Read this amazing article about VFP volunteer Paul Viko in Japan:
http://www.addisonindependent.com/201110cornwall-man-helps-japan
“Viko, 81, returned on Oct. 16 after spending almost a month volunteering in various tsunami recovery efforts in Japan, the landscape of which continues to be strewn with the rubble of buildings, roads and bridges torn apart following an 8.9-maginitude tremor and resulting tsunami that overwhelmed the nation on March 11.”
This past Saturday was the John Dewey/Halloween parade in Burlington. The Peace Dove was completed just in time by an impressive amount of volunteers for the parade. Being an intern I have had the opportunity over the last month to help build and watch the progress of the bird.
This year is a very special year as it it is the European Year of Volunteering (EYV) and the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV+10) from 2001. During September 7-11 the second Youth Convention on Volunteering took place in the European Parliament as well as the Esplanade of the European Parliament in Brussels. Those five days were devoted to conferences, seminars, workshops, concerts, art performances, and exhibitions.
This week the International FORUM on Development Service (FORUM) and VSO Jitolee, is hosting the annual International Volunteer Cooperation Organizations (IVCO) conference in Mombasa, Kenya. The conference begins October 9 through the 12th. The theme this year is about ‘Valuing Volunteering’.
On October 9, 2011, VFP will be hosting the VFP.org Peace Action Conference in Ossining, NY. Don’t miss Meg Brook, VFP’s executive director, who will be speaking about 30 years of building peace through international voluntary service. Various teach-ins and panel discussions will explore topics from environmental activism to the Constitution, and the keynote address will be given by Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs.
This summer, Volunteers For Peace in conjunction with Four Years Go (www.fouryearsgo.org) asked all US workcamps to participate and contribute to our sustainability initiative. As a group and as individuals, international volunteers asked themselves:
What is your next step in the journey to re-invent the planet?
The 3-week “No More War” Burlington workcamp hosting 7 international volunteers came to a close last weekend after many hours spent studying the concepts of freedom and sustainability, volunteering at local King Street Children Center, and enjoying the hospitality of the Burlington Friends Meeting House.
“It has a lot of good volunteer work and they also have a lot projects with the orphanages in Eastern Europe, in Romania and other countries.” Luciana said. “They have projects where people can go and build homes for other people. But it’s not just in Europe; they also have projects in Africa and South America and other parts of the world.”
On the night before she returned to the United States after a two-week mission in Haiti, Cinnamon Black watched her students perform skits about what they had learned during water sanitation and hygiene training she had just finished teaching.
South Burlington residents Meg Brook and her 9 year old daughter Chenoa Olinger are preparing for a 10 day trip to Haiti this summer to help with a camp for 1,000 Haitian Children. The camp is organized by Volunteers For Peace (VFP), a 29-year-old Vermont non-profit located in Burlington, under Meg’s direction. “This is the most ambitious project we have organized,” said Meg. The project will take place from June 28-July 30, 2011 at six locations in La Vallee de Jacmel, a rural agricultural region located about 3 hours from Port au Prince, Haiti.
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