Friday, May 27, 2011

Lesson from Bolivian Preschoolers

Just had a great week in Cochambamba, Bolivia, interviewing volunteers, teachers and NGO personnel from a Community Based project called Proyecto Horizonte. It consists of a school, preschool, IT Lab, HealthCenter and other services to the community. Though funded by it´s genrous founder for the most part, it has started to tap into a new source of income. Recently , volunteers are asked to make a donation of 150$ as participation. This could seem like a scam at first but when we discussed with Eliza Wall, the volunteer manager she explained the rationale.
Most people do want to give money to a cause but are not sure that it is going to be efficiently spent. For having visited a few this year Ihave to say those concerns are grounded. However if one of your relative or friends is going to see where the money is spent, you  will get feedback and access to an insiders perspective. So far every volunteer has far exceeded the minimum amount required.
But enough about money let´s talk about the kids. The community of Ushpa Ushpa in Mineros San Juan about 10km from Cochabamba is poor. There is no running water (it is not drinkable in Bolivia anyway), parents and kids often live in the living room/kitchen and of course have no toilets.
In partnership with the Solis Foundation, Proyecto Horizonte has started a scheme to provide eco toilets to the community. Can you imagine having to borrow money to pay for your toilet?
At the school we met with many teachers (all of them are local) and asked them what their best moment was. One of them answered that when she was sick the kids came to her house after school and brought her milk and cookies. Another teacher Veronika, 24, worked as a teaching assistant while going to night school for 4 years. Another teacher gets up at 4am to tend to her Tienda (a mini grocery store) before going to school from 8 to 4 and then tending to her shop again til late. When we asked her why she was a teacher, she told us it was because she knew what it felt like not to have any opportunities and didn´t want her kids to go through the same thing.
Of course the kids favourite time was playtime and when while we were filming the heaps of fun they were having we were both struck by a very simple fact. As all kids do, these fell, knocked their heads, where headbutted by a football and fought. But they didn't cry and wine about it as we do...
Anyway here is an example of a good project where you volunteer virtually for free, live in a great city in the center of South America and develop your own projects while you are there!

Want to see more pictures of Proyecto Horizonte!
And if you want to be put in touch with Eliza the volunteer manager you can either visit the organisations website or contact me.
Peace
Will

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Ipad on the road: Man's best friend

So as some of you know we have acquired a quite wonderful piece of technology along our way this year...the Ipad. While Emily had her back turned I snook an Ipad out of the Melbourne Duty Free Airport and since then we have both been addicted. I must admit it was an impulse buy but...it proved to be a pretty handy one!

So for all those of you out there thinking about it here is my Top 10 Free Travel Apps and a few pro's and con's of travelling around the world with an Ipad.

1. The Economist: If you have a subscription you can just activate it and get all your issues for free, the format was specifically designed for the Ipad and it looks pretty good. The best way to keep current on the news where you are and everywhere else. 
2. Skyscanner: A Simple Ipod app I just had to include. It allows you to search flights in every country, set your currency and book them. Doesn't get much better than this...After having taken over 30 flights in 23 countries this year I have checked and it's never been beat!
3. XE Currency Converter: get real time exchange rates on over 180 currencies...for Free. Exchange rate scams are now a thing of the 20th century.
4.TRVL: A beautiful travel guide that gives you an alternative to the LP trail and is full of ideas to plan your next vacation with pictures that will make you drool!
5. The Weather Channel: Plan ahead to pack wisely on that hike in Patagonia or before you go biking round the countryside in Lao.

6. Skype: Call and be called everywhere. Convenient to change you flights (1-800 numbers are free), give Mum a shout and wish you bestie her Bday in person.
7. Us Weekly: For all of you that want to keep up with the home gossip for free...this is the one app that won't let you down. You can load it up and use it offline on one of those long bus rides through Bolivia.
8. Kindle: Instead of packing in those heavy volumes of HP, LOFTR or the latest Grisham, keep some backpack space to bring back your shopping! Comes with sepia and night mode and a couple free classics!
9. Nightstand: For those early wake ups to get the sunrise on Angkor Wat and to make sure you don't miss that morning flight, this app helps you wake up with smooth sounds of a waterway (will make you get up to go to the loo), or birds chirping.
10. Tower HD: This one has made many 2 digit-hour flights bearable. Probably more for the guys out there, this game is simply addictive!

First I have to mention most of these will work fine with Iphone. Second I didn't mention some of the native apps like Google Maps that can be used as a GPS if you load up the instructions while online. It will also give you the walking times and distances so you know if you'll need to pack in your headlight!
Obviously it's been pretty handy to book hostels, hotels, find camping sites and more. As a Bonus the app Offline Reader allows you to save webpages for offline usage for maps, flight confirmations and more!
If you haven't bought the Ipad yet, beware! It is highly addictive and has got something for everyone, but if you are planning to work on holiday I would recommend you bring that old computer to keep you company.