Login
Online Volunteering Award 2002
- Adedoyin Onasanya (Nigeria) - HORIZON International (USA)
- Angelica Hasbun (Costa Rica) - People with Disabilities Uganda (Uganda)
- Cynthia Holland (Canada) - Reach Out International (USA/Guatemala)
- Javier Wilson (Nicaragua) - Nile Basin Society (Canada)
- Joanne K. Morse (USA) - Christian Rural Aid Network (Ghana)
- Laurie Moy (USA) - People with Disabilities Uganda (Uganda)
- Natalya Korobeynyk (Ukraine) - Gardarika (Russian Federation)
- Paula Santos Vizcaino (Uruguay) - La Leche League International (USA)
- Terry Rosenlund (USA) - Kenya AIDS Intervention/Prevention Project Group (KAIPPG) (Kenya/USA)
- Yvonne Swain (USA) - Overcomers Visionary Faith Centre (Kenya) / Learning and Development Kenya (Kenya)
Adedoyin Onasanya (Nigeria) - HORIZON International (USA)
Adedoyin volunteered on-site with a development organization in his home country Nigeria, but was also looking for some engagement with a more global reach. He started to write, as an online volunteer, for the HORIZON Solutions website, a site publishing best practices in development. He published a case study of best practices of the Nigerian organization he volunteered with on-site, adaptations of case studies for the kids’ section of the HORIZON Solutions site, and discussion pieces for kids. Beyond his initial writing assignment, he helped HORIZON to build contacts with Nigerian development and media organizations. Out of his own motivation, he started an online discussion group for Nigerian development practitioners, to make relevant best practices stories from the HORIZON Solutions website available to those Nigerians that have only access to email. Also, he suggested HORIZON to participate in the Stockholm Challenge Award for innovative uses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for society; and HORIZON was one of the award finalists. Recently he started to translate parts of the youth section of the HORIZON Solutions site into Swahili.
Based on his achievements as an online volunteer, Janine Selendy of HORIZON supported his applications to US universities to pursue a Masters degree. Adedoyin is now a graduate student of International Development at the University of Denver, US.
“I spend many hours (up to 300 total) on my efforts with HORIZON, so much that my family has asked if I was being paid... My answer is that the fulfillment I get knowing that my efforts are helping to improve the lives of people around the world is worth more than any financial reward could give.”
For more information about HORIZON International (USA), please visit their Group Profile.
Angelica Hasbun (Costa Rica) - People with Disabilities Uganda (Uganda)
Angelica researched and found sponsors for materials to establish a library for children with disabilities and their parents, at People with Disabilities Uganda (PWDU) in Kampala. With her help, PWDU reached out to librarians, advocates, disability specialists, publishers and doctors, asking for information resources, brochures and children’s books. Many responded with either a book-tip, providing expert advice, or actually sending publications. The library was founded at the PWDU offices in November 2001, with lots of resources researched through Angelica.
Angelica has also helped PWDU with translating human rights papers from Spanish to English, as well as with program and proposal development, and the PWDU newsletter.
Angelica says she has learned a lot about the needs of children with disabilities around the world. She has taken a year off from her career as an industrial engineer and is now considering pursuing a graduate degree in non-profit management.
“Don’t wait for others to make this a better world for our children; this is your time.”
For more information about People with Disabilities Uganda, please visit their Group Profile.
Cynthia Holland (Canada) - Reach Out International (USA/Guatemala)
Volunteering has always been an important part of Cynthia’s life. And, although she also works full-time and has a 12-year-old daughter to raise, Cynthia makes sure she devotes roughly ten hours a week to her work with Reach Out International (ROI).
For almost two years, Cynthia Holland has worn many different hats as an online volunteer for ROI, working as their web designer, grant writer, researcher, volunteer coordinator, editor, proofreader, program developer and networker. She has also provided education and practical training to extremely poor women and children in Guatemala that the organization serves. Cynthia’s many and diverse contributions have been an integral part of several projects that the organization would not have been able to complete without her input.
With so many talents she can claim, Cynthia derives the most pleasure from making sure that simple items such as crayons, paper and other school supplies--things we often take for granted--are sent to young students in Guatemala.
Just as ROI builds relationships with the population it serves, Cynthia says she’s also built a lasting relationship based on caring for others with ROI’s director Catalina Lopez, with whom she talks to on a daily basis. She and Catalina, who became friends online, recently met face-to-face in Antigua, Guatemala.
“Working as an online volunteer has made me realize how connected we really are and that the Internet is the perfect tool to bridge geographic divisions. With Reach Out International I feel I am more than a volunteer, I’m part of a family.”
For more information about Reach Out International (USA/Guatemala), please visit their Group Profile.
Javier Wilson (Nicaragua) - Nile Basin Society (Canada)
Javier initially applied to edit and design an e-newsletter for the Nile Basin Society. When NBS found out about his web development and web project management qualifications, and his commitment, they soon selected him to become a constant technical advisor on IT/web problems for the organization. He also has written applications for membership registration for the NBS website, and is now NBS’s system administrator, trusted with three servers.
Javier had taken a break from his job as a web technical director, to study as well as find out about and work on issues he really wants to support in life. Not being able to study and travel to volunteer abroad at the same time, he finds online volunteering a good solution.
“I think members of NBS can feel now more confident using new technology tools or solutions since they have someone who can advise them or help them.”
For more information about Nile Basin Society (Canada), please visit their Group Profile.
Joanne K. Morse (USA) - Christian Rural Aid Network (Ghana)
Joanne, a neuroscientist and fiction author in her sixties, started writing short stories for a children’s book to be distributed by the Christian Rural Aid Network (CRAN) to rural Ghanaian schools, that lack the funds to buy books for every child.
Having never been to Africa, Joanne researched information about the children’s local context on the Internet, to prepare herself for creating stories that would fit into the Ghanaian children’s world. While working on her online volunteering assignment she came up with the idea to develop a bilingual children’s dictionary, with pictures and terms in English and the local language. That dictionary is now completed. Also out of her own initiative, Joanne currently is recruiting an American elementary school to create a reader, written by American children for Ghanaian children.
“In fact, after the second story I received an email from CRAN, asking me if I was Ghanaian. This question demonstrated to me that coming from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds need not keep us from understanding and helping each other.”
For more information about Christian Rural Aid Network (Ghana), please visit their Group Profile.
Laurie Moy (USA) - People with Disabilities Uganda (Uganda)
Laurie coordinates a team of more than 150 online volunteers around the world for the organization People with Disabilities Uganda (PWDU) - as an online volunteer herself. Together, they created and continue to maintain the organization's website, publish a monthly newsletter, work on program development, marketing, grant writing, and are developing a benefit music CD, with music from professional musicians donating their services. The PWDU online volunteers have also researched donors of books for a resource library for children with disabilities and their families in Kampala. Laurie got to personally deliver the book donations and establish the library at PWDU during an on-site visit.
Thanks to Laurie’s enthusiasm in managing and motivating all the PWDU online volunteers, and her fast and reliable Internet connection in the US, the Ugandan organization has been able to realize projects they would not have dreamt of before.
Being a stay-at-home mother of 2 little boys, online volunteering provides an opportunity for Laurie, as an international relations graduate, to stay involved in international development activities, while at the same time taking care of her children.
“Being an online volunteer has changed my life in ways that are still being revealed! I have discovered people, cultures and places that I didn’t know before. I have worked on projects that have changed peoples’ lives!”
For more information about People with Disabilities Uganda (Uganda), please visit their Group Profile.
Natalya Korobeynyk (Ukraine) - Gardarika (Russian Federation)
Natalya has translated hundreds of pages of websites, articles, and letters from English to Russian and vice versa on an online volunteer basis. She believes in the importance of the mission of her host organization Gardarika, which is to help the Russian civil society sector benefit from ICTs and Internet. Part of this effort is the translation of relevant original English web resources into Russian. The limited knowledge of English among the population and the resulting restricted access to a lot of online information unifies all ex Soviet Union countries, i.e. both her country, the Ukraine, and the Russian Federation, where Gardarika is operating. Several of Natalya's translated websites are now available online and provide a knowledge resource for many organizations in Russian speaking countries. Also, several of Gardarika's foreign colleagues are able to read their articles translated into English.
“I have my own child and I want her to live in civilized society, where everybody has possibilities to use and share information…. I’d like to know that I made all possible I could to bring this dream to life.”
For more information about Gardarika (Russian Federation), please visit their Group Profile.
Paula Santos Vizcaino (Uruguay) - La Leche League International (USA)
Paula has translated session documents of an international La Leche League International (LLLI) conference from English into Spanish. It was a one-time assignment, taking her four entire days to finish. Knowing that she would not find enough time to commit to a longer-term online volunteering assignment, because of family, work and professional education obligations, she deliberately chose to apply for this finite task. This way she would disappoint neither the organization nor herself. As a translator and native Spanish speaker she was perfectly skilled to produce a high quality translation. LLLI were impressed with her efficiency, enthusiasm and quality of work.
Not every online volunteer has to take many weeks or months to have an impact on an organization and a development project, and this is a case-in-point. Paula’s short-term contribution makes the proceedings of the LLLI conference available to Spanish speakers around the world, far beyond the short time of her actual volunteer contribution.
“My online service was a minor one. But I felt LLLI was happy with my job. They need something specific, I give a little help to accomplish it.”
For more information about La Leche League International (USA), please visit their Group Profile.
Terry Rosenlund (USA) - Kenya AIDS Intervention/Prevention Project Group (KAIPPG) (Kenya/USA)
Terry Rosenlund has been working with the U.S. arm of the Kenya AIDS Intervention Prevention Project Group (KAIPPG/International), which engages in fundraising and outreach activities for KAIPPG/Kenya. The US part of the organization is comprised entirely of online volunteers.
Besides successfully researching funding resources and helping with proposal writing, Terry communicates with KAIPPG’s online volunteers living all over the world to encourage them in their work. Having been involved in HIV/AIDS education since the 1980’s, she understands that involvement in this field can be emotionally draining. Her experience makes her particularly skilled in providing the appropriate support for other volunteers.
After having visited KAIPPG/Kenya volunteers during her own personal travels to Africa, Terry feels further encouraged to continue her support to the organization.
“I can’t say that this volunteer opportunity has changed my life because I’ve always been dedicated to helping others. But I can say that it’s enriched my life in ways that I could never have imagined. On my trip to Africa, I met people that I would never have met without my volunteer work.”
For more information about Kenya AIDS Intervention/Prevention Project Group (KAIPPG) (Kenya/USA), please visit their Group Profile.
Yvonne Swain (USA) - Overcomers Visionary Faith Centre (Kenya) / Learning and Development Kenya (Kenya)
Yvonne applied for two online volunteering assignments with two different Kenyan organizations, the Overcomers Visionary Faith Centre and Learning and Development Kenya (LDK). She was accepted by both organizations, that both work on education programmes for AIDS-orphans and other vulnerable children in Kenya. Therefore, much of her work benefits the two organizations at the same time. Beyond her individual assignments with each organization which included the creation of the organization's websites, Yvonne has started a book project, collecting stories, poems and drawings from children in three elementary schools in Chicago (US) as well as from Kenyan children attending the schools that are part of Overcomers' and LDK's projects. Selling this book will generate income for both organizations' efforts. For the two organizations, she has also worked on several proposals, where possible trying to leverage synergies between their programs. For example, one proposal for the establishment of a website includes both organizations to collaboratively provide AIDS preventive content.
“I can never go back to the status of doing nothing. I have learned a great deal from the organizations I work with… As a Black woman in the United States, I have begun to understand that the struggles we face here are not in isolation.”
For more information about Overcomers Visionary Faith Centre (Kenya) and Learning and Development Kenya please visit their Group Profiles.
