Trends of International Volunteerism in the 21st Century

The U.N. Volunteers program defines volunteerism as an action that an individual willingly undertakes, that is not financially compensated, and that generally contributes to the common good. The act or employ of volunteers essentially serves to elevate the wellbeing of individuals, communities, and the larger society; consequently, volunteerism values and promotes solidarity, reciprocity, trust, as well as feelings of belonging and empowerment. In the 21st century, general trends in international volunteerism fall into three categories:

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The Lives of Manual Scavengers

Although there is sometimes legislation to prevent it, caste systems are still in place in the 21st century. In some regions of India, such concepts have become ingrained in cultures. The most discriminatory practices victimize manual scavengers, who experience lifestyles that are hard to fathom to citizens of a first-world nation. Scavengers represent the lowest rung of the untouchables in India, a group of lower-class citizens that are legally considered equal citizens but are culturally

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Mixing, Collaborating & Ayurvedic Medicine!

A natural medicine (Ayurveda) workshop was held at the Profugo Center of Development on September 1, 2015, with grand success! 34 ladies from the community attended the workshop. The preparation for the workshop started on the previous day with the participants collecting various ingredients for the preparation of medicines. Sisters Innocent MSMI and SCelin Rose, two catholic nuns, and Mrs. Mary Peedikamalayil, all local experts in traditional medicine making guided the participants. The following items

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Profugo’s Water Quality Program

Monsoon season in Wayanad is quickly approaching but even though the torrential rains will bring large volumes of much needed moisture, Wayanad and the entire state of Kerala continue to endure severe drought outside of the rainy months. The lush greenery of the Wayanad hillsides turns to a parched yellow in the months of the dry season. A large percentage of the monsoon rains are lost as run off into the Arabian Sea due to

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From Villanova’s Engineering Service Learning Team

After travelling dozens of hours and thousands of miles we arrived in Bangalore to the hustle and bustle of early morning rush hour; we witnessed families starting their days as Sabhir, our driver, weaved in and out of traffic on our way to Wayanad. The next day, the four of us stepped foot in Prashanthagiri, and the beautiful rural community seemed like a world away from the busy city. We were eager to learn about

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