Volunteering for Development

Optimizing Development Impact in the Global South The innovations of social entrepreneurs can create new, cost-effective pathways toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Canada and around the world. The overall aim of social enterprises is to apply business methods to solve social problems, including poverty, unemployment, social exclusion, climate change, food insecurity, gender-based…

Volunteering for sustainable development Whether it is in Canada or overseas, the work that we do greatly depends on the generous spirit of our volunteers. This year, more than 1,000 Local Committee members on 95 campuses across Canada have volunteered their time to raise awareness on development issues, and provide postsecondary education opportunities for refugee…

No matter which social or economic indicators are used to rank the world’s poorest countries, Malawi consistently rises to the top. The development prospects for this small, landlocked country in southeastern Africa are uncertain; its challenges on the economic front – among others – significant; and its record for women’s rights, disastrous. Despite this, Driana…

  By Nadia Lampkin, Volunteer Research and Policy Analyst, Uniterra program 58% and 45%. These are the staggering rates of anemia in children under 5 and women between the ages of 15 and 49 in Tanzania, respectively. The irony is that Tanzania’s agricultural production is both prolific and extremely diverse. But 15-40% of crops are…

By Karen Densky, Volunteer, English for Specific Purposes Advisor, Uniterra Program What can be accomplished in three weeks? That’s a question I asked myself when I accepted the Leave for Change assignment in Vietnam. My goal was to improve the quality of English language teaching at Saigon Hospitality and Tourism College (STHC), in order to…

The industrious sounds of construction echo throughout Accra. The Greater Accra Region is home to more than four million people, and that number is rising. Newcomers are pouring into the city every day, many of whom are searching for better opportunities. As a result, residential construction is booming. There is no shortage of work, as…

A guide working with Casa Relax Chuquiñapi, a community-based tourism project in the La Paz region of Bolivia, shares his experience with the participants of the 2017 International Seminar. Were you among the 1.3 billion tourists who travelled internationally this year? With the development of more advanced and affordable forms of transportation, and the expansion…

In the forests of Sri Lanka, elephants are known to deploy a unique strategy to protect their young. In the face of a threat, adult elephants will form a tight pack, herding their young into the middle for safety. It was this imagery that inspired the name for Sri Lanka’s first reality show on social…

Émilie MacIsaac, Volunteer with the Women’s Economic Linkages in Employment and Development (WE LEAD) program Jordanian women hold one of the highest literacy rates in the Middle East at 85.9%. Yet women face many barriers to accessing quality training and jobs in Jordan. As a result, the country has the lowest female economic participation rate…

When you think back to what you thought you could be when you were growing up, the chances are that ‘mobile app developer’ was not an option you considered. The employment landscape has changed so much over the years. And it will only keep on changing, fast. Entrepreneurs play a big part in determining the…