. We are committed to helping children and young adults have equal access to [...]

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What Does “Helping People” Mean?

August 11, 2012

This is a question I always have in the back of my mind and the answer has changed over time. Back as a naive nomad when first starting out on this trip, I thought any kind of volunteering was positive, any effort to alleviate poverty was good, and education was the key to breaking the [...]

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Promoting Wigs For Kids In Cleveland – A True Labor Of Love

July 26, 2012

By the time I came home, I had already raised about $2000 for Wigs For Kids via the Crazy Hair Fundraiser, yet I’d never met anyone from Wigs For Kids face-to-face. It had all been by email. Wigs For Kids, assisted by the PR team at H/L Communications, did what they could to maximize the [...]

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Jatun Nani – Breaking The Poverty Cycle In The City With Books

July 5, 2012

You may recall my article about spending a week in Yauya, a Peruvian village to small to show up in Google Maps, and the amazing work Consuelo Pasco has done to bring a library there and fill the schools with books. Reunion While in Lima, I was able to meet Consuelo under different circumstances. I [...]

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