Fees Reduced to Draw More Volunteers

The Voluntraveler team has decided to draw more attention to Máncora by reducing the volunteer fees from $499 USD/week to $375 USD/week - that's 25%! We believe that this will create a greater interest and bring more volunteers to the north coast. Peru currently sees, by some estimates, 40% of global volunteers, but most of the programs and projects are based in and around Lima and Cusco, with few volunteers venturing into the outlying regions. Consequently the Peruvian government efforts and funding are concentrated there as well, leaving places like Máncora sorely neglected. Although the region has seen a recent boom in tourism, the local community has benefited little from the incoming tourist dollars.

We want to bring more volunteers to Máncora and through their fees, continue to support PaM's community programs to expand to other communities and help more people. If you are thinking about traveling and spending some time volunteering, there has never been a better time to do so with Voluntraveler!

Mary Donohue - House Manager and Volunteer

Hi everyone. My name’s Mary Donohue. I’m a current Para el Mundo (PaM) volunteer and the House Manager of the PaM house in Máncora, Peru. I’m going to be contributing a little something every week to the Voluntraveler blog to give everyone a little insight into life in Máncora. 

I’ve been living here since September 2008 and absolutely love it. I work with the Ministry of Health’s Dengue and Malaria Prevention Program that operates out of the local government-run health clinic. Because our work consists of inspecting people’s water deposits for signs of mosquito larvae, I have probably been in about 75% of the homes in town and have therefore gotten to meet tons of great people. 

The people in Máncora are wonderful and many have made me feel like part of the community. If anyone has any questions about volunteering, Máncora, living in Peru, or anything at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me by responding to my posts!

Please Donate: 9 year-old requires jaw surgery

Our partner charity, Para el Mundo (PaM), is scrambling to raise $2500 USD to provide emergency dental surgery for 9 year-old Daniel Castillo of Máncora, a small fishing town on the northern coast of Peru. Daniel is suffering from a painful cyst in his right maxilla; this progressed from an abscess that has gone untreated due to the family’s inability to pay for proper care. The bone is now involved, and the cyst is putting pressure on the adjacent teeth, causing him extreme discomfort. Daniel is well known and loved by PaM's Peruvian and Canadian staff and the international volunteers who have worked in Máncora. His Parents are both teachers raising him and his 3 siblings. Daniel’s father, Lucho, frequently has to make the overnight bus journey to the capital Lima where teaching work is available, and his mother Fanny struggles to make ends meet, working as a seamstress and craftswoman and making cakes and desserts for the tourist industry, while raising the children practically on her own.

Despite increasing tourism in Peru, most Peruvians live in extreme poverty, particularly on the northern coast, where a once thriving fishing industry has all but collapsed. Medical care is expensive and difficult to access, dental care even more so, and there is no publicly-funded health or dental care available for Daniel. Josh Hehner, PaM's Director for Community Medicine Programs says, "Only the richest have insurance, and so if we can’t raise the money to help, Daniel will have to live in extreme pain and discomfort and put his health at risk, or the family will have to take extreme measures to find the funds. We don’t even want to think about what this might mean, because they don’t own any property, have few possessions, and the family already lives in a very cramped space."

PaM is urgently requesting all sympathetic acquaintances, those in the dental profession, and past volunteers who have been touched by the kind spirit and community involvement of the Castillo family, to please give what they can to pay for Daniel’s care. Even the smallest amount is helpful.

Para el Mundo is a registered charity in Canada, the U.S.A and Peru. Their community liaison staff will make sure that 100% of any donation goes directly to Daniel’s dental and medical treatment. Ways to donate can be found here on the PaM website. They will then transfer the money to the staff in Peru who will oversee the disbursement. If you provide a mailing address and name when you donate, they will send you a tax-deductable receipt for your donation.

Danielle Lafond, one of PaM's Directors and a founder, adds,"PaM exists to help the community, but also to alleviate suffering in individuals. This child, Daniel, is very close to our hearts, and needs our help."

@Voluntraveler now on Twitter

By now I'm sure you've heard of Twitter, the "micro-blogging" tool used now by millions to "tweet" 140 character messages to all of their "followers" about whatever they want. It can be linked to Facebook to update your profile status ("Had soup for lunch - it was delish"), it is being used to spread news (like the plane crash-landing in the Hudson) and many businesses and organizations use it to keep their fans up to date on the latest deals and happenings.

Voluntraveler has jumped on the Twitter bandwagon and you can follow us here: http://www.twitter.com/voluntraveler

We probably won't be reporting breaking news. We won't be sharing what the Toronto team had for lunch. We won't be using this very often. However, we will be using it to spread informaiton we think is worth spreading about volunteer travel. We hope that you will join Twitter and help us become better advocates for volunteering in general.

Fundraising for Volunteer Travel

Some of our volunteers have asked about fundraising for their trip to Peru. One of the great things about volunteer travel, as opposed to regular leisure travel, is that it's easier to ask people to contribute money towards your effort to help children in Peru than your effort to drink Tequila Sunrises at a poolside bar in Cancun.

Fundraising can be done in several ways, and I think it's helpful to look at your potential pool of contributers as occupying circles around you. 

Family and close friends

The first circle are those closest to you, like your immediate family and closest friends. These are the people you would feel most comfortable approaching directly to contribute with no strings attached and would likely contribute the largest individual sums. If they believe as strongly in what you are doing as you are, and they know that you need the financial help to make the trip happen, they could be your best bet. You could ask them to:

• Contribute financial help in lieu of gifts they would otherwise give
  
• Collecting donations on your behalf (think of the parent who sells Girl Guide cookies in their office on behalf of their daughter)
  
• Help you organize a fundraising event (silent auction, party, show, concert)
• Just give you money

In the case of Para el Mundo, we made use of our closest friends and their resources to put together a concert at the Rivoli in Toronto. Our headliner was Samba Squad, an exciting percussion ensemble that had everyone dancing. We had t-shirts and ball caps made and sold craft items previous volunteers brought back from Peru. After ticket sales, donations collected during the show, and swag and craft sales, we had raised about $2000 for PaM that night.

Friends and co-workers

Outside that close inner circle are the remainder of your friends and your co-workers, who would likely attend your fundraiser, kick in a few bucks to your cause, but not make a substantial contribution beyond that. This group is a lot larger than your inner circle, but they still know and trust you. Pitching your plan to fundraise to them should be easy, but they won't feel as obliged to help you out. The key to getting funds from this group is offering something in return, even if its recognition on your website for contributing, or promoting their own business or interest. If you have a blog or a website and they have a band, you can write up a post in return for their contribution. Some ideas:

• Start a blog about your effort to get this trip off the ground. People like these kind of stories, and want the hero (you!) to succeed. In your blog, publicly recognize and thank the people that help you. Be sure to ask for donations which can be done through PayPal or Facebook. Here is an article on collecting through facebook applications.
  
• Find something to sell. You could start an Ebay auction and ask people to donate items that you can sell. If you're really nice, you could offer to share in a bit of the profit! Check out the companies that schools use for fundraising. A simple Google search should turn up hundreds! Find something unique to sell. An educational tour company I worked for once recorded a Christmas CD and made it availabel to schools as a fundraiser!
  
• Hold a fundraiser. It could be something as elaborate as a concert or a show, or as simple as a dinner party. Figure out what your costs will be and sell tickets that will cover your costs and then turn a profit. Add to your profit by selling other items. Don't over-estimate your turnout or choose a venue and entertainer that will leave you struggling if people don't show up in droves. A general rule for expected numbers is only count on 50% of your "yes" responses to show up. People are more polite than they are honest and would rather tell you they are coming than tell you they are not, even if they don't plan on attending.
  

The general public

This is the largest group (obviously) and the hardest to sell. Everyone is asking for money. Everyone is needy. There are people starving all over the world, and with the current economy, people are generally less willing now to let go of their hard earned money to help strangers. The key to getting funding from strangers is having a compelling story, not asking for much, and offering something of equivilent or greater value than what you are asking them to contribute. Ideas for this group would work with the other groups.

• Ask businesses to donate something you can give away or auction/sell in return for advertising, mention of sponsorship, etc.
  
• Sell tickets to a show, or fundraiser you are hosting as above. Make sure to promote the heck out of your event in the media. Contact all the papers and local bloggers!
  
• Start a word of mouth or social media campaign (like on facebook) asking for contributions of $1. Set a target date and maybe a website. Try to find something of value to offer for that $1. Here is a guy who made a ton of cash by selling pixels of a website for advertising. This has laready been done, so you probably won't have any luck replicating it, but it might give you some ideas.
  

One last thing...

Figure out which kind of fundraiser will bring the biggest return for the effort spent. However, no matter what you choose to do to fundraise, don't expect the money to flow easily and without effort. Treat your fundraising like a job, create a realistic goal and work your hardest to achieve it. The surpass it. When you are successful, be sure to thank those responsible for helping you. When you return from your trip, make sure those who helped get copies of your photos and some kind of souvenier. 

Then share your experience with the rest of the world!

The Kitten

One of the memorable experiences I had in Mancora, was finding a kitten on the front porch of the volunteer house. She was the smallest kitten I've ever seen and she was lying on her side, barely moving. I got some milk and she was able to suck it out of my hand, which instantly revived her. She ate a lot and then took a nap on my lap. I sat with her for hours, feeding her and letting her sleep next to me.

The two cats, Toffee and Fat Eddy, that live in the volunteer house now were rescued from a dumpster and PaM has the reputation of saving animals. I guess someone left this tiny kitten, hoping we could help.

I was leaving in less then a week and knew I had to find him a home. I enlisted the help of Gaby, the wonderful volunteer coordinator that will help you even when she doesn't have the time. Basically we were trying to find a home for a baby that needs to be fed every two hours, kept warm (not hard in Mancora), and stimulated to go to the bathroom. Amazingly, one of the volunteers Caitlin, with the support of her parents Michelle and Maggie, agreed to take on the kitten. I was so relieved and grateful I almost cried.

So many animals in Mancora need help and don't get it. I was happy to play a small role in this one cats life, but also sad to know that I couldn't do more for so many other animals. I dream of a veterinarian volunteering in Mancora and I would love to return and start a community run animal rescue.

PaM/Voluntraveler House in Mancora Peru

This is a video slideshow of the accommodation used by our volunteers in Mancora Peru.