Global Buddies sounds like a very well crafted program. I've heard of too many voluntourism projects that end up giving the tourist an exciting experience, but don't really serve the needs of the local community -- cases where the volunteers get more than they give.

In my experience, the only voluntourism programs that really succeed in giving back to the community -- and making a community stronger and better able to help itself over the long run -- are those that create their programs with a lot of community input. It sounds like you take your relationships with local community organizations seriously.

This seems like a much needed program for families and children... Hope you grow it to more countries and more communities!

Global Buddies sounds like a very well crafted program. I've heard of too many voluntourism projects that end up giving the tourist an exciting experience, but don't really serve the needs of the local community -- cases where the volunteers get more than they give. In my experience, the only voluntourism programs that really succeed in giving back to the community -- and making a community stronger and better able to help itself over the long run -- are those that create their programs with a lot of community input. It sounds like you take your relationships with local community organizations seriously. This seems like a much needed program for families and children... Hope you grow it to more countries and more communities!

We're very excited to share some of the press coverage Global Buddies has been receiving around our most recent trip to South Africa (March-April 2008). Both American and South African press have covered different aspects of the program. We've placed a summary of all the press on our website: http://www.globalbuddies.net/news.asp

To see some of the individual articles, go to:

Cape Argus: http://www.globalbuddies.net/iAssets/featuredArgus.pdf

Orange County Register: http://www.ocregister.com/article/school-lanktree-children-1956249-program-laguna#

Los Angeles Timees: http://www.globalbuddies.net/iAssets/featuredLATimes.pdf

Daily Breeze: http://web.mac.com/czerina/GLOBAL_BUDDIES_PRESS/Global_Buddies_in_the_Daily_Breeze.html

What Kids Can Do: http://www.wkcd.org/

There was also a story about Global Buddies in The Big Issue in South Africa, and stories are upcoming in South Africa's Seventeen Magazine and on Youth Radio - L.A.

We appreciate all the interest in Global Buddies!

Wowm this is a fascinating program. I've looked at a lot of volunteer vacations, and it's rate to find one that's designed especially for families. If I or my friends wanted to get more information about trips, to figure our whether it would be a good fit for our family, who should we contact?