"Today when I look at Robben Island, I see it as a celebration of the struggle and a symbol of the finest qualities of the human spirit, rather than as a monument to the brutal tyranny and oppression of apartheid. It is true that Robben Island was once a place of darkness, but out of [...]
Pictured: Morgan Tsvangirai being sworn in by his rival, Robert Mugabe this past week in Zimbabwe.
"You should listen to all people. Everyone has a story. Everyone can teach you something."
The above is a paraphrase of a statement my grandfather told me when I was young. It is typical grandfatherly advice. I am sure someone [...]
Pictured: Lindsey and John, Peace Corps Volunteers, during our hike in Malealea, Lesotho.
I received an e-mail while I was heading to South Africa from my friend Stacie, who mentioned that she had a friend in South Africa and that I should look her up. I contacted her friend, Lindsey, and she invited me to [...]
Pictured: A proud Obama supporter in South Africa.
It is amazing the change that has occurred over the past year in
people's perception of the United States. When I started the journey
most people would cautiously ask me about President George Bush and what I thought about him. They didn't want to offend me but they wanted to
let [...]
I am proud to be an American. I left Maseru, Lesotho to travel to Durban, South Africa. My only objective for the day was to get into town to watch the Obama Inauguration. Since Durban is a large, international town, I figured I could find some Americans to watch the historic speech with. To commemorate the [...]
Dear Gentle Reader:
A week ago, I dropped my computer and now it refuses to recognize the hard drive. I am hoping that I will be able to get it fixed next week when I go to Cape Town, South Africa. At the moment, I am in Lesotho and the computers at the internet café are [...]
Celebrating International Volunteer Day
I caught up with one of my nonprofit colleagues while I was in Singapore. I met Jason Wee at the International Association of Voluntary Effort conference in Panama this past April. Jason works on nonprofit engagement at the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre so you can imagine why we hit it off. [...]
A Fun Group of Volunteers
Pictured: Kids in the village checking out the new volunteer team.
There is something to be said about the type of people that go on Habitat for Humanity Global Village build programs. There is something unique about them. They are adventurous. They are passionate. They are a hell of a lot of [...]
I was planning on writing a Thanksgiving post today but I have been focused on the news watching the tragedy unfold in Mumbai. The terror attacks on Mumbai are almost a day old and there is still an unresolved hostage situation in one of the hotels. The news coverage has been rapidly changing over the [...]
When Millard Fuller founded Habitat for Humanity, he was inspired by his Christian faith to help those in need. "I see life as both a gift and a responsibility. My responsibility is to use what God has given me to help his people in need." Though Habitat for Humanity is a Christian based organization, it [...]
