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Volunteer Work Abroad?
MKalus asks: "Looking at what is going on in the world right now and realizing that computers are not everything (yes, there is more than that) I was considering for quite some time now volunteering in an international project. I was looking at institutions like Casa Alianza and Doctors Without Borders but the problem I am facing is that all of these organizations mainly seem to search for volunteers in medical fields and not so much in High Tech Areas. This is, of course, understandable as I don't really think anybody needs a server farm if they don't have enough to eat at the end of the day." Update: 12/03 15:19 GMT by C :MKalus has been reading the comments sent in so far, but had this bit to add: "I am NOT from the US, I am german living in Canada, as such things like the Peace Corps for example are not a viable option."
"Now I am aware of several organisations where you can go for two weeks in a developing country and help on a farm etc. I also remember the Geekcorps but as nice as it sounds to bring the internet in parts of the world who don't have it I don't quite see the sense in it when at the same time thousands of people die everyday.
So here's the question: Is there a geek out there who managed to volunteer for a longer period (6 months to a year or maybe even longer) in a project abroad, something along the lines of those I've mentioned abobe?"
You aren't really specific about whether you most want to help in places in need (in which, yes, you'll surely have to pick some other contribution than I.T.) or just go abroad with the talents you've got.
Many commentators say the best bang for the 1st world's development bucks will come from helping nations that are hurting but are also developing - to help tip the balance towards upward progress.
In which case, I think you don't even have to travel far. Learn Spanish and do some travelling south of the Rio Grande and I think you'll find Mexico and other latin american countries are in endless need of teachers and NGO office volunteers that know their way around a computer.
>I don't really think anybody needs a server farm
>if they don't have enough to eat at the end of
>the day.
They don't need a doctor at this point either.
What they needed was either farming in the last
growing season, and/or a transportation infrastructure, together with whatever economic means would have been require to make all that happen.
By the time widespread hunger sets into a place,
there's sadly not much to be done.
Have you considered the Peace Corps? You could
at least work in commo, if that's geeky enough for you.
It's a classic problem with foreign aid organizations. What they get are young people with the wrong skills. What they need are experienced blue-collar leaders: farmers who've successfully farmed tough land, experienced truck mechanics, construction foremen, and pipeline field bosses.
I apologize to the partial post...
I meant to add that there are similar projects in the Caribbean. In the Dominican Republic, The Amity Institute has a teaching exchange program that includes teaching posts for computer technology courses. Likewise, the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo, where I worked for a semester, always needs technology instructors. Both of these organizations put geeks up in apartments. (Spanish is required).
w o r l d w i d e w e b e r
Infrastructure is nice. Infrastructure is good. Having the right equipment, irrigation and transportation would certainly be welcome.
But information is the next best thing. You may not have a tractor, but knowing how to plow a field without causing soil erosion is important. You can't build an effective grain silo without having the plans for one; but if you know how they're laid out, you might cobble one together.
I suppose you could photocopy a bunch of plans and hand them out, but the net allows neighboring villages to share their experiences and figure out what works in that area and what won't, and to make arrangements to buy equipment and materials on the cheap when it becomes available.
Of course the net is no panacea, but it's of more help than you might think.
Hey,
2001 is the UN year of the volunteer. I am curently teaching in the Cisco Academy in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia. THere are plenty of IT related opportunities with the United Nations in the ICT sector. As long as you have at least 5 years experienc and are at least 25 years old.
Check out www.unv.org for more information. Plus if you are willing to go to Afganistan, I can assure you you will probably be on the next flight with out bombs!
You're looking for "Engineers Without Borders":
here a few of their addresses:
http://ewob.colorado.edu
EWOB USA
http://www.ewb-isf.org
EWB CANADA
http://www.isf-france.org
EWB France = Ingénieurs sans Frontières (ISF)
There are lots of other local and national EWB groups, a google search should find em.
Rather than looking abroad may I suggest joing a domestic (USA) organization. Americorps is a national civilian service organization that send people to different locations around the US where strong minds and bodies are needed.
A great friend of mine joined for a year and work with inner city kids in Las Vegas, worked at a soup kitchen in Denver, fight fires in the Sierra Nevadas, built trails and did eco-rehab in the Sierras and many other fun projects.
I looked at joining six months ago when I was between jobs, and deciding if I wanted to return to college. The people I talked to were enthusiastic about having a geek who was interested in joing (I'm also a hardcore outdoor enthusiast, so that was a plus side for them as well.)
Americorp is a great deal, you commit to work for a year, you get trianed, then while working get a small monthly per diem and at the end of your service are eligible for a decent amount of $$$ for college. I would highly reccomend it to anyone who is interested in helping people. When my current contract with my employer expires I'm joing for a year.
Rule of Life Number 2: Remember, it can all go to hell at any minute. --Jimmy Buffet
If I were you I'd look into organizations whose primary focus is infrastructure development. Building schools, developing industry, and raising the general standard of living is a far more effective goal. It may not have the same immediate gratification of medical aide, but in the long run it's a lot better for the people and probably more along the lines of your skills.
I worked as an intern for Doctor's Without Borders a few years ago at their office in New York. As one of only a handful of people in the office who knew much of anything about computers, I did a lot of work on their website, mostly in the form of putting a lot of their fieldwork online. From this experiencem, I have found that NGO's (Non-Governmental Organizations) need a lot of help in this arena. Since IT workers are in relatively short supply, and since we want to get paid for our services rendered, it's hard to find IT services for free, which is what NGO's really need.
I think that as more of the fundraising comes from online sources (paypal, et al) these organizations will need people like us to set up the infrastructure to do these kinds of things. Sure, it won't be as "hands on" as picking up a shovel or suturing a wound, but volunteerism takes on many forms, and we as savants can be of great service if we put our knowledge to use in this regard.
http://www.peacecorps.gov/assignments/focusareas .c fm#it
There's plenty of work to go around.
Netaid, part of the UN Development Programme doesn't offer work abroad, but uses the Net so you can work locally to help those abroad. A lot of the assignments are more oreinted toward research/advocacy/education, but there are tech needs associated with those things too: sysadmins, DBAs, Web developers, etc. This is part of the UNDP's Information and Communications Technology division.
Global Technology Corps is run by the US Department of State and sends people abroad to build LANs and such.
Trust For The Americas sends folks abroad to teach tech, and also to setup the infrastructure -- building networks, etc.
When I was a support tech some of my co-workers went out and worked on systems for paralyzed people, MS patients, and so on. They weren't supposed to but did it because the customers had no other access to technical help. Many of these users had old discard computers given to them by charities. They were living on extremely minimal disability payments and had no money to pay for upgrades, parts, or tech support.
This is still the case, only I am out of contact with this segment of the user community since leaving tech support. But they're still there, they're still poor, and they need online access more than anybody else does. Often it is their only method of communicating with the outside world--several of our paralyzed users couldn't even talk, could only type with a stick. The government provides only enough assistance to keep these people alive. Somebody else has to help them keep in touch with the human community.
www.geekcorps.org
One of the nice things about the Geek Corps is that instead of trying to do it all themselves, they instead concentrate on educating local's and helping local businesses to build an information infrastructure.
In addition, it sounds like it would be a great time because Geekcorp volunteers all live together during their stay.
-Braddock Gaskill