Bangkok Post Thursday 11 August 2005 - Goodwill volunteers: "Goodwill volunteers

A new breed of travellers leave their comfort zones to connect with local people, taking in their stride language and cultural barriers

Story by THANIN WEERADET

Volunteering foreign tourists working on a public utility project in Isan.
Breaking the ice... visiting volunteers cross the cultural divide and join local kids in a game of football. — PHOTOS COURTESY NORTH BY NORTH-EAST TOURS
These days there are people who do not only enjoy the luxury of seeing places thousands of miles away from their homes, but they also want to bring benefits to the people or communities they visit. They travel with a purpose.

It's an emerging trend called 'voluntourism', a way by which people learn about other cultures and communities, and in Thailand, where it's only been around a few years, it's best evidenced in the aftermath of the tsunami that struck south Thailand last December when volunteers from all corners of the globe rushed to the region to help affected villagers and restore the ecology.

Jason Rolan of North by North-East Tours is a pioneer in this field. For the past six years he has been organising and coordinating voluntourism projects in Thailand's northeast and Laos, and according to him, opportunities are open to anyone who wants to see Southeast Asia and leave a positive mark along the way.

'Our projects include anything from teaching English in rural schools, to building playgrounds, tsunami relief and cultural conservation to working with underprivileged children,' he explained. Groups as well as individual volunteers are welcome. So far he has patched together groups from schools, universities, religious organisations and physicians and delivered them to places needing their services.

'Individuals or groups, our priority is to keep the project meaningful for those who stand to benefit from it. We welcome enquiries from everyone, including donors"

Labels: Travel, Volunteerism, Websites