Meaningful service while beboping around

[skwanderer]

I'm planning on letting loose the dock lines in two years and venture south from SF bay area to San Blas islands and beyond. As dreamy as that sounds, I'm contemplating if there's not some meaningful way of helping mankind while I putter around the Caribbean. Ferry doctors or medical supplies to other islands? Help shuttle those in need somewhere to where help is? Be a courier? Just looking into if I want to do good in the world, is there a way to find out what's needed? Any websites, NGOs or other contacts and info would be appreciated.

[Jim Cate]

Over the years as we cruised through many third world island groups we've encountered situations where we could lend a hand with the local populations. I suspect that you will find the same sort of opportunities as you cruise. IMO you don't need any organization to guide your activities... simply establishing a friendly relationship with the locals will bring up plenty of opportunities to do your thing, and likely in a more personal vein than when via some big (or small) group located somewhere else.

We've encountered all the situations that you mention plus lots of others. We have transported folks from island to island, fixed a lot of broken down outboards, sewing machines and other mechanical gear, established a working HF station from donated equipment which was lying about unused, taken injured children to distant medical facilities and just lent a hand to village projects.

Sometimes it was fun, sometimes a drag, sometimes a bit offputting, but it always left us feeling good and with a lot of smiles from lovely islanders.

Jim

[JPA Cate]

skwanderer, I'm biased, as Jim's other half, but I think looking online for this is not the way to go, because if you want to do good, you'll find the impulses growing out of that desire that will lead you to participate in the local communities as you go. It is the crying child to whom you give a blown up balloon to distract and the kid's Mom who benefits.

What you'll find on the internet are do-gooding organizations, which specialize in infrastructure assistance, which sometimes help and sometimes miss the target. Medecins Sans Frontieres does some very good work in the islands; and in New Caledonia, the people from the catamaran Impi have organized a voluntary veterinary service for neutering stray dogs, which is a mercy to the dogs and the people. But what one does depends on where one goes, and what one's discretionary funds are. Some friends of ours paid for a number of girls' high school educations.

Imho, if your ground of being is loving and friendly, you'll find things, and they will be what the locals want, not what some first worlder has foisted on them.

You should remember, though, that other cruisers will follow you, and may not be able to equal your level of generosity, so effort is possibly a better donation than hard goods.

Ann