Customer Reviews

The Voluntary Traveler: Adventures from the Road Best Traveled

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There is a new and growing trend. Men and women leaving their homes for vacations that will take them to other lands and other peoples. Then instead of simply seeing the sights, they participate in directly helping those communities by volunteering their labor and expertise to accomplish whatever tasks are needed to elevate the standard of living and/or the quality of life for the people who reside there. In "The Voluntary Traveler: Adventures From The Road Best Traveled", Nola Lee Kelsey has compiled and edited the personal stories of more than twenty men and women who have engaged in traveling around the globe to become more than simple tourists, participating in helping, often through the focus of a charitable organization, those communities they have visited. As 'volunteer travelers', their personal service brought memories and feelings of accomplishment that ordinary tourists and recreational visitors could never know. From Thailand, India, South Africa, and the Marshall Islands, to Mexico, Romania, Nepal, and Cambodia, these are personal stories that illustrate and exemplify what volunteer travel is all about. Of special note is the final section profusely listing additional volunteer organizations, resources, opportunities, and more. For anyone seeking adventure beyond their own local communities and ordinary lives, reading "The Voluntary Traveler" can be the first step towards making a difference when and while journeying to anywhere else in the world.

I just cannot believe some of the things people have done! Its amazing..the stories are awesome, inspiring, humorous, happy, sad...every single one of my emotions was wrenched! A great read especially while traveling.

Wonderful wonderful wonderful book. Reading it I was reminded of all the working vacations we have taken. The author writes in a manner that you will feel as if you are there in the situation she is in. And the stories of her experiences are so varied, which is a treat, because you never ever get bogged down, thinking or wishing you could read something different instead of the same thing, but different location.

And I love the extensive travel guide sections where you can see a Voluntary Guidebook where the author lists a group and what type it is, their website, countries where they are in, age requirements and address, languages spoken, cost, meal and accommodations if any, maximum stay allowed, health requirements, and whether they are in need of help all year round or only certain weeks or months.

Volunteer organizations on pages 435 thru 4 have websites listed and country and a more in depth description of what the organization does. Starting on page 449 the have an Index that lists the dozens and dozens of countries, alphabetically and what groups they have and how many volunteers they have. Was amazed to see some groups literally have hundreds and hundreds of volunteers.

When Dogs Choose You starting on page 109 hooked me. It reminded me of why I like animals more than most humans. And why people who love animals often are better people overall.

I was asked to contribute a chapter to this book before it was published, and I imagined it to be something quite ordinary - NOT TRUE!!
There are tales from all kinds of volunteering experience in the first section, a fascinating insight into the kind of stuff that goes on in different projects. Many of the stories made me laugh, a few almost made me cry... because this isn't fiction, these are real people, real experiences and real hardship they are facing on a daily basis.
Then, to complete this mammoth tome (seriously - it's like a phone book!) there are listings for a vast number of voluntary projects which can be contacted directly. No need to pay thousands of pounds (or dollars) to a flashy organisation, only for them to set you up next to volunteers who are paying $50 a week! You can pick a project yourself, often from those featured in the stories, so you can read about someone else's experience there before you decide - then get in touch with them direct, no middle man, and sort something out. Before you know it, you could be having some crazy adventures - and if that's not you, well just read about the crazy adventures others have had in the first section!
Awesome, inspiring book.
Tony

The Voluntary Traveler is an interesting group of essays about how and why people share their skills with various
organizations world wide. Whether you are volunteering in orphanages or animal sanctuaries the main emphasis is the same. Trying to improve a situation which most of us are unaware.
Kudos to all of the volunteers on their ability to reach out and help or simply to reach out and go beyond their quiet little corner of the world and see what is out there.