From Peki Childhood Experiences to busy Teen-times, period of searching, studying, making choices for future adventures, preparing to launch from our nests to conquer the world, PeKi NY/PeKi Family grew up!
And Now?
Facing the challenges of finding some balance in life to deal with so much stuff, options, and of course, pressure, the suggestion, my Friends, YOUNG CITIZENS OF THE WORLD is: to TRAVEL!
The purpose of PekiTeen/TEAM here is to exchange ideas and experiences and bring up people together with the same aspirations of achieving a better life through a complete and happy education in modern times.
Go, go travel before making decisions about the future!
Why?
Because traveling ignites our courage to do hard things and gives us the confidence to do big things.
I believe that exploration is the heart of humanity. EVERY ONE of YOU deserves the right to explore the world and GAIN NEW PERSPECTIVE!
Taking a break from the big cities and the conventional routine to learn about other ways of living, cultures and exploring more nature, caring for the land, wildlife and people is a bridge to open your minds and build a generation of change-makers.
Ops, a note before the article that was ready to be published this morning:
Today, at breakfast, I was very excited showing my son, Lorenzo (the guy in the picture), a list of Volunteer Tourism/Voluntourism, fine destinations for family vacations providing community outreach and environmental initiatives. (Especially the one in the Maldives, that offers a coral propagation program, because he had worked on a presentation at school about Eco-Tourism and the preservation of Corals.). But, he immediately questioned me (in Portuguese, our "mother language": " Ué, você não era contra esse tipo de turismo que não é um trabalho de verdade e envolvimento de fato pela causa" - ( "Ops, weren't you against this kind of tourism that is not a real job nor an actual involvement for the cause?
Good point!!!! To be very clear with my son (Co-founder of Friends of Peki) and you, our Friends, I advocate for a change and improvement of our behaviors for a better lifestyle (well being) and a better world. To achieve that, we need to be realistic and encourage possible steps for it, step by step. I have an ideal opinion, but I could not apply even with my own family and son, so I would say that any experience that will bring awareness, contact, and support to a good cause, enrich and inspire us is WORTH IT!
Facts to Keep in Mind
Professional opportunities: 65% of children in school will probably work in jobs that do not exist yet (*OCDE, The Risk of Automation for Jobs in OECD Countries, 2016.)
Emotional facts: a recent article in the New York Times reported that 60 percent of today’s college students suffer from anxiety disorders and psychological distress. An increase in materialistic values such as consumerism and the centrality of financial success. Research from UCLA shows that college student’s number one value is now “being well off financially”, while for students in the 1960’s it was “developing a meaningful philosophy of life”. And Raised by all meaning “helicopter parents” delayed adulthood because many children have been denied opportunities to exercise initiatives and do things for themselves and lately are overwhelmed facing challenges in college. (Psychology Today)
Personal
In my dream, I would send my son and encourage all of you for a full semester literally with “hands-on”. In other words, planting or building something productive in a different place, contributing to a community, but also learning a lot about those original jobs, unique culture, facing a new challenge and lifestyle.
Ideally, ideally, but it is not realistic for all of us, is the Sabbatical Period that some families take together, that I believe it could take everyone to a much better level of a relationship with each other and with the world. (Like the examples that I mentioned on the previous post, the Schurman Family from Brazil, sailed around the world and are also activists for the Oceans, and people that I know well, my Brazilian friend Daniela Café with her four children who traveled to Africa and Asia for six months doing social/environmental work and Clair and her husband from France who traveled around Asia with three children exploring culture.)
I am highlighting below, two distinguished traveling situations, but equally valuable for human experience:
1. Family
2. Individual
First is when the whole family is involved and bonding together with important values through different cultures.
Second, is independent meaningful and hands-on experiences, when each individual learns about the world and also develops personal skills and earns more confidence doing things without the family assistance.
Types of Tourism
My preference is for tourism that is all about maintaining a healthy balance of caring for the:
land + wildlife + people
Because Peki Family shares the dream of traveling and supporting the effort to leave this world a better place
Traveling can be marvelous as most of the kinds, but I listed 5 different ways of traveling with more PURPOSE. Here we go:
ADVENTURE Tourism with friends or family - Facing physical challenges, encountering nature and different communities.
TRAVEL MINDFULLY: with friends or family - Vacation with comfort and style, but giving back while there to their local communities
SOCIO: interacting with local communities and buying local products
ADVENTURE/ECO: Experiencing Nature/Wildlife and supporting its preservation
CULTURAL: Experiencing and supporting different local culture
3. HANDS-ON with Purpose
“Voluntourism”: Family or individual trips for vacation breaks or longer periods to volunteer to Harvest and/or work in local communities in different activities
“Homestay”, living with a family from a community and participating in their routine
4. CULTURE: Individual - Learning a foreign language and local culture
5. SABBATICAL: Family or Individual travel (s) for a longer period; Adventure/and or Hands-On working on a field or social projects.
Realistic Steps/PekiTeen Recipe for Families:
On Weekends: reserve time for outdoors activities + engage on socio/environment work/community outreach
Every Day: Save some time to be in contact with Nature + daily actions that are more meaningful
Vacations: Choose Adventure Eco-Tourism
Vacations: Take a Socio Tourism Trip/Voluntourism, at least once
Year/Semester Sabbatical/Season: Hands-On Tourism/Harvest
Do you know any Hand - on Summer Camp for PekTeens/Team?
Do you know any company organizing those Adventures/Voluntourisms ?
If you have stories, know about groups and trip organizers, please, let’s create a chain on this positive idea to promote change-MAKERS!
"Beijos"
Love,
Vanessa
A Woman Thinking Green 2020, a passionate advocate for quality early education for all children to flourish, now searching for a place for TEENS to flourish too!
Sources
My research on ADVENTURE + ENVIRONMENT + COMMUNITY
Adventure & Nature
www.braziltrails.com.br - With Renata Asprino - Customized adventure tourism in Brazil for families and individuals - I know the founder very well for life and highly recommend her- associated with
https://www.southernexplorations.com/about-us/meet-team
Travel Mindfully
www. andbeyond.com - Customized luxurious itineraries for families experience adventure with conservation and community (supports Phinda Private Game Reserve)
www.wild-legacy.com: “RE-WILDING” trip encourages families to put aside screens! - Focus on Children and Families experiences to nurture the connection between mankind and nature
www.travelforyouth.com: Trips for Teenagers with Adventure, Culture, and Socio Service to inspire the youth to learn about the responsibility to be better global citizens
www.thandeka.com - a travel company that curates trips to direct people with resources to contact with local communities. (recommended by my dear friend, passionate conservationist, Alejandro Tawill, chairman of Machangulo S.A. a conservation and residential tourism development in Southern Mozambique)
www.domainerouge-bleu.com: Volunteer Harvesting experience for adults in Provence
IMPORTANT: maintain the social, cultural and environmental integrity of any destination
I found helpfull information here:
- https://www.adventuretravel.biz (Travel Association/Adventure Travel Conservation Fund)
- www.itmusbenow.com (It Must Be Now)
Extra for Parents
Voluntourism for adults without compromising on comfort or style. (families) - Donations & Hands-Onn opportunities according to a special article from the Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2020: “How - and - Why - to Travel Mindfully”
Fairmont Chatêau Laurier in Ottawa, Canadá, works with non - profit Ottawa Mission, which helps homeless and a Boys and Girls Club. Hotel Guests are welcome to participate in volunteering experiences that can be preparing healthy food, gardening, landscaping and donating money. socio
Four Seasons Resort in Costa Rica, volunteers can help to paint a school or plant community gardens or donate funds for supplies. socio
Six Sense Yao Noi in Thailand, guests can dedicate a few hours or days to teaching English at a local school. socio
One&Only Nyungwe House in Rwanda, guests can take part in monthly Umuganda traditional community clean-up day. community
One&Only Wolgan Valley in Australia, guests can participate in its conservation programs, such as planting a tree and wildlife survey. environment
Bensley Collection Shinta Many Wild in Cambodia, guests can join Wildlife Alliance rangers motorcycling through forests on anti-poaching patrols and tracking previously unrecorded wildlife activity. environment
COMO Cocoa Island in the Maldives guests can take part in the coral propagation program, sponsoring and installing coral frames to help repopulate the surrounding reefs. environment
St.Regis Bahia Beach Resort in Puerto Rico, guests can donate money to initiatives to support communities affected by Hurricane Maria or volunteer to clean up the coastal beach or to work with the U.S. Forestry Service to restore trails in El Yunque Forest community + environment