What Is A Vacation?

What is a vacation? Why take a vacation?

Ask yourself-- why do I take a vacation? Obviously, not everybody takes a vacation, but most of us do. What purpose does it serve?

There are lots of different types of vacations. What is your idea of a fulfilling vacation? An activity like hiking, snowboarding, surfing, etc? Relaxing on a cruise ship? Visiting ancient ruins? Experiencing local culture?

If distill the common elements of a fulfilling vacation, we are left with two main ingredients:

1) Change of surroundings and habits. The daily routine is changed and we are taken outside our comfort zone.

2) Create strong memories. Either through activities, or seeing interesting places we try to create lasting memories.

Looking at a vacation in this stripped-down way allows you to focus on what you want to achieve with your time. This was the thought process that I used when formulating the idea of the donation vacation. Obviously I will be taking myself outside my comfort zone. Travelling to Peru is definetly not part of my daily routine. But the donation vacation has the additional benefit of taking me outside my comfort zone right here at home. I have never raised money for a charity before. The activities and events I will be hosting, the responsibility I will be taking on, and the people I will be working with are all outside my daily routine. That part of my vacation will essentially be extended for many months.

Consider the strong memories we will create when we meet the children and see the schools that will directly benefit from the money we raise. Changing a child's life creates a very strong and lasting memory. Hopefully we will create a larger shared memory with everyone who donates by sharing what we learn about the people of the Pueblos Jovenes in Arequipa.

And we can still fit in the more "traditional" Peru activities (hiking Machu Picchu, seeing condors at Colca Canyon, etc).

I am certain that we would have an awesome time if we just went to Peru and did a normal vacation. But by makeing our vacation something greater than ourselves, I believe we will find it even more fulfilling.

Arequipas, Peru

We have found our charity. It is a project in Arequipa, Peru to fund schooling for children. The project is run by Global Vision International (www.gviusa.com). I found it through a web site called GlobalGiving.com.

Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru and attracts many migrants hoping to find work. Unable to afford to live within the city, they have set up shanty towns on the outskirts of the city (pueblos jovenes). The children living in these pueblos jovenes have limited access to education. As a parent I work to ensure my daughter will have more opportunities in this life than I had while growing up. I can't imagine the parents of the children in the pueblos jovenes feel differently. These families are looking to improve their and their children's opportunities by seeking work. This is the thread of commonality that pulls on me to help. As a fellow parent I recognize what motivates them to move to the city and look for work.

To find out more about the project please check out the information from Global Vision International:
http://www.gviusa.com/pages/projectDetail.asp?page=moreinfo&expedition=92
Or from GlobalGiving's web site:
http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/1800/proj1768a.html

Orla and I are very excited to visit Peru. Now we just need to work on our fundraising!

The Big Idea

This year my wife and I decided to use our vacation to do something different. We are still going to tour a beautiful country, visit with colorful locals, and do interesting things. But this time, we will use our vacation as an experiment-- an experiment in personal power and social change.

The idea is simple. Instead of going on vacation just for ourselves, we will find a charity we believe in that works in the country we want to visit. We will spend up to a year raising money locally to donate to the charity. And finally using our own money we will visit the recipients, document what we see and share the results.

I call it an experiment because I don’t know how it will go. I don’t know how much money we will raise. I am not sure how to raise it. I don’t know if we will make new friends or alienate our current friends. I don’t know if we will have a fun and rewarding vacation or make a mess of things and let people down. I have no idea. But it will be interesting to find out.