This week’s story was written from a night-time plane somewhere over the Caribbean. An evening flight out of Atlanta put me right back into the Nicaragua I left in a sudden, last minute urgent trip home. International flights are where I can do my best, uninterrupted thinking, and as I flew back to the country…
The goal was to build a crèche (or a kindergarten) for the local village kids using bricks made out of mud. Wellington, a local farmer, had recently expressed a need to add a classroom to the small village school on his land, just outside Chintsa in South Africa. Our group had been assigned this project…
This week we bring you the entrepreneurial story behind Venture Within. In an interview hosted by Chapin Kreuter, I get a little personal and tell the story of how I came to be the founder of Venture Within. It might inspire you. It could entertain you. It will definitely inform you. 🙂 Have a listen…
We had already begun to sweat profusely under the morning sun as my group and I stood in the dried up school yard, staring upwards at a tall heap of old truck tires piled against a crumbly brick wall. Just behind us, Nicaraguan school kids in their crisp, white button-up school shirts tucked into navy…
At first she was about 50 meters away from me, but distance did not diminish just how big of a creature I could see she was upon first sight. On a travel adventure myself, the first time I came in close contact with an unchained elephant was not in Thailand, but in Cambodia. Before 2011,…
My very first experience on a sea turtle conservation project was a midnight beach patrol on an incredibly remote islet on the Caribbean in Costa Rica. We were spending a week on a tiny stretch of beach with a scattering of rustic homes along the shore built by local fisherman. This beach was only accessible…
I was motivated to travel and volunteer in Thailand because I’ve been wanting to start travelling more often. After researching everything Venture Within has done and what the program was about, I became very interested and wanted to become a part of it by experiencing it first hand. I wanted to do my part in…
I travelled as a volunteer because I love to volunteer. I love to help others end this a more exciting way to do so. Traveling outside of the country is something that I don’t get to do very often. Getting the chance to help others and see another country is a dream come true. When…
There were many surprising things that I noticed while being on this trip. The whole world is so large but small at the same time. There are so many cultural things that are different here! I have really enjoyed the kindness and generosity of these people here. This house we are in is beautiful and…
The most significant cultural experience I have had so far on this trip has been the monk chat. Before the Monk chat I knew not much about Buddhism or the daily life of a Monk. Learning the guidelines for practicing Buddhism has really inspired me to follow them. Comparing how people in Thailand treat each…