The mission

The primary motivation for this trip is travel and adventure. However, I also wanted to give something back to the countries I travel through, and had been thinking about how I could volunteer, or donate, or otherwise do something useful for people in need. While looking online, I was surprised at how little good information there is out there for people wanting to do this, outside of larger organisations like MSF or the Red Cross. It was also hard to find genuine volunteering opportunities, particularly in medicine, that weren't more voluntourism, or even downright commercial operations.

I figured there should be no lack of places that are in need of volunteers or donations, but I was realising that it's not always easy to find where the need is, and what the needs are, without going there first. It dawned on me that this was the something I could do - the something I could give back. I could facilitate this process of volunteering and donating by connecting people who want to help, with people who need the help.

For the volunteer side of things, I thought some sort of online database or list of organisations that need volunteers would be really useful. A Wiki, or something like that. After searching for a while and finding nothing like that that exists, that I could contribute to, I created one - Open Volunteer. Please check it out and tell me what you think. If you have volunteered somewhere, or know of a place that needs volunteers, add it to the wiki! It's easy and anyone can do it.

In terms of donations, I realised that the very worthy folks at Angel Mule already have a service for connecting travellers with organisations that need donations. All they need right now are ambassadors for the service.

As an ambassador for OV and AM, I had all the tools I needed to make donating time, money, or anything else, much easier and more effective. However, given my inexperience in the field of aid work, charities, and NGOs, I also had an awful lot to learn if my contributions, and those that I would facilitate, were going to be useful.

My mission crystallised for me:

• I would ride my bike as far as I could
• I would learn as much as I could about social inequality and social assistance in less wealthy areas, with a focus on health care.
• I would build a volunteer wiki which hopefully others will use and contribute to, and hopefully in doing so create a community of like minded people
• I would be an ambassador for AngelMule, and in doing so, help connect organisations with things they need, and people to get it to them

My tools would be my bike, the few websites below, and a whole lotta good will.

Open Volunteer

Angel Mule

Other indispensable websites:

mmMule

Couchsurfing

Warm Showers (not what it sounds like)