Mexican Institute for Family and Population Research "Yo quiero, you puedo"

Dear UCLA Faculty, Staff, and Students, 

I am contacting you to make you aware of a new learning opportunity for interested students and alumni with the Mexican Institute for Family and Population Research (IMIFAP) nonprofit.  IMIFAP “Yo quiero, yo puedo,” gives volunteers the opportunity to participate in international field work with established projects in the areas of youth development and microenterprise.   

IMIFAP “Yo quiero, yo puedo” has a solid reputation of delivering high-impact training and programming to marginalized communities throughout Mexico for over 25 years.  Our mission is to create and implement programs which contribute to sustainable human development in order to allow individuals to take control of their own health, productivity, and lives. With over 200 established partners and 24 ongoing projects, IMIFAP “Yo quiero, yo puedo” has the network and know-how to offer volunteers a valuable volunteer experience. IMIFAP has a range of preventative and community building programs, which have impacted over 19 million people in Mexico, the United States, Uzbekistan and 11 other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Volunteers will work in Hidalgo, Mexico alongside a team of IMIFAP program leaders and community members.  IMIFAP offers a custom-built volunteer experience, allowing volunteers to choose their area of focus and the week-long period they would like to volunteer over the summer. Volunteer projects are offered in Youth Development: working with disadvantaged children to improve life skills, promote healthy development, and prevent drug use and teen pregnancy; or Microenterprise: working with a local bakery or water purification plant to develop and enhance business goals and strategies.  Volunteers will gain valuable field experience, skills, and knowledge to enhance their academic and professional careers.

We, at IMIFAP "Yo quiero, yo puedo", would like to extend a special offer to volunteers.  This summer, volunteers may take advantage of discounted prices for their week-long service trip, as this is the first summer the organization will be operating international volunteer service trips.  Trip costs include on-site volunteer training and orientation; all accommodations; in-country transportation and meals; cultural activities and experiences; and project-specific Spanish classes.

For more information about IMIFAP "Yo quiero, yo puedo", visit our website atwww.imifap.org.mx.   Thank you for your assistance with this and feel free to contact me directly atjessica@yoquieroyopuedo.mx or by phone at (773) 744-3024.

Sincerely,

Jessie Schwartz, MSW

Volunteer Coordinator

IMIFAP "Yo quiero, yo puedo"

SEALNet: Service & Leadership

Here is a great organization that a friend is going on. This is a non-religious nonprofit organization founded by Stanford University students in 2004. They focus the development of Southeast Asia and have different "Projects" every year.

For the Indonesia project 2011  they are doing a public health project that education and does prevention with high school students about GI worms.

SEALNet's mission is to bring service and to promote the spirit of service leadership among Southeast Asian communities in the US and abroad . We strive to accomplish this by building and nurturing a community of service leaders who are committed to serve, equipped to lead, enterprising in action, and plugged into a network of like hearted individuals who are passionate about social development.

http://www.sealnetonline.org/

ProWorld

ProWorld has a great variety of volunteer, internship and study experiences in many different countries- many focused on Central America and South America, but also India, Nepal, Ghana, and Thailand.


The study aboard programs mostly are language immersion, service-learning, and field study programs at local universities.

Many of the internships are very unique to the culture and location. For example in India you can do a health internship at a ashram! or in Mexico help kids with disabilities ride horses. Have to say...that's pretty cool. 


They also have scholarships for certain projects and referral incentives. 

Proworld

Volunteering in China's Orphanages

Many of you may know or heard about China's (and many other parts of the world) challenge of overcrowded and understaffed orphanages. These are a vulnerable, helpless population that rely on the kindness of childcare workers to survive. Some are lucky enough to get adopted (but mostly from international adoptions - these orphanages are filled with many medical/special needs children and females.

Unfortunately China- while pushing forward into modernization- still cling to the traditional notions that male children are better and with the One Child Policy many couples rather have a son as their only child.

Studies have shown that lack of physical and emotional interactions with others in early childhood deeply affects the child in physiological ways- many literally die from loneliness. Many people wish they could volunteer at these orphanages to provide more than just basic needs, but love.

However through my research and some contacts with people who run the orphanages- China's state run orphanages usually prohibit foreigners from volunteering for fear that they are just there to "baby shop" or to spread foreign influence.

If you truly want to just lend a hand and a heart, there are ways. Many US citizens or other people from Europe have started their own private orphanages and they welcome volunteers. However, a lot of the work would be on your own - to plan where to live, what to do, how long, etc.

China Care - is an organization founded in 2000 by a young teenager who really had a heart for these children in China. Now there are "clubs" all around the US on college campus to raise awareness and support. China Care Bruins is the UCLA Chapter that does great things like a Mentorship Program for adoptees from China and fundraising for life-saving surgeries for orphans in China. They do not have an international component, but CCB show that you can help just by being on campus.

Blue Sky Healing Home in Beijing

Volunteer through IFRE

New Hope Volunteer in Xian, China

I have heard that going through a church is the easiest instead of going by yourself, but -remember- do your research and understand the dynamics of religious institutions and the Chinese government. Happy hunting!

Global Vision International

This is another organization that provides flexible and customizable abroad experiences. There are volunteer and internship opportunities that can last as little as 2 weeks or as much as more than 6 months. They have projects offered on very continent (except for Antarctica). They also have "expeditions" which seems to be a combination of volunteering and tourism with a group, they mostly focus on environmental and wildlife themes but there are community expeditions.

http://www.gviusa.com/

Volunteering: 

• with Children (teaching, arts, sports, social work, childcare)
• climate change 
• marine conservation
• Teaching English abroad
• Construction
• Community
• Wildlife and Conservation

Internship:

• Environmental
• Non-profit
• Humanitarian
• Responsible Business

Student Volunteer Panel Links

On Feb 24th the ISWC had a great panel of fellow students who shared their experiences of volunteering and work abroad. Here are the links they shared with us!

Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity

- clinics all around the world to provide vision to communities

- they partner with optometry school from the US to send student volunteers

United Nations Volunteer Site

- "We partner with governments and with UN, non-profit and private sector organizations in order to support development programmes. UNV delivers a prompt, efficient and value-adding service to identify and engage professionals who can deliver services and fulfill a wide range of specialised tasks." 

- they also have their own online service to connect people to volunteer organizations! 

Medo

- based in the indigenous community of Soloy, District of Besiko, Ngobe-Bugle Comarca, Panama

Mona Foundation

- a particular focus on education, women, children

- all volunteer-based!
- Countries: Brazil, Haiti, Cambodia, China, India, Mongolia, Panama, Swaziland, Tanzania, US, Vietnam

Global Urban Trek

- through InterVarsity

- particularly recruiting students and recent grads

- living in local slums in communities around the world. 

- ministry

Servant Partners

- work in slums of other countries as well as inner cities of the US

- internships

- Thailand, India, Mid East, North Africa, South Africa, Mexico

- Los Angeles, San Antonio

UCLA Habitat for Humanity + Global Village Trip

It is my personal pleasure to share the wonderful opportunities and experiences HfH- UCLA Chapter has to offer.  Habitat for Humanity is a national non-profit that is well known for their mission to not just provide shelter but HOMES for deserving families and people.

UCLA has their own student organization partners with the San Fernando Valley HfH and builds every Saturday in the Pacioma, CA site. Become a member of the UCLA club and it's a great deal because outside groups usually "donate" about $2000 in order to have their people build. It's a one-time fee!

http://www.uclahabitat.org/

For an international experience, every year UCLA HfH take two groups of chosen applicants to Peru and El Salvador to build for about 10 days during Winter Break. The application process is competitive and starts in the Spring! You have to provide your own funding, but depending on the efforts of your fellow participants you can organize fundraisers. 

http://www.uclahabitat.org/volunteer-abroad/

Global Village partners with Fuller Center for Housing - founded by the same founder as Habitat for Humanity. The Fuller Center does have religious influences, but no where on the trip was there any proselytizing or anything of the sort, it is very welcoming. 

They also have similar domestic opportunities in Florida and New Orleans during Spring Break! 

Idealist.org

If you are a social worker, volunteer, interested in non-profit work, or just an overall do-gooder and you haven't heard of Idealist.org you MUST check it out. It's a great hub for jobs, internships, volunteer opportunities, and networking.

It's not necessarily for international placements, but it does have links to international non-profits and domestic organizations that do work abroad. They also travel around the country to host volunteer fairs at university campuses like UCLA.

Idealist 

Cross-Cultural Solutions

Here is a big organization that arranges volunteer opportunities aboard -they have programs in

• South America
• Eastern Europe 
• Asia
• Africa

They also have various areas of focus for your placements- from health to economic empowerment to women. Their placements can last from 1 week to 12 weeks. 

"Cross-Cultural Solutions is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1995. Today, 25,000 people have participated in our volunteer programs in Africa,Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. CCS has a worldwide staff of over 300 people in 12 countries, with administrative offices also located in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. In the UK, CCS is a Registered Charity (No. 1106741) and a Registered Company Limited by Guarantee (No. 4991010). In Canada, CCS is a registered non-profit corporation (Federal Corporation No. 445810-9). Steven Rosenthal founded CCS in 1995 and serves as its Executive Director.

CCS has been profiled in more than 500 news outlets, including: CNN, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Time, Newsweek, The Chicago Tribune,The Toronto Star, The Today Show, USA Today, National Geographic Traveler, and the ABC Nightly News."

Cross-Cultural Solutions

Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Go...

It's great that people have big enough hearts as to say they want to drop whatever they are doing and get over to a disaster zone to volunteer...but it's definitely not as simple as just joining a volunteer program. Disaster relief aid is a completely different environment -ask yourself are you mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and financially prepared?

• Can I afford to pay my way there?
• Do I need an organization to help sponsor me?  Can I do fundraising to contribute to my ticket and airfare costs?  
• Do I have a U.S. passport?
• Am I current on my vaccinations?
• How about lodging once in there?
• Would it be better that I support a reputable organization or sponsor somebody who is better qualified than me to go on such a trip?

This is in no way to discourage people from giving with their hearts, but there have been some controversy that has come up, especially from "professional relief aid workers" on the topic of regular citizens volunteering aboard in the mist of a natural disaster. Their message is that while most people have the best intentions, they are ill-prepared and have high expectations, and are naive. So consider carefully and be honest with yourself. 

Disaster Relief in Japan

Yesterday the US woke up to the news of a tsunami devastating Japan. Money and aid is pouring into Japan and if you want to help here are some websites to check out. 

How to contribute to disaster relief in Japan