Volunteer Tourism - Transformations Abroad

Travel that makes the world a better place

The scenery was spectacular, the beaches soft and white, the weather balmy. Yet your holiday memories summon up a niggling sense of uneasiness. The trouble is, it bothers you that the luxuries and amenities available to tourists in developing countries are well beyond the reach of most local citizens. If thoughts like this have entered your mind, you may be ready for a vacation on the other side of tourism—volunteer tourism.

You may be like Tom Eklund, whose life changed dramatically after a visit to an orphanage in Monte Cristi, in the Dominican Republic. Touched and saddened on seeing the meager facilities housing the children at the orphanage, Eklund wanted to do something.

“But I didn’t just want to donate a sum of money to some aid organization,” said Eklund when we spoke of his plans. “I wanted to get involved on some grass roots level, and I thought other people would want to get involved too.” That idea of getting others personally involved inspired Eklund to start Orphanage Outreach. Now, the former IBM sales rep dedicates his energy full-time to financing and arranging for small groups of short-term volunteers to help out at two Dominican orphanages.

Additionally, he contributes to the work of a most remarkable French-Canadian woman.

Anyone who doubts that travel can be a transforming experience hasn’t met Pauline Tremblay. About 13 years ago she went to the Dominican Republic for a beach holiday, during which a Dominican woman approached and asked her to look after a child temporarily. Tremblay agreed, although reluctantly, as she was worried about catching lice.

But that was then, before some inexplicable urge made Pauline Tremblay sell her possessions in Quebec and move permanently to the Dominican Republic. There she built El Gardin Por Los Ninos (Garden for the Children), a home for herself and her expanded family of Dominican children.

One day last October, Eklund related Tremblay’s story to his latest volunteer team—which included myself and an airline pilot—as our rented van lumbered up a steep, deeply rutted road into the hill country near the coastal resort town of Cabarete, Dominican Republic. All at once we came upon a clearing high on a lush, green ridge overlooking a meandering river. Sounds of hammering and playing children greeted our unannounced arrival, followed by the startled shrieks of Madame Tremblay, who we had rudely surprised in the middle of a major hair-dye-job. Apparently she doesn’t believe you can let yourself go just because you’ve managed to hack a home out of the jungle, be a mother to 15 adopted children, and build and supply a school for 80 students.

Dripping hair or not, visitors from abroad are a welcome sight to Tremblay at the Garden for Children. She soon joined us for a short chat, which we conducted in smatterings of French, English and Spanish.

On our tour of the place, we met the school-age children studying in their open-air classrooms and the younger children playing on tire swings. We admired the view and the current work in progress: two volunteers from Quebec who were busy knocking together a cabin for volunteers. Then, after exclaiming over the wonder of this exceptional woman’s accomplishments and acknowledging her wish list, we left as abruptly as we had arrived.

“It’s amazing what one person can accomplish,” Eklund commented as the van jounced onward toward Monte Cristi. That remark played in my thoughts, and by the time we reached the small house that would be our headquarters for the coming week, I had already boarded an emotional roller coaster that would give me a run for my money long after I waved a tearful goodbye to the children at La Esperanza de un Nino (The Hope of a Child orphanage).

My thoughts bobbed between joy and doubt. I worried what good I could do if I had no teaching, mechanical, carpentry, or plumbing skills. I’m no good at sports and can’t remember childhood games. I wondered if we caused more harm than good by dropping into the lives of these children, cameras clicking, only to drop out again before even properly learning all their names.

Easygoing Eklund calmly endured my misgivings while teammate, John Frances, summarized his philosophy. He said, “You can’t worry about all the possibilities. You just have to decide, yes or no. If yes, do what you can and let it go at that.

Six months later, those words make pretty good sense to me.

About 20 children live at La Esperanza de un Nino. Brought to the home through unfortunate circumstances, they seem to have found a happy refuge here. The orphanage needs everything from daily foodstuffs to building improvements of every kind. Materially, the children have little beyond the necessities. Yet, they have an abundance of smiles and hugs to give to strangers like me who regularly pop in and out of their lives because of Tom Eklund.

Each day after breakfast, and after “thanks” is given in the Christian custom, Tom, John and I, accompanied by a few eager Dominican helpers, piled into the van and headed for the orphanage at Monte Cristi. Tom would confer with Pastor Ramon (our liaison at the orphanage) about what needed doing, then we would set to work. We painted, planted shrubs, and did some clean up, but this volunteer vacation wasn’t all work. We also spent joyful time with the kids doing nothing special, just whatever seemed amusing.

During leisure time, Eklund gauges the tenor of each team, and extracurricular activities go by consensus. Our little group of three (eight is typical) was more interested in nightly strolls rather than local cantina-crawling. Still, a tall cold beer before dinner was always appreciated, as was a cooling swim at a beach, and regular afternoon ice-cream breaks.

With the exception of one evening out at a seaside restaurant, we ate hearty meals with the kids and spent a lot of time just sitting on the front porch engaging in world-view discussions with Charlie, the volunteer “house-pop” and with any interested passers-by.

After five days, I hadn’t resolved all my volunteering concerns, but I had decided that Tom Eklund and Pauline Tremblay have changed things for the better.

I changed for the better too.

The last I heard, money had been raised for a fence so the children could grow vegetables out of reach of marauding goats. Subsequent teams had built the fence and replaced the battery, air and gas filters on the orphanage pick-up truck. A new wheelbarrow, ladder, load of books, toys, T-shirts and pillows had also been donated along with the beginnings of an educational resource center. Meanwhile, several more volunteers had undergone transformation while vacationing on the other side of tourism.

Author: Diane Redfern