As with most ‘wanderers’, Sam Kynman-Cole has traversed certain parts of the world. From Asia to Europe, the US, Canada and a few others, he’s been playing Squash. No. Really. He likes playing Squash. He also likes driving across country and doing road trips. No matter where he goes, it definitely is his ‘playground’!

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2012. | Sam’s Playground | No comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: Asia, Canada, couples, Europe, overland travel, photography, road trip, United States

Indie (the dingo-looking dog) invited Jenny Hoobler and Ryan Kilpatrick to South Africa when Jenny won a Fullbright Award to conduct research at the University of Pretoria. Hey, who can refuse a dingo-looking dog named Indie?! Certainly, not me! Check out their explorations of life in the Rainbow Nation.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2012. | AfricAnnum | No comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: Africa, couples, cultural experiences, education, living abroad, photography

Kristine Arndt lives the ‘Beat Generation’ life style (think Jack Kerouac and Albert Camus) and is loving every minute of it. From singing for the President of Kazakhstan to herding cattle in Guyana, she has not let adventure pass her by in any way.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2012. | The Absurd Traveler’s Guide | No comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: cultural experiences, female travellers, long-term travel, Round the world, solo travel, travel writing, working on the road

Turning 40, it seemed the right time for Julie and Jason to rent out the house, break from their jobs, buy a motor home and obtain Charlie’s pet passport. What was to be a one year tour of Europe has them thinking they may remain on the road awhile longer. Charlie (their terrier) seems all for the extension too. Can’t argue with a dog…

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2012. | Our Tour | 2 comments |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: budget travel, couples, Europe, living on the road, motorhome travel, overland travel, road trip

Frustrated with guidebooks and website information, while in Ankara (Turkey), Mike decided to started his own informational site. It is filled with personal stuff, as a traveler and tourist, that will aid others in finding those little gems we’d probably miss on this big blue orb we call home. His posts are realistic portrayals of his adventures.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2012. | The Cheap Route | One comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: cultural experiences, living on the road, long-term travel, Perpetual Travel, photography, Round the world, solo travel, working on the road

HELP PASSPORTS WITH PURPOSE BUILD TWO LIBRARIES!

If you are reading this article, that’s wonderful! It means two things to me: 1) you were given the opportunity to learn such a skill, and 2) you have had some type of access to real hand-held books at certain points in life. Though I spend a great portion of my time reading, much of it is now from online sources. I sigh as I pass the collection of bound printed paper calling out for attention. Most display bookmarks somewhere within their depths. All are begging me to pick up them up where I’d left off. I sigh again as I tell them ‘hopefully tomorrow’…

Libraries are one of my favorite places to visit. We own so many books we converted an old storage space into a library adorned with a rocking chair and reading lamp. Though it hasn’t seen much visitation time of late, the contents held within its walls are some of my most cherished possessions. You won’t find a single room in this house that does not contain ‘real’ books somewhere.

“We envision a world in which all children can pursue a quality education, reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the world.”

When the news of Passports With Purpose and their 2011 project was released, elation! Libraries! The PwP goal for this project is raising $80,000USD to build two libraries in Zambia. They are working with the Room to Read organization which brings the written word to communities around the world and focuses largely on children. As they state on their website, “We envision a world in which all children can pursue a quality education, reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the world.”

Photo Courtesy of Room to Read

Recently, TravelBlogs conducted a Q & A session with the PwP founders. The most relevant question and answer:

Pam (Mandel), I have read your blog post about ’short-changing yourself on reading material’ during a recent trip. Like your self, my husband and I grew up with books and our house is overflowing with them. (I pity the person who will have to dispense of our library when we’re viewing the world from the dirt side up.) But, you also comment on downloading several books to your phone. With today’s technology, why choose building libraries rather than computer centers when so many books are available as downloads/online?

I don’t know how you can measure the potential damage to delaying a child’s education because the infrastructure is down, and I’d just rather not.

Pam’s reply: This year I traveled in Tanzania, we had water sometimes, power sometimes… I wish I had a picture of that young man at the Internet café when he told me, with a blinding smile (really, he was just so amused) “Maybe Monday! Maybe we’ll have Internet on Monday!” And I was in a campground where the manager said to me, exasperated, “No Internet in ALL of Tanzania!” I could wait. It was no big deal to me to let it slide for a week or two, I just wanted to check my email. But we’re talking about teaching kids to read. I don’t know how you can measure the potential damage to delaying a child’s education because the infrastructure is down, and I’d just rather not.

Enough said.

Bloggers: Procure a prize and it will be placed in a random drawing. (No donation to Room to Read required.) Host bloggers and prize winners will be notified on December 23, 2011.

Donors to Room to Read: Check out the Passports with Purpose Donation page. Make your bids!

TravelBlogs Prize

A 100 Euro voucher usable through the Budget Accommodation area of Travellerspoint.com.

Guidelines and Restrictions:
*The recipient must be a PwP participating blogger.
*The voucher is non-transferable without the consent of Travllerspoint.com (Administrators).
*The voucher will expire December 23, 2012.
*An expiration date extension may be available for extenuating circumstances and the request for such an extension is received by the Travellerspoint.com Administrators prior to December 23, 2012.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | Cover to Cover: Passports with Purpose 2011 | 4 comments |
Post categories: Site news
Post tags: activism, Books, Charity, Chldren, fund-raising, good stuff, Libraries, Zambia

Millenium Development Goals painting by roadside (Zambia) by Maaret Virtanen

As many of us know, the initial phase of the 2011 Passports with Purpose fundraiser has begun. This year’s goal is to raise $80,000 and build two libraries in Zambia. Recently, I had the privilege of conducting a Q&A session with Pam Mandel and the founders of Passports with Purpose. So, without further ado, shall we begin?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you don’t mind, I’d like to start with a little bit of history, then move on to the 2011 project.

What brought all four of you together in the beginning, as a group, outside of Passports with Purpose?

We all live in Seattle. We’d been showing up at the same meetups, sharing ideas, talking about the blogging conferences… so I suppose it was geography and common interests – we’re all travelers, wired ones at that. We added Meg Paynor in our second year to help us with our PR — she’s another one we just kept meeting at travel events and we really wanted to work with her, she just got us.

If the answer to #1 is Passports with Purpose, which one of you proposed the original idea for creating such a project and how did you choose who to recruit to aid in said project?

Debbie’s idea was, “Hey, let’s do something good… I’m not sure what that means.”

It was initially Debbie Dubrow’s idea. She’s the blogger behind Delicious Baby. But the creation of PwP was totally organic. Debbie’s idea was, “Hey, let’s do something good… I’m not sure what that means.” And together, we developed the idea of PwP.

How long did it take to put the concept together and launch the 2008 project for Heifer International?

Oh, an afternoon? A week? Really, it seems like we just didn’t spend that much time on it. See, we were using things we all knew how to use. Blogging. Twitter. Web enabled stuff. We probably worked together for three weeks or so, it was all very last minute, but it just sort of came together.

How does PwP decide which organizations are good candidates? (I know from your website, PwP believes all people are equal and avoids religious and/or politically motivated projects.)

We look for projects that are sustainable over the long term without our help – they should have local partnerships that support the project after our engagement. We really don’t want, for example, to fund the construction of a clinic and then find that there are no doctors to staff it – the project needs to live on its own, we’re just jump-starting it. We like projects that benefit women and children or have an educational focus.

In 2009, PwP asked for $14,000 to build a school in Cambodia and actually received $30,000. Last year, PwP set a goal of $50,000 and gained $64,128 to build a complete village in India. How do you explain this type of success?

People like being able to make a meaningful contribution, and this gives them a way to do it using the skills and resources they have. Sometimes blogging is like talking into an echo chamber. Is anyone reading? Are you making a difference to anyone? It’s hard to know. Participating in Passports with purpose lets you point to something – a school, or a house, or a library and say “I helped build that. My blog helped build that.”

This year (2011), PwP is asking for $80,000 to build and fill two libraries full of real (hand-held) books in Zambia in cooperation with the Room to Read organization. Do you think PwP will reach its goal?

I’ll confess that every year, we wonder if we’ll make it. Every year we blow past our goal. Right now, I’m still in the doubt phase. Ask me again in January.

Pam, I have read your blog post about  ’short-changing yourself on reading material’ during a recent trip. Like your self, my husband and I grew up with books and our house is overflowing with them. (I pity the person who will have to dispense of our library when we’re viewing the world from the dirt side up.) But, you also comment on downloading several books to your phone. With today’s technology, why choose building libraries rather than computer centers when so many books are available as downloads/online?

Photo Courtesy of Room to Read

This year I traveled in Tanzania, we had water sometimes, power sometimes… I wish I had a picture of that young man at the Internet café when he told me, with a blinding smile (really, he was just so amused) “Maybe Monday! Maybe we’ll have Internet on Monday!” And I was in a campground where the manager said to me, exasperated, “No Internet in ALL of Tanzania!” I could wait. It was no big deal to me to let it slide for a week or two, I just wanted to check my email. But we’re talking about teaching kids to read. I don’t know how you can measure the potential damage to delaying a child’s education because the infrastructure is down, and I’d just rather not.

I also know how to do it and will write about it in an article (soon to be posted), but anything you want bloggers to know about working with PwP until then? (Hint: PwP accolade time.)

No blogger is too small to help. After all, we built a school and a village ten dollars at a time. We are here to help answer questions, just get in touch and we’re happy to hold your hand through the entire process. We’re successful because of the participation of individual bloggers, and we don’t want anyone to feel like they can’t do it or their efforts are too small. They’re not. Every bit of participation matters.

The bloggers who have been most successful at bringing in donations have been the ones who get creative about getting the word out in lots of different ways – face book, their blogs, Twitter, their personal and professional networks.  It’s really amazing how many people we reach when we each tap into our networks.

Any hints on 2012′s agenda?

But for now, we have some libraries to fund, and that’s what we’re focused on.

We don’t have a cause picked out, we’ll do that after this year’s efforts are wrapped. But we’re just about done filing for non-profit status. This will give us a lot more autonomy over the way our funds are handled and give us the ability to run smaller initiatives throughout the course of the year. But for now, we have some libraries to fund, and that’s what we’re focused on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please meet the women behind Passports with Purpose:

Pam Mandel
Debbie Dubrow
Beth Whitman
Michelle Duffy
Meg Paynor

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | Cover to Cover: A Passports with Purpose Interview | One comment |
Post categories: Interviews
Post tags: activism, Africa, Charity, fund-raising, Libraries, Zambia

Kristin Spencer and her husband are on a mission, one dictated by a ‘higher power’. Wherever they go – so go the ‘sprouts’ (aka their 2 young children). In fact, they are missionaries who’s serves having them traveling the world and it’s a family endeavor. Enjoy the entries of their adventures and the tips on how to make to make it all work.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | Sprouts en Route | 2 comments |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: cultural experiences, Europe, family travel, living abroad, Missionary work, parenting, tips and tricks, travel with kids

A 19 year old London black cab, 3 friends, the British Red Cross and the Guinness Book of World Records -what do they all have in common? Normally nothing. But, in this instance – everything. Three friends decided to drive a London black cab from – you guessed it, London to Sydney, Australia – raising money for the British Red Cross and breaking the Guinness Word Record for the longest taxi ride. They broke the record and haven’t even reached Sydney yet.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | It’s on the Meter | 15 comments |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: Australia, Charity, England, Europe, Guinness World Records, Red Cross, road trip

Life was nice and easy in the US for Rachael and Josh. Then, Josh’s employers gave him the opportunity to work abroad – in Dakar, Senegal to be exact. Rachael being a freelance writer/photographer made the decision to move that much easier. So, they packed up their belongings, including two dogs and headed off to Africa, where they will reside for the next couple of years.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | Girl, Guy, Globe | 8 comments |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: Africa, couples, cultural experiences, living abroad, photography, travel writing, United States