care for life + wanderlust
global humanitarian outreach is one of my biggest passions in life. i have had incredible experiences volunteering abroad (in recent years in guatemala, india and mexico and in less-recent years in bolivia, kenya and romania). i truly feel those experiences have changed the world for the better and have definitely changed me for the better. having seen poverty in developing countries first-hand, i feel tremendous responsibility and desire to take part in work to alleviate suffering and knit the human family.
there are so many organizations out there doing great work in the developing world. sadly, some organizations are inefficient, non-sustainable, and even corrupt. through my experiences, i have developed a critical eye towards different types of and approaches to humanitarian outreach, as have my family members who have also been engaged in similar causes. my brother talmadge and his wife anita have been particularly involved in global charities, and have found an extraordinary organization called care for life, whose leaders have developed the family preservation program in mozambique. i have been so impressed with the things tal and anita have told me about care for life and i super trust their keen judgment that it is a truly stellar organization that is absolutely changing the world.
i invite you all, dear readers, to check out this video about care for life’s work and to go to the care for life facebook page and like it!
thinking about care for life this week has made me pine, pine, pine to go to mozambique, which has triggered the itch of my deep, voracious wanderlust. i haven’t left the country in over eighteen months, and i’m trying to figure out if i can get abroad during my school’s winter break. i was reminded today of some quotes about travel, and that travel is such a true part of my identity. i’m certainly scheming up a few adventures! the world is so awesome.
“to my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – bill bryson
“traveling is a brutality. it forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. you are constantly off balance. nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – cesare pavese
“travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.” – freya stark
there are so many organizations out there doing great work in the developing world. sadly, some organizations are inefficient, non-sustainable, and even corrupt. through my experiences, i have developed a critical eye towards different types of and approaches to humanitarian outreach, as have my family members who have also been engaged in similar causes. my brother talmadge and his wife anita have been particularly involved in global charities, and have found an extraordinary organization called care for life, whose leaders have developed the family preservation program in mozambique. i have been so impressed with the things tal and anita have told me about care for life and i super trust their keen judgment that it is a truly stellar organization that is absolutely changing the world.
i invite you all, dear readers, to check out this video about care for life’s work and to go to the care for life facebook page and like it!
thinking about care for life this week has made me pine, pine, pine to go to mozambique, which has triggered the itch of my deep, voracious wanderlust. i haven’t left the country in over eighteen months, and i’m trying to figure out if i can get abroad during my school’s winter break. i was reminded today of some quotes about travel, and that travel is such a true part of my identity. i’m certainly scheming up a few adventures! the world is so awesome.
“to my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – bill bryson
“traveling is a brutality. it forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. you are constantly off balance. nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – cesare pavese
“travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.” – freya stark
"to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted."
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this!!! I want to always look like a "tourist" - constantly amazed and in awe of what I see.
I lOVE this video. Kudos to the producers. Even if people can't travel there, if we can just get people to contribute more to this great cause it would be a great cause. It's a way to make a difference for people who cherish that which we take for granted!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love reading your blog! Thanks for posting. And second, I have an off-topic question, but I'm wondering how you and your siblings share photos? I know you have many photographers and all share pictures. I'm wondering your family's method for doing that. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteLove those pictures of Dia de los Muertos (?spelling) below, looks like an amazing evening!
ReplyDeleteHumanitarian outreaches are amazing ways to help others while getting the chance to experience a new land or culture at the same time. My church often does a global medical relief program. We have worked in China, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, North Sudan, Ghana, Ethiopia, and more places.
ReplyDeleteI noticed you mentioned traveling to Kenya for humanitarian outreach as well. What kind of work did you do there? Ours was medical work but we also worked to feed people where their was a food shortage, get them clean water, and more.