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“Doing good as you go” – that is our invitation to people. We are a non-partisan and secular registered non-profit organization, based in the United States. Our vision is to see “doing good” as a standard part of every travelerʼs part, and therefore it will create a wake of positive change left by travelers. And equally important is the fact that we believe in sustainable changes, not in dole-outs that create dependencies, and we do this mainly by conducting “skill transfers” from travelers to locals.
If you arenʼt traveling at the moment, donʼt stop reading just yet. We invite travelers and non-travelers alike to do good.
The way we do good is with a collaboration among the following parties: Muskoka, local organizations, and Muskokaʼs network of people.
Each party has an important role to play. Muskokaʼs primary role is to connect the local organizations (Muskokaʼs partners) to Muskokaʼs network of people (travelers and nontravelers), as well as to provide the two parties the support needed to do good all the way.
The local organizations (Muskokaʼs partners) are responsible to connect travelers to the local needs and to ensure the skill transfers happen as efficiently as possible. Muskoka partners with different organizations that are doing good locally, from a school, an orphanage, to a family / community centre.
Last, but by any means is not least, the network of people are the ones bringing the skills needed to benefit the locals.
For this article, we would like to explain how you can do good with us and volunteer abroad.
If youʼre traveling, you are either traveling to a location where we have an existing partner or not. If you are traveling to a location where we have an existing local partner, we can connect you to them and you can do good there based on their needs. You may be able to hold a workshop to pass on your skills to the locals, you can help them create a market access for locally produced goods, etc.
If you are traveling to a location where we do not have an existing partner yet, you can help us scan a local partner or two, whom weʼd like to be partners with. This is a way to pave the way for the next travelers, to ensure that we only connect travelers to reliable partners on the ground.
We provide support to our travelers who volunteer abroad with us. We do not only connect them to our partners, but we also provide them with information beforehand so they can be as prepared as possible. We also provide travelers with materials and curricula that they can use in the workshop or in other ways they are doing good. We do not charge our volunteers for all of this, but travelers are responsible for their own food and accommodation as well as any other entry visa that may be required.
If you are not traveling at the moment, you can still do good with us. We are always interested in people helping us with developing a variety of curricula. And we are always very interested in getting any exposure people can bring to this opportunity. This collaboration doesnʼt work with out peopleʼs participation, and we would like to spread the word that we invite everybody to participate in doing good with us!
Check out our “travelers” page to hear the stories of some of our travelers!
This article was provided by the Muskoka Foundation.
