Global fundraising with Remote Year. We raised over $4,000 to help people in need!

My Story

It was June 2019, my friends and I boarded a bus from the posh neighborhood of Miraflores in Lima, Peru. Fighting through heavy traffic, we made our way under gray skies through the humidity into the outskirts of the city, towards San Juan de Lurigancho, one of the poorest areas of the city. When our small yet determined group disembarked, we were shocked by the conditions in which we found ourselves; small, ramshackle wooden dwellings climbing up the hillside, not a plant in sight, barefoot children and dogs running about.

I met a young boy, about 6 years old named Daniel. We bonded immediately, as, in lieu of a handshake, I received a warm hug. His happiness was infectious.

While he had little more than the clothing on his back, what he had in abundance, was love.

He had brought a robot action figure with him, which he proceeded to give to me. I tried to decline politely, but he insisted that I take it. Later that day, after a friendly game of football, I accidentally left the toy behind. When I realized my mistake, I ran back to the field and my heart sank; the toy was gone.

When I broke the news to Daniel, he wasn't disappointed. In fact, he consoled me. His words really resonated with me. "It's okay," he said. "I gave it to you, it's yours. What you do with it is up to you." Despite having very little, his selfless act of generosity made me re-evaluate how I see the world.

With Make a Miracle in San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima, Peru

My Journey

Last year I took the big leap and circumnavigated the globe, landing in Barcelona in August 2018 and ending up in Playa Grande, Costa Rica in July 2019 (via Africa, Asia and South America). With a very generous donation matching from my employer, I was able to donate $4,000 to community projects in Prague, Lisbon, Chiang Mai and Lima.

During this year, I wasn't satisfied with simply being a tourist; I joined up with a work and travel program that covered all of the travel logistics called Remote Year (www.remoteyear.com). Our fearless leader Rodolfo Santos-Torres (pictured below) enabled our group to make contacts within the local communities, fund-raise and donated our time to improve the places we were visiting.

Prague - Ziskostel Community Center

Ziskostel is a community center in Prague, Czech Republic which primarily helps single mothers in the community with free after-school care for their children, a community kitchen serving nutritious meals as well as an accessible theater. In addition to hosting a Thanksgiving dinner and freshening up the outdoor play area, we were able to donate $1,000 towards their operational costs.

Lisbon - Projeto La Tinha

https://twitter.com/projetolatinha

Projeto La Tinha brings the arts to impoverished communities in Lisbon, Portugal. I was lucky enough to participate in a workshop led by the project's founder Diego, where we made pinhole cameras out of recycled sardine cans. Diego brings this project into poor neighborhoods, exposing local children to photography and holds art shows of their subsequent photos. These children are able to use photography to provide a unique point of view on their daily life. We donated $1,000 towards a mobile photo studio which would allow Diego to bring the project into remote areas.

Chiang Mai - Wildflower Home

Tara and I hard at work creating equipment for Wildflower Home's mushroom farm.

In Chiang Mai, Thailand, the Wildflower Home provides a safe space and dwelling for single mothers who have been ostracized from their communities. The home, featuring a full-time daycare is also a working farm, Wildflower Home provides on-the-job-training in agriculture and business. One of their marvelous projects is an incredible mushroom farm. I was lucky enough to make two visits and taste the delicious food grown onsite. In addition to helping out with chores around the farm, we were able to contribute $1,000 to help with the building of an additional residence for single mothers and their children onsite.

Lima - Miracle Network

Only $1,250US buys a pre-fabricated home for the residents of San Juan de Lurigancho in Lima, Peru. Our Remote Year crew helped out with the construction of this brand new home for a single mother and her teenage son, who also received a scholarship from the Miracle Network to attend college. In addition, we raised $1,000 for the Miracle Network's next house-building project.