Ariel Dansky is volunteering with us in El Salvador for two and a half months. She chronicles her time in country on her personal blog. Dansky is assisting the Salvadorian Chamber of Commerce with expanding the market for plantain leaves, through a grant from the UNDP. In her blog, she looks at both the cultural and technical side of working in El Salvador.

Check out her most recent entry here!

A few Winrock Volunteer Technical Assistance staff attended the Business4Better conference & expo in Anaheim, California this week. It was an exciting conference focused on matching businesses with nonprofits to forge partnerships for the greater good. There were many “aha!” moments and points of inspiration during the two-day event.

Driven by the collective energy of people who come together and volunteer time to make the world a better place, Grady Lee, COO/Co-Founder of RockCorp, proclaimed, “People are one experience away from changing the world.”

Encouraging every person that they can, indeed, make a difference — despite the fact that many of our world’s problems are big and intimidating — Kiva president Premel Shah asserted, “You don’t have to try to change the world; just change the world for one person.”

Whether your sights are on the world or just one person, the bottom line is that doing something is good, for all of us. And we’re so grateful to be a part of a team that helps individuals do just that, all around the world.

Inspired?

Check out current volunteer opportunities at www.winrock.org/volunteer

Winrock Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Anais Troadec traveled to Guinea in Nov/Dec 2012 to provide organizational development training for rice growers cooperatives/unions and beekeeping cooperatives. During her time in Nialya, Guinea, she formed strong bonds with the women, men, and children in the village.

Anais with Nialya school children

Nialya children and the village chief

Inspired by her trip, Anais returned to the US and spoke about her assignment at a meeting of the Hot Springs Village branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Before her eyes, her inspiration led to others’ inspiration… and the AAUW group, in turn, made a donation of over $1400 to support the kids in Nialya!

Anais explains,

“I spoke about the culture, tradition and women’s issues in this small village, and about the school. I had asked for donations for school benches and uniforms (especially for girls) so that more children can attend school in the little village. What a surprise when they gave me this check today!”

Anais and Winrock field staff will work with the community to put together a plan for how to allocate the funds. In the meantime, let us be grateful for Anais’ passion and service, and for the compassion and generosity of the AAUW members who also wanted to contribute to improving lives. Thank you!!

These smiling faces inspire us, too.

Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Bio-systems Engineering of North Dakota State University, came to Bangladesh in 2012 as Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer to conduct an assignment on compost preparation using municipal waste. After growing up in Bangladesh and graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering, Dr. Rahman completed his Masters, PhD, and Post-PhD in Thailand, Canada, and USA, while gaining vast knowledge and skills in waste management and compost preparation. He was delighted for the opportunity to return to Bangladesh as a volunteer under the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer program. Sharing his thoughts about his experience as a volunteer, Dr Rahman stated,

“After having advanced education, knowledge and skill through study and working in developed countries, the opportunity to come to my home country to help farmers gave me immeasurable satisfaction. My sincere thanks to USAID and also Winrock International.”

[Thanks to YOU, Dr. Rahman!]

“This assignment brought me to my first trip in Nigeria and my first trip to the African continent. The impact is huge personally and professionally. My hosts were very nice and friendly people. They have shown sincere appreciation of my technical assistance as a significant contribution to the improvement of their feed production business. I learned new cultures, made new friends, and expanded my professional network in Nigeria. This unique experience has increased my passion to make a difference in the lives of other people and to continue giving to underprivileged areas of the world.” –Leonard Obaldo, Nigeria Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer

[What great sentiments, particularly relevant for this Season of Giving!]