Traveling With A Purpose (The Puerto Rico Strong Volunteer Experience)
When you travel with a purpose, you come back a better version of yourself. When you travel with a purpose, you don’t just wander around a new place looking the next place to drink, the next beach to lay down, the next photo opportunity for social media or the next tour to take. And the idea of coming back to your mundane or stressful life is appalling.
But when you travel with a purpose, you aim to grow by pausing, reflecting and re-evaluating your life and goals.
People travel to get away and relax! But traveling can also be all that and impactful, inspiring and super fun!!!
Have you tried traveling and volunteering? It is the best way to explore a new country or city!
Traveling and volunteering give you an opportunity to connect with the local and help those who are in need. When you travel with others who have the same purpose of helping others, you can assure yourself that you will be surrounded by good people.
This was my experience when I volunteered in the Philippines for two medical missions with FIAT (Filipinos In America Today); went to Nepal with Divas Abroad and we worked with the female farmers in Katmandu and visited the survivors of human trafficking; went to Ghana last year and worked with the Ghanian Association of Women Entrepreneurs; then my recent incredible volunteer trip to Puerto Rico with All Hands and Hearts.
The volunteers and staff at All Hands And Hearts were inspiring. Most of them are millennials. Our leaders in this trip were in their 20’s and early 30’s and they were the calmest, confident and patient leaders I’ve ever worked with. I’ve said this before and I still believe it to this day that millennials are idealistic and they want to feel fulfilled. Millennials can teach us a lot. So cheers to the generation who raised them!
Volunteering in Puerto Rico was an incredible experience. We did construction which I had no experience in. But our leaders from all over the world, who are mostly millennials, were patient and compassionate leaders. I fell in-love with them. I also fell in-love with the people of Puerto Rico. They are warm, welcoming, accepting and resilient people.
The food was great and their ice cold Medalla beer from the colmado (corner store) was just perfect after long hours of working on a roof on a hot day. The experience was humbling but also so empowering.
It was a place where people from all over the world gather for one purpose – to help those in need. So why not give volunteering while traveling a try. Its the best way to meet people, connect with the locals, eat authentic food and fall in-love with the culture. You will find that expensive hotels and fancy resorts are boring!