Yes, it is now 2018 and not 2015. Over three years have passed since my last posting. Just typing that out sends shivers down my spine. How fast time has flown. There are so many things to update all of you on!
First and most importantly, I've decided to change this blog up a little bit, repurpose it, let's say. I'm up to much different things lately, and need a place to tell the world about it! Of course, it will stay travel-focused. If I proclaim to maintain a 'travel blog' I will need to backtrack the past few years and write about my adventures in Africa with my father. I don't think I wrote about my travels to Zambia and Botswana in 2015 following the end of my year in Padova.
The semester had come to a close, and my father and I met in Zurich. We flew to Livingstone, Zambia and spent a week with our friend doing a variety of wonderful things. We were able to work with our friend, Sandy Simpson, who founded GRAD, Green Rural African Development. He works in Livingstone and surrounding areas to mitigate human-wildlife conflict through the installation of cost-effective elephant deterrent fences around small village farms. His work is very hands on: he goes to villages who are having conflict with elephants destroying their crops, teaches them his system, and works directly with them to install the fencing. He then returns regularly to ensure the fencing has been successful, educating the villagers on how to maintain it themselves. We travelled with him on his daily routines, checking fences, meeting villagers in the more rural areas surrounding Livingstone whose lives have been positively affected by Sandy’s work. This is when the mal d’afrique hit me, and I fell in love with Africa. Connecting with these Zambians over a shared experience, working the fences together, was an entry point to connect as humans. I saw such genuine kindness, gratitude for life. Here I saw the success of the solidarity methodology: Sandy’s presenceand follow-through showed me the power of working together, supporting one another, and sharing joy in successes, and how this creates a more empowered and peaceful global community.
Of course we went on safari. Of course we saw magnificent animals, met magnificent people. Oh, and we also swam in the devil's pool at the top of Victoria Falls...
that was quite the thrill! But above all, as I previously mentioned, this experience awakened within me a love for Africa, an incessant desire to return, and a newfound dedication to global social responsibility.
Then, two years later, we returned! This time, my father and I visited Rwanda, Tanzania, and Malawi.We met incredible people. We saw incredible animals and nature. We learned about the countries we were visiting; their histories, current events, prides and fears. We returned having had the experience of a lifetime! I'll share just one photo, where our joy is TANGIBLE!
Rewinding a year from this life-changing adventure with my father: I spent summer 2016 living in Grenoble, France! What a wonderful, enriching study abroad experience that was. My french skills were sharpened, my cultural awareness broadened. I met some incredible people along the way, of course, as one does, when traveling with an open mind.
And so here I sit , more than half way through 2018, in my kitchen in Cambridge, MA. I don't know if I've ever shared my professional experience with you... I work for Whole Foods Market, and over the course of the last year, have gone through a series of promotions where I now find myself as one of the Associate Team Leaders for Store Support. Working with people in myriad ways: customers, my team members, the community.
I'm bursting at the seams to tell you of my newest adventure! Departure date is just around the corner. I don't know how to lead up to it, so I'll just tell you and then give you the back story. I applied and was chosen to serve as a Whole Planet Foundation Team Member Volunteer to INDIA!!!! with Whole Foods Market. I leave the US on 7 October for three weeks to travel, volunteer, learn and connect with an incredible group of like-minded people!
You are probably wondering what Whole Planet Foundation is. If you've shopped at Whole Foods in March, you probably got the rundown from your cashier. (At least if you came to my store, you definitely did). Established in 2005, this non-profit provides microcredit to the ultra-poor around the globe in communities where Whole Foods Market sources product. Loans are provided particularly to women, giving them the opportunity to start small businesses and lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Whole Foods Market has microfinance partners all around the world to which they provide grants, the monies of which are distributed as microloans. When loans are repaid --and Whole Planet Foundation has a 96% repayment rate-- all funds are redistributed as new loans, which allows the funds to recycle and the pool to grow. Check out the WPF website for stories and information!
I am very passionate about this organization as it implements a solidarity methodology—support for the loan recipients at the ground level—and empowers individuals to use their entrepreneurial skills to create a positive shift in their lives and in the lives of their families (children go to school). I love working for a company that is socially responsible. It means everything to me. I believe that supporting the ultra-poor through small loans and educational tools is indeed a successful way to help combat global poverty. I am inspired at the idea of providing the tools and watching all a human being is capable of achieving.
SO, as you can imagine, when I realized I could be a part of this, I was. From working within the store to spread the word, educate our team members and our customers about the work that Whole Planet Foundation does, plan fundraising events and spearhead our fundraising campaign, to researching independently the impact Whole Planet Foundation has around the world, I became completely absorbed within this world. Now I am grateful and incredibly excited to SEE, TOUCH, EXPERIENCE Whole Planet Foundation in India!
On our trip, we will visit Varanasi to meet microcredit clients of CASHPOR, Whole Planet Foundation’s microfinance partner in India. CASHPOR's vision is a to help their members to break out of the intergenerational poverty trap... Through income-generating loans to loans that support their clients in education and health initiatives, they are approaching microcredit and helping people in a wholistic way. While in Varanasi, we will attend a center meeting where clients receive support and education on financial management and strategy, and learn about the microcredit clients’ businesses. We will also have the opportunity to meet with individuals who work with Whole Planet Foundation at an international level and learn from their experiences and about the work they do.
We will also travel to Rajasthan to visit Jodhpur, then be introduced to the Thar Desert community of Baap by Traditional Medicinals (whose teas we carry in our stores), and learn about the cultivation and harvesting of Senna. You can check out the Revive! Project as part of the Traditional Medicinals Foundation we will be participating in on their website. With Traditional Medicinals Foundation, we will learn about and address water scarcity issues in the Thar Desert with WomenServe, learn about the empowerment of women in rural India, and provide community service, digging water collection tanks called Taankas and assembling play areas for children. We've had a few conference calls to this point, where we've been introduced to some of the incredible people we will get the opportunity to work with and connect with on this journey to India. I can only imagine how inspiring it will be to meet these individuals and learn about the work they are doing.
The empowerment and education of women in rural and urban India is fundamental in breaking the cycle of poverty. The future is female! Please watch this video!
I just booked my flights yesterday, got approved for an Indian Visa, and am figuring out a few logistics. One of the incredible things about this program is that Whole Foods Market pays for all the in-country transport, logistics, etc. (And our region pays for half the airfare, too!)
Overall it's incredibly exciting.
I can't wait to share this journey with you.
