Volunteer Travel

If you ever saw an Aldabra Giant Tortoise, you’d think it was a dinosaur, as they look as if they came from another time period. And, it’s possible that’s true. After all, they can live to be more than 100 years old and weigh up to 300 pounds. Of course, seeing the actual Aldabra is difficult due to the excessive number of restrictions put on visitors.

Picture this: You are in Aleppo, standing in front of what is left of your house. You are reeling with the loss of your mother, your father, your brother, or if the world is particularly cruel, more than one family member. An edgily dressed 19-year-old British boy on his gap year comes up to you and, instead of offering help, asks if he can take a picture with his expensive camera. You gawk in disbelief and struggle to comprehend why someone whose government was involved in the war is standing before you, asking for a piece of your dignity.

September 2, 2017, was a calm and sunny Saturday on the Dutch Caribbean island of Sint Maarten. In a small cluster of brightly painted shipping containers, a group of children gathered to play games, read books, and toss around a baseball. It was just another normal weekend at the Player Development Program, an afterschool little league and tutoring program for kids.

The Caribbean was recently hit hard by hurricanes Irma, Jose, and Maria. Organizations and individuals from the around the world have been pouring resources into rescue and rebuilding efforts. But it’s going to take more than disaster relief to get Caribbean communities back on their feet. It’s going to take travelers like you.

As Haiti once again sizes up the massive post-disaster cleanup ahead of them, many of us who missed Hurricane Matthew are anxious to learn how we can help.

In the second hour of our French Quarter Festival 2012 broadcast we will keep the good times rolling, Mark Romig, President of New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corp (and a member of the famous Romig family) along with Zack Rosenburg, a Washington, DC transplant and very first CNN Hero. Zack will discuss the St. Bernard Project (SBP), a non-profit organization that aims to rebuild one of the most devastated parishes hit by Hurricane Katrina. SBP is also working in others areas around the United States that are in need.

Travel around the globe with World Footprints today as we go to Namibia, the Mediterranean and Detroit. First stop…Namibia with Dr. Laurie Marker, Founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

As travel experts we know that understanding new languages play an important part in the travel experience. But what about the journey of marriage?  World Footprints talks to best selling author Dr. Gary Chapman about his book, “The 5 Love Languages” and he'll walk us through the different languages that every couple should know. 

World Footprints will present two powerful stories of survival from unlikely human trafficking victims and how they’re using their ordeals to support other victims and raise awareness about this elusive crime.  We will also share the story of a former Peace Corp volunteer whose experience inspired the development of a new community-based adventure travel resource. Holly Smith is not what many think a human trafficking survivor would look like.  She’s a blond American and was raised in a middle-class two parent home.  But when Holly was only 14 years old she was taken from her home planted immediately into the sex trade.  The trafficking incident was traumatic enough but Holly was also traumatized by the lack of support she received from law enforcement and social services after she escaped. Stacy Jewel Lewis was a 19 year old student and aspiring actress when she was abducted by an elderly man who [...]

All around the world natural disasters ruin people’s lives. It often takes months if not years for a community to recover. The need for volunteer work in these areas is thus essential.

Every 14 days a language dies.  National Geographic author and renowned linguist David Harrison joins World Footprints to discuss his latest book: The Last Speakers:  The Quest to Save the World’s Most Endangered Languages. The Last Speakers is the poignant chronicle of author K. David Harrison's international expeditions to meet with last speakers of endangered languages.

Even in the middle of paradise, you can find poverty. This was something we witnessed while traveling through St. Vincent and the Grenadines. One of the highlights of our trip was visiting St. Benedict's Day Nursery and Orphanage.