Worldview Magazine - Fall 2007 - (Page 20)

development, capacity building and related ﬁelds in over 15 countries. Beneﬁts: airfare, travel expenses, lodging, per diem, insurance, project supplies. www.cdc.org. Coffee Quality Institute Coffee Corps seeks to improve the quality of coffee and conditions for growers. Individuals with general business experience or specialized coffee skills complete twoweek projects in one of 25 countries. Beneﬁts: airfare, travel expenses, lodging, per diem, insurance, program materials. www.coffeeinstitute.org. Crisis Corps Skilled RPCVs return overseas for short, highimpact assignments lasting three to six months. Volunteers work fairly independently in health, disaster relief, emergency preparedness, humanitarian assistance and other urgent efforts. Beneﬁts: similar to PCV beneﬁts; include airfare, medical care, living allowances. www.peacecorps.gov. Cross-Cultural Solutions With 20 sites in 12 countries, volunteers can pursue two- to 12week projects with local counterparts in the social services, education and health. Program fee covers lodging, most meals, insurance, incountry transportation, administrative costs. www. crossculturalsolutions.org. Detours Abroad Volunteers join community projects in education, health or general community services. Work and travel lasts two to 12 weeks in one of 10 countries. Program fee covers in-country travel, lodging, food, project materials. www. detoursabroad.com.au. Earthwatch Institute Volunteers spend two days to three weeks assisting scientiﬁc ﬁeld researchers in 55 countries around the world. Expeditions collect data about rainforest ecology, climate change, endangered species and more. Program fee covers food, accommodations, insurance, in-country travel, cost of research. Letter from Codaesti NURSING ORPHANS Three weeks in Romania changed a waitress’ life I by Susan Surma volunteered with eight other Global Volunteers to go to a failure-to-thrive clinic in the small rural hamlet of Codaesti, about a 45-minute drive outside the cultural center of Iasti in northern Romania, six years ago. For three weeks we cared for about 30 infants and toddlers, ranging in age from ﬁve months to two years. I have many poignant memories from 20 years of international travel, but those three weeks profoundly changed my life. I had worked as a waitress and tour guide. My waitressing supported my travel habit and it was easy to get time oﬀ whenever they needed me. I’ve been a volunteer in Ireland, the Cook Islands, Ecuador, Peru, Vietnam and other countries. Nineteen programs in all. On other Global Volunteers programs I mixed cement in Guatemala and built roof trusses in Mississippi. But those three weeks working with infants and toddlers in Codaesti introduced me to a new career. At the age of 52, I went back to school to become a licensed practical nurse, and now I’m studying to become a registered nurse. I know this would not have happened without my Global Volunteers experience. In fact, every major decision I’ve made about the next 50 years of my life can be traced to this short but profound experience with the babies of Romania. ankfully, memories aren’t always built on ﬁrst impressions. When we stepped into the small four-room house–a temporary orphanage–on the grounds of the Codaesti hospital, we were hit with the overpowering stench of urine. Babies of all sizes and ages were crying in their cribs. Most suﬀered from a full body rash. e overBefore caring for Romanian orphans, Surma mixed cement in Guatemala. worked staﬀ could only change diapers three times a day and prop them up for their feedings. We were nonplussed by the challenge we faced but enthusiastic to soothe their tiny bodies and spirits. We cleaned the infants and covered the soaking wet mattresses with large plastic bags. We had brought with us lots of sleepers, dozens of cloth diapers, rubber pants and a case of Desitin. ere was no formula, so the staﬀ had been feeding the babies a thin gruel of crushed crackers and water. We worked to fortify the meals to improve nutrition and to hold each of them as we fed them. Just holding and comforting dry babies became a joy. As I write, I am staring at my psychology textbook and thinking about the cognitive, physical and psychosocial abilities of each of those small children. I think that in three short weeks what we performed was nothing short of miraculous. e babies began to turn over, the older ones began to crawl and they all experienced a sense of love, probably for the ﬁrst time in their short lives. But, please don’t conclude this was easy. Truth be told, we put in long days and passed up brief opportunities to be tourists in order to get the rest we needed for the next day’s challenges. Washing over 100 diapers by hand is not pretty or easy. But to know they those clean dry diapers would caress the dear bottoms of our babies made it worth every minute. Perhaps that’s why Romania stays in my mind. We witnessed unmistakable improvement of our babies, and we knew that another team would be arriving in a week to take our places. It eased the separation anxiety some of us felt when we left. e program in the Codaesti hospital, 20 Fall 2007 http://www.cdc.org http://www.coffeeinstitute.org http://www.peacecorps.gov http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org http://www.detoursabroad.com.au http://www.detoursabroad.com.au

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Worldview Magazine - Fall 2007

Worldview - Fall 2007 Contents Presiden'ts Note Lafayette Park Introduction Interview Commentary Editor's Note Letter from Rumbek, Sudan Listings Letter from Yekaterinburg, Russia Letter from Codaesti, Romania Letter from Catia La Mar, Venezuela Letter from Gumare, Botswana Letter from Ridder, Kazakhstan Letter from Rincon, Cape Verde Letter from Port Au Prince Another Country Community News Giving Back Opinion

Worldview Magazine - Fall 2007

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