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Advice for an atheist volunteer.

I've been seriously thinking lately about taking an abroad trip to help others in need. I think that I might be of some help in helping others in need as well as being helpful to me in terms of new experiences and meeting new people. This is the first time though that I will be doing something like this outside of a few week long trips to Mexico with the church I used to be a part of.

I don't have the funds to make such a trip which will run somewhere between 4 to 10 Grand depending on the length and I don't know know what is the best means of getting the money since a church is not up for consideration.

I also don't know whether it's better start small like a Month long trip or whether such a trip is too short.

I do know that the organization that I've chosen, Cross Cultural Solutions seems from what I've gathered to be a respectable, secular volunteer organization.

Any advice would be awesome. I would love to hear from those with experience in this matter.

Thanks

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on February 4, 2013 at 12:50pm

How old are you? Are you in good health? Your idea is a wonderful one and I strongly urge you to continue planning to make it happen. There is nothing like sitting at a meal with someone of a different culture and just listening, observing, tasting their traditional foods, watching their ways of life. Very quickly one finds ideas and principles that deserve attention. I have been to 32 nations of the world doing ethnographic research, often without interpreters. I think every kid graduating from high school should wander around for a few years and get the baby-fuzz off his/her eyes and flushed out of their brains.
I am 77 years old now and have health problems ... so you go and then tell me about what you find.

Permalink Reply by Vulpes on February 4, 2013 at 1:45pm