Volunteer vacations
July 21, 2011
A summer vacation for most people means making sure to pack a pair of sunglasses along with a good book to read on the beach. But not for Tilmann Straub. The German engineer's idea of a holiday involves working on development projects, such as building water wells or improving sanitation in poor countries.
Straub's love for traveling got him interested in the concept. As a student, Straub had backpacked around the world.
"As a backpacker, you learn a lot about the world through conversations with people. But in the end, as a tourist, you move on and leave the people behind in their poverty," the 35-year-old said.
A rewarding experience
Last year, Straub decided to change the way he spent his holidays abroad. He flew to Tanzania for six weeks to volunteer for the organization Engineers without Borders.
"Of course, it's warm and sunny in Africa, but I'm not really the kind of person who likes to laze around in the sun," he told Deutsche Welle.
Engineers without Borders relies on a pool of volunteers to develop technical solutions for water, energy and sanitation problems in developing countries.
In Tanzania, the organization constructed rainwater tanks at a girls' school. Straub, who studied applied geosciences, had already worked on the project for two years while in Germany before traveling to Tanzania.
The tanks provide a reliable water supply for the school, which previously had fetch some 5,000 liters daily from a distant source.
For Straub, a volunteer vacation is a rewarding experience.
"You live and work with the local people, you get to know them. You experience a lot of warmth and get involved in discussions," he said. "There is always something new – I'm always having new experiences, which continually give me something to draw on."
Happy to help out
Gabriele Benz, too, is convinced of the merits of a volunteer vacation. The German doctor said there was always a question on her mind while she was growing up: How can you be happy when so many people around the world live in poverty?
Her search for an answer has taken her to several developing nations. She traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2007 to work in the slums during her holidays.
Last year, Benz used her annual vacation to fly to Haiti for three weeks, to work for the organization Doctors without Borders.
The trained anesthetist said she didn't think twice about giving up her holiday to help out in the country, which is still struggling to cope with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake from early last year. And, she said, she would do it again.
"Actually, we're obliged to be content that things aren't going so bad for us," Benz said. "We should be enjoying our luck."
Growing popularity
Tilman Straub and Gabriele Benz aren't alone in taking alternative vacations. Reports suggest that an increasing number of working professionals opt to work on volunteer projects, and not just their tans, during their holidays abroad.
Tanja Kuntz, who heads a travel company that places volunteers with various development projects abroad, said she knows of people who even volunteer abroad more than once a year.
"A teacher we placed in Kenya taught during the Easter holidays," Kuntz told Deutsche Welle. "And then over the summer vacation, she went to Zanzibar, where she also volunteered."
Kuntz said her company receives calls from older people as well, including from a 73-year-old retired woman who has already volunteered abroad three times.
For some people, volunteering is a way to continue working in their area of expertise abroad. For others, it's a chance to try out something completely different.
"We had a woman lawyer who took care of children in India. Or a fashion designer from Berlin, who campaigned for animal protection in South Africa," Kuntz said.
Gabriele Benz still hasn't made plans for her holiday this year. But Tilman Straub has.
"This year, I am going to allow myself a vacation," the engineer said. "But not to lie around in the sun. Rather, to relax a bit and recharge my batteries so that I can work on new projects."
Author: Rayna Breuer (sp)
Editor: Sonya Angelica Diehn