Yuscaran Honduras

In the Passing of a Brick: the Gvn Story

The first image in the photograph to emerge was the ghost of figures, pale outlines on glossy paper, developed in a dark lab among hundreds of other snapshots of birthdays and couples beaming in front of scenic landmarks and babies taking first steps. Plunged into its chemical bath and then saved from drowning, the photograph was pulled out dripping, like a wet laundered sock, and hung to dry.

And in its chromatic, magic way, the ghosts became alive: eyes to peer in to, lips that curl a hungry happiness, hands that are almost, but not quite, moving. A photograph to prove an existence.

Perhaps it was the gingered hair of the young boys that made the photograph unforgettable. Or the rounded stomachs that belied nourished bodies. Or the clothes, worn day after day, that stretched ripped across torsos and framed startlingly snap-thin legs.

Whatever it was, Colin Salisbury, pictured then as the blond-haired 18-year-old in flip flops surrounded by five Papua New Guinean youth, was never able to shake the way his thumbs-up to the camera promised a future where everything was going to be okay.

Fifteen years later, the photograph is hanging in Colin’s office, and when he’s asked how he got into the business of people helping people, he points to it. Like the photograph with its quiet and sustained birth, so, too, was Colin’s idea for the Global Volunteer Network (GVN).

Of the six weeks he spent in Papua New Guinea, Colin says, “For a young guy from New Zealand, it had quite an impact.”

Such an impact, in fact, that GVN, a non-governmental organization born out of a compassion for people that gripped Colin like an island vine, is connecting volunteers with communities in need all around the globe to deliver on his wordless promise all those years ago.

Although Colin had been fascinated with finding a solution for the poverty he had witnessed during his travels the next decade after his first overseas experience, it wasn’t until he took a trip to Ghana in 1998 that he had his epiphany.

Colin, who has a Master’s degree in International Development, was working for WorldVision doing a literacy study in Ghana when he made an alarming discovery. Schools, lacking books and teaching materials, were also lacking the most precious resource: teachers. In a majority of classes, teachers, underpaid and overburdened, were outnumbered by a ratio of 150 to 200 students to two teachers. Colin was compelled to leave the trip with more than just empty promises.

“Long term, it’s obvious we need to train more teachers,” Colin said. “But in the short term, these kids would really benefit from an education now. International people coming in to help fill those teaching gaps seemed like the next step. So that’s when I went, ‘Wow, there’s actually a real need for volunteers.’”

Upon returning home, Colin continued working his full-time job while, with the help of his wife, Jo Salisbury, began laying the foundations for GVN during everyone else’s happy hour.

“It took me a year working nights to figure out how I could make this idea work,” Colin said. “I didn’t share it with anyone until I got it going.”

In his research, Colin found that other organizations charged high fees to volunteer, and vowed to make his organization as accessible as possible.

“I got frustrated with the fact that a lot of organizations just wanted people’s money and nothing else,” he said. “I wanted to give people the opportunity to get their body there, as opposed to just paying their dollar a day.”

Colin was also adamant that his organization would align with the idea of “local solutions to local problems,” working at the grassroots level to achieve their goals.

“Local people are the ones who live in those communities, so they know their needs and how best to address them,” Colin said. “What they need is support in doing that, not someone else coming in and setting up an infrastructure when a lot of those infrastructures already exist.”

Colin and Jo officially launched GVN in 2002 with a web site that now brings snickers in the increasingly computer-savvy office. And with help from the first hired staffers who worked out of Colin’s spare bedroom, GVN began sending volunteers to programs in Ghana, Nepal and Ecuador. With growth that would surprise even the staunchest GVN supporter, the organization leaped from sending just 240 volunteers its first year to 1,520 volunteers two years later.

“I had no idea how well it would go,” Colin said. “It was kind of like, let’s set it up and put our marketing in place and hope it will take off. And it really did. As demand grew, we added more programs, and we’ve basically been doing that ever since. It was good timing with the Internet becoming available; it meant that we could provide lower cost volunteer opportunities than other organizations that were around before the Internet that have different cost structures.”

And with the growth of GVN came a proper office and an expanded staff team of 20 people to help administer volunteer applications and coordinate country programs. The map on the wall of the meeting room now has 19 pushpins denoting GVN’s programs in Alaska, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Honduras, India, Kenya, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda and Vietnam. Volunteers, who work anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months, are involved in programs at orphanages, schools, wildlife sanctuaries, nature reserves and refugee camps.

And the GVN network continues to expand. The GVN Community Fund was established in 2004 to support the work of GVN’s partners with resources so they are able to continue and enhance their work in their local communities. The Community Fund plans the fundraising treks to Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Everest base camp, Machu Picchu and New Zealand’s South Island. The treks, a mix of adventure sport and humanitarian aid, add a new twist to the “sponsor my walk” fund-raiser, with every dollar earned going to support a project in the foothills of the peaks, such as a new school in Uganda.

The Office
It’s an odd day if Colin’s four-year-old daughter isn’t riding her tricycle around the office, weaving in and out of desks as if they were traffic cones. Staff members enjoy Ping-Pong breathers, take hot drink orders and get infuriated during Sudoku competitions.

“Our partner in Vietnam just sent us pictures of his baby,” Program Coordinator Graham Fyfe announces to the office, who crowd around his desk and croon. Out the window, only a few feet away, young guys work lackadaisically on a line of cars waiting to be washed and waxed. The office, like a best-kept-secret noodle shop, is tucked among several non-descript warehouses and a car wash.

“People often think we’re a big American conglomerate and that we have offices in every corner of the world,” said Anna Wells, the program coordinator for Nepal, China and Romania. “I think if people realized that we were in the back blocks of Lower Hutt, they’d be quite surprised.”

It isn’t all sack races and bean bag throws in the office; GVN gets over 400 e-mails a day and program coordinators are busy sifting through travel questions-Should I take Malaria pills?-to taking phone calls from worried moms.

Most of the program coordinators have been volunteers themselves at one time, so their exclamations of volunteerism are genuine.

“Volunteering really shows you what a huge difference one person can make in a relatively short period of time,” Anna said. “You can learn so much about a culture by working alongside a community. It’s something you can’t experience any other way.”

Erin Cassidy, GVN’s office manager, volunteered in Uganda for three weeks last year with her five-year-old son.

“I saw firsthand what volunteering does and how it helps communities,” Erin said. “It really opens your eyes to how much you have and how much you don’t need. It’s impacted even the way we operate at home. I don’t run the water when I clean my teeth at home. I know that’s just a small thing, but I’m now aware of just how precious that resource is.”

For Charisse Gebhart, the program coordinator for Ghana, South Africa and Uganda, the six months she spent volunteering with GVN in Nepal changed her worldview.

“I was barely aware of the poverty and suffering that was out there,” Charisse said. “I’d see the commercials by Sally Struthers, but that was about the extent of it. Witnessing it for yourself is very different from just knowing it’s out there.”

And GVN offers a variety of ways to witness it for oneself, from standing up for the first time in front of a classroom filled with giggling Ghanaian students, to giving dinner to a rescued gibbon at a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand, to baking a cake with an orphan in Romania.

“No matter what your skill sets are, there are places where you’re needed and you can contribute,” Graham said. “Volunteering is not a one-way thing. It’s not just going to change the people you’re working with. It’s also going to change you. You’re going to gain more awareness of yourself, of what you’re capable of and what you’re passionate about. It’s worthwhile to put yourself in that position.”

A Catalyst for Change
Volunteerism isn’t all journal writing and introspection. The communities where volunteers work are often deeply affected by their presence. After all, it isn’t everyday that someone gives up the comforts of their daily life to pay to work long hours in a new and often demanding environment.

“One of the main factors of development is self-esteem and national pride,” said Hanna Butler, an administration staff member and fundraising trek organizer. “When I volunteered in India, sometimes it felt like I really wasn’t doing that much. But in some places, where we were the first foreigners to come there, people realized that they weren’t forgotten. They thought, ‘We’re worth being helped.’”

It’s often this feeling of self-worth, of recognition during a time of hopelessness, that can jump-start a community into action. When volunteers arrived in India to work in a community gutted by a swift reach of a wave-children separated from parents and homes exploded by a salt-water bullet in the time it takes to brew a pot of coffee-they found many people still stunned and unresponsive.

“A lot of people were still in shock,” Colin said. “There wasn’t a lot of action happening. But [the volunteers] just got in and started rebuilding the wells and ensuring that there was good water and everything. And as soon as they started, the locals just came and joined in, and in some places, took over because they were better at it than the volunteers. The point being is that volunteers often act as a catalyst. Local people often think, ‘If these people are going to fly half way around the world and pay all the money just to help us, than I think we can help too.’”

If GVN considers the organization a success, it’s only because of the difference they’ve been able to make in other communities.

“In Nepal, we’ve been able to take them from basically zero in terms of volunteers for their projects to 20 or 30 a month,” Colin said. “What that’s meant for them is they’ve been able to have a fantastic impact in providing teachers for the schools and the orphanages. So part of our success is the success that’s meant for others.”

Colin continued, “In Ecuador, GVN supplies half the number of volunteers that the organization has. Since they’ve started working with the volunteers-it’s not always all better instantly-it has had an impact on the environmental policy on the country and the local attitude toward conservation.”

And while volunteerism creates many tangible changes for communities, from new school buildings to cleaner streams, it also helps to bridge a divide left behind by decades of Western imperialism, colonization and exploitation.

“Quite often you hear about developed countries taking advantage of developing countries,” Michelle said. “But volunteerism allows developing countries to see that there’s another side to people, and how people want to be in the world.”

The GVN Difference
Asking a GVN staffer to tell you the difference between GVN and another organization doing similar work is like asking a child what they want for Christmas; they just can’t stop listing things.

“I think that one of the best things about GVN’s programs is that volunteers have a lot of space to use their own initiative,” said Michelle, the program coordinator for Kenya and Tanzania and the administrator for GVN’s travel insurance option. “I think our programs work for someone who has a lot of enthusiasm, energy and wants to see things get done.”

While GVN doesn’t just send volunteers out with a map and a compass, they do allow volunteers to make many of the decisions about how they want to spend their time volunteering.

“Other organizations send a guide out with their volunteers and it’s all very set and concrete,” Graham said. “And while that ensures a certain consistency in the program, it’s also really limiting in terms of what you can get done. With GVN, you’re given support but there are no prescribed guidelines.”

Although GVN is a relatively small organization, Graham believes its tight-knit office is actually one of its strengths.

“We’re quite responsive and can turn around and gets things done if changes need to be made,” he said. “We don’t have ten layers of administration that you need to go through to get things done.”

And unlike other organizations, GVN’s programs don’t require a second mortgage to take part. Volunteering in Thailand for four weeks costs only $650.

“Volunteering is expensive,” Michelle said. “You’ve got to take time off of your own life, but still keep it going. Things just don’t stop when you go overseas. So you want the best value for your time and money.”

Choosing a Partner
Being popular isn’t always easy. GVN gets at least two queries a day from organizations that want to partner with them. The task of deciding which partners to invest in is a long one.

“We look at the impact that those projects are making,” Michelle said. “We make sure that they’re worthwhile projects, that they’re up to GVN standards and that they make a good impact on the local community.”

Understanding that business practices, cultures and even ethics run the gamut when working with international partners, GVN instituted The Ten Steps of Quality to ensure consistency. The steps, actually a checklist, help GVN set standards as they work toward excellence in all of their programs.

“Sometimes partners we work with are really eager to help but they’re not used to running a business the same way we are,” Graham said. “So the Ten Steps of Quality just gives them the tools to be able to do it effectively.”

There are times, however, when opinions differ and partnerships become more exacting rather than symbiotic. GVN, always careful about whom they’re working with, sometimes has to make the tough decision to cancel a partnership.

“We had a previous partner in Nepal in the beginning,” Colin said. “Things changed in regards to the way they were working and there was some question as to the use of finances. We had to decide that we couldn’t be involved if that sort of thing was going on. We had to pull the plug.”

Volunteer Expectations: Where’s the Air Conditioning?
“I need to change the Info Pack for the Philippines,” said Annika Lindorsson, the program coordinator for India, Philippines and Vietnam. “I think it’s confusing for people to find the taxi from the airport using it.”

Annika had just returned from a five-day trip to the Philippines to meet with one of GVN’s newest partner organization and assess the program. Following the path that a volunteer would take, she discovered a glitch in the directions.

“Going to the Philippines has made all the difference in my ability to do my job,” she said.

GVN isn’t shy about sending its employees to investigate their programs. For Annika, she brought back more than just a suntan: first-hand knowledge of how her program runs, what accommodation looks like, what volunteers are fed and the general logistics of getting around a country most volunteers have never been to before.

“It’s really helpful to see the logistical things, like the airports where the volunteers arrive,” said Graham, who traveled to Vietnam, Ecuador and El Salvador last year to check on his programs. “It’s a lot easier to give advice when you know where they’re going.”

Sharing a meal with a GVN partner also helps to build a relationship that had been solely Internet and phone based.

“It really makes it a lot more personal,” Anna said. “You have quite a close relationship with the people you’re working with over there. So to actually meet them makes it a lot more real.”

By seeing the country the way a volunteer would, program coordinators are able to ensure volunteers’ expectations are realistic; there really is no air conditioning in Uganda. Program coordinators also try to relay to volunteers that their trips will be nothing like a backpacker’s excursion to a dude ranch.

“Some of the volunteers will think the trip will be a real adventure,” Colin said. “Others think that in the month that they go, they’re going to dramatically change the place. Some views are naïve, some are more realistic and some view it as a holiday. So we try to get people’s expectations in line with reality without deflating them too much.”

Unlike some travel holidays where tourists can view poverty like a circus tent-circling around, pointing, but never joining in-volunteering with GVN makes acclimatizing to the environment a necessity.

“For the India program, for instance, accommodation has been selected that is not luxury accommodation,” Michelle said. “You’re actually learning to live another way without the comforts that you’re used to. At the end of the day, we want volunteers to gain a true experience of the country, rather than a tourist view.”

And while volunteers will have the opportunity to explore the country, there’s no mistaking that they work hard.

“I think a lot of people think it’s going to be really nice, like wiping sweat off people’s brows,” Hanna said. “But its long, hard work. Sometimes you feel like you’re not getting much done. And some days you think, ‘And I’m doing this for free? What am I doing?’”

Would she do it again?

“Yes,” she said.

Making the Big Leap: Just Go For It
“I was terrified,” said Charisse, of her first days volunteer teaching in Nepal. “I had no teaching experience. I was scared about having a classroom full of kids to myself. I didn’t know if I would be able to fill up all the class time and if I would be able to keep them under control.”

And how did it go?

“The way you’d expect it to,” she said. “There were some rough days, but it was great.”

The fear that gripped Charisse-How do you command a class full of children who don’t speak the same language?-is universal among volunteers stepping into situations that would make even the most experienced travelers blanch.

“Other volunteers have gone feeling the same way,” Charisse said. “In fact, every volunteer will have felt the same way. And you probably don’t always get that from the journals on the web site. But that shouldn’t be a reason to stop you.”

It’s this fearlessness, this nerve and heart and patience that a volunteer embodies that helps to push against a global current of hopelessness, despair, inequality, greed, racism and xenophobia.

“There have always been people in need, and unfortunately, I think there always will be,” Anna said. “You just have to help people one person at a time. I’d like to say that the end result is that GVN helps so much that they make themselves obsolete. But all throughout the history of the world, there has always been people who have nothing and people who have something to give.”

The act of giving, of taking on a responsibility for humankind, of declaring that a person whom you have never met has the basic and fundamental right to a life free of suffering, is incomparable to any other gesture.

“Yes, it’s tough,” Erin said. “And often there is culture shock. No one can ever prepare you for that. I don’t think you can be totally prepared for it. I’d seen pictures, watched videos, but in the end, the reality was different. But after the first few days, when you get over the jetlag and the change, I can’t see how you would ever regret it. I just can’t.”

And in the passing of a brick, in the chalk-dusted writing of a word, in the gentle rocking of a lonely child, a new world is forged where the universal truths are love, compassion and generosity; a world where photographs-a glimpse, an eye blink-become inspirations become ideas become endeavors become legacies.

About the Author

Megan Taddy is a freelance writer with a B.A. in Journalism and International Studies who completed a media internship with Global Volunteer Network (GVN), an organisation that helps connect volunteers with communities in need.
http://www.globalvolunteernetwork.org

Please ensure that all GVN content has an accreditation to the GVN website. You may not directly or indirectly change, edit, add to or produce summaries of the GVN content. A courtesy copy of your publication would be greatly appreciated.

How long would it take to fly from John F Kennedy airport to Toncontin International[Tegucigalpa,Honduras]?

It is -as the crow flys – 2009 Nautical miles from JFK to Toncontin. A Gulf Stream G550 can fly about 440 miles per hour. So, theoretically, you could reach Toncontin in about 4.5 hours. I would add 30 minutes for weather/ safe routing.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras Toncontin airport landing

St Vincent & the Grenadines Yacht Charter

Only 8 of the Grenadines are populated and the remaining are bird sanctuaries and very popular for both hiking and snorkelling. All are volcanic in origin and deeply embellished with inlets where the sea washes up on fine white sandy beaches. St Vincent has lush green mountains. A yacht charter in St Vincent and the Grenadines also offers the opportunity to visit some of the sites used in the making of the film xPirates of the Caribbeanx. St Vincent and the Grenadines is a yacht charter destination for those looking for peace and seclusion.

The choice of yacht charter in St Vincent and the Grenadines is wide including both sail and motor yacht charter, bareboat yacht charter, skippered yacht charter, luxury crewed yacht charter and both monohull and catamaran charter.

Carib Indians aggressively prevented European settlement on St Vincent until the 18th century. African slaves, either shipwrecked or having escaped from one of the neighbouring islands and seeking refuge in St Vincent, intermarried with the Caribs and became known as Garifuna or Black Caribs. In 1719, French settlers cultivated coffee, tobacco, indigo, cotton, and sugar on plantations worked by enslaved Africans. In 1763 St Vincent was ceded to Britain. It was restored to French rule in 1779 but regained by the British under the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Conflict between the British and the Black Caribs lasted until 1796, when General Sir Ralph Abercromby crushed a revolt fomented by the French radical Victor Hugues. More than 5,000 Black Caribs were deported to Roatán, an island off the coast of Honduras.

After slavery was abolished in 1834, labour shortages on the plantations resulted in the immigration of indentured servants. Portuguese came from the Atlantic island of Madeira and shiploads of East Indian labourers arrived between 1861-1880. Conditions remained harsh for both former slaves and immigrant agricultural workers, as depressed world sugar prices kept the economy stagnant until the turn of the century.

St Vincent was granted associate statehood status on October 27th, 1969, giving it complete control over its internal affairs. Following a referendum in 1979, under Milton Cato St Vincent and the Grenadines became the last of the Windward Islands to gain independence on the 10th anniversary of its associate statehood status, October 27th, 1979.

Year round winds in St Vincent and the Grenadines make for the perfect yacht charter holiday. During the summer months a prevailing 10 ? 20 knot wind from the southeast blows. The winter months will see more challenging winds of 20 ? 25 knots generally from the northeast. Although St Vincent is below the hurricane belt there is always a possibility during the months of July to October. Check this with your yacht charter company. Average high temperatures range from 25°C to 30°C with the highest in July through October.

The major airport in St Vincent and the Grenadines is Joshua Airport on St Vincent. There are flights from Barbados, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Martinique and Grenada. Both US Dollars and x Euro are used. Major credit cards may be accepted in hotels, restaurants and some shops. There are many places throughout the yacht charter area to change money. English is spoken throughout St Vincent and the Grenadines

Many yacht charters start at the Lagoon Hotel and Marina on the southern tip of St Vincent. There is a swimming pool for a refreshing dip on shore before or after your yacht charter and good supermarket for provisioning. This is a well protected yacht anchorage nicely positioned to sail south to the Grenadines and for land trips around the island of St Vincent. Take a day ashore and follow the foot trail along the windward coast, through banana and coconut plantations to La Soufriére volcano. On the leeward side Trinity Falls can be reached by following the trail from Richmond.

Bequia lies just nine miles south of St Vincent and it the gateway to some of the best sailing in the Caribbean. The history of Bequia Island runs deep with age-old seafaring traditions of boat building, fishing and whaling. The main port of entry is Port Elizabeth in Admiralty Bay. The quaint waterfront of Port Elizabeth is lined with bars, restaurants and shops selling local crafts. This yacht anchorage is extremely popular with mariners from all over the world because of its ample and clear waters that allow deep-keeled boats to arrive for repairs and services. Bequia has an excellent selection of marine services with amenities that include showers, laundry services and internet access. Bequia offers great beaches, spectacular snorkelling and diving and great food. Princess Margaret Beach is the best yacht anchorage in all of Bequia. It boasts calm clear waters and a beautiful golden sand beach. The beach has no road access and as a consequence is virtually deserted. A short dinghy ride around the bayxs northern headland and you will come find Frangipani bar, a popular meeting place for a cruisers xHappy Hourx.

Mayreau lies west of the Tobago Cays and is perfect for those seeking privacy and a romantic Caribbean hideaway. With no roads, cars, electricity or many of the familiar sounds of civilization, it is a last frontier in an unspoiled tropical paradise. There are hiking trails that will lead you to some of the most spectacular panoramic views of the Grenadines.

Salt Whistle Bay is one of the most exquisite yacht anchorages in the Caribbean and only reachable by boat. Sweeping white sand beaches rim the entire island and are perfect for snorkelling and sailing. The bay is a hot spot for sailors so yacht moorings are in short supply. Enter Salt Whistle Bay through the main channel, as there are reefs on either side in shallow waters, the southern one being particularly dangerous. Anchor at the head of the bay in 8 to 10 feet of clear water. It’s a sand bottom and offers reasonably good holding. Be especially careful about anchoring too close to the reef on the southern shores.

Mustique has a wonderful ambience and a calm atmosphere, great beaches and a couple of excellent restaurants. Mustique is a privately owned island that has been developed as an area of holiday homes for the wealthy. Mansions with tennis courts and swimming pools sit on rolling grassy hills and long lawns that stretch to sandy beaches. There is no place to get water or diesel fuel in Mustique.

Britannia Bay is the commercial heart of Mustique. There is a small general store, grocery and bakery. Provisioning on Mustique is very expensive and so are the boutiques. Donxt miss the Wednesday night barbecue buffet and the xJump Upx party at the famous Basilxs Bar and Restaurant. Although the food and service leave something to be desired, Basilxs promises a great deal of fun with wonderful ambiance and spectacular surroundings. When arriving in Britannia Bay it is mandatory for yachts to pick up a mooring buoy rather than anchor. There are plenty available on a first come first serve basis. During the early part of the evening harbour personnel will come up to your boat by launch and collect the overnight fee. The most comfortable spot to get a mooring is just south of a small cargo dock. When the wind blows out of the northeast, the waters in the bay can become choppy. Lagoon Bay, a golden sand beach, lined with palm trees and picnic tables with wood umbrellas, is a 25 minute walk from the village in Britannia Bay. A great spot for a romantic picnic as there is virtually no one else in sight.

Macaroni Bay on the east side of the island is the best swimming beach on Mustique. A half a mile of fine white sand, with turquoise waves rolling in from the Atlantic offers safe swimming, a picnic area, and even a few hammocks slung in the palms on the southern end of the beach. It is too far to walk from the yacht anchorage, so for fun people rent a xmulex, a gas powered mini golf cart.

Gelliceaux Bay is marine conservation park where the diving and snorkelling are magnificent. It is illegal to fish or remove anything from the waters surrounding the island.

The Tobago Cays are a cluster of small deserted islands sheltered from the ocean by Horseshoe Reef. The reefs offer fish and coral in a dazzling array of colours. There are small sand beaches and clear water almost everywhere you look. The Tobago Cays offers some of the finest diving in the world. This is the perfect place to anchor your charter yacht for a few days to soak up the sun, sand and sea. Anchoring your yacht is permitted behind Horseshoe Reef and around the islands in sand only. The sand provides excellent holding reducing the risk of damage to the coral from a dragging anchor. Anchoring is not permitted within 60 feet of coral or sea grass. Also yachts must anchor in water deeper then 1.5 meters. Sailors should note the presence of sea grass around the Island of Baradal, and the patches of reef just beyond the beaches of Jamesby and Petit Bateau.

Local boat vendors spend time in the Cays selling everything from ice, bread, and lobsters to jewellery. They are a friendly group of locals and are very accommodating if you need them to bring you ice or bread the next day. If you want to be left alone, they will oblige your request. It is best to avoid vendors offering barbecue fish lunches as they may have taken fish from the reef. A recent problem to be on the look out for is youths offering to dump garbage for a fee from the charter boats at anchor. Do not give in to their request; they have been dumping the trash illegally off the windward side of Baradel Island. One will pay a premium for anything you purchase at the Cays since the vendors need to cover their fuel costs and earn a few dollars.

Canouan is a crescent shaped island surrounded by wide shallow waters and coral and is a scuba diver’s dream. Canouan is an island in transition. Just ten years ago it was a sleepy island that time forgot. A new era of development began when Italian contractors purchased the northern part of the island. The considerable addition of new money has rapidly transformed the island, with many fancy new homes built by locals. The new development is a gated one, with guards at the entry points. The spacious, elegant new hotel and golf course opened again, with Trump running the casino, luxury apartments and Raffles running the resort end. From the visitorxs point of view there are spectacular beaches, great views, and lovely walks almost anywhere.

Union Island is about 40 nautical miles from St Vincent. The island boasts a dramatic outline of ridges and peaks, the highest being Mount Parnassus some 900 feet above sea level. Clifton, the main harbour, is protected by a coral reef that reveals brilliant colours and patterns as you sail in. The town is clean and picturesque with several new, locally run stores catering to visitors. A couple of bars provide perfect street-side viewing points for watching the world go by. The market, with many colourful stalls, has been rearranged round a pleasant green square. There are many good restaurants and the provisioning is excellent with a really wide choice of fresh produce. Basic services like docking, water, laundry and Internet connections are readily available. Located in the northwest corner of the harbour you will find Bougainvilla Marina and The Anchorage Yacht Club. Give them a call on the VHF (Channel 68) to let them know that you’ll be coming in. You can get fuel, ice and water at either of these places. There have been occasional reports of visitors being hassled by kids in boats. These xtown hustlersx try to sell anything to make a buck. If they tell you that the Yacht Club is closed or that therexs no diesel or water available donxt believe them. What theyxre trying to do is to sell you their own moorings or someone elsexs fuel and water at inflated prices.

Petit St Vincent is about 5 nautical miles from Union. This 113-acre island resort is privately owned and offers private cottage-type accommodation and a wide range of sporting and marine activities. It is almost entirely surrounded by white sand beaches and has excellent anchorages for yachts. A walk up the hillside will find a bar in which the ambience is extraordinary. Hummingbirds fly through the tropical vegetation and the best fresh tropical frozen fruit daiquiris in the Grenadines are served here.

From the anchorage, you can swim directly towards Mopion Sandbank but will come up to a reef. Follow the reef round until you come to a wide opening. You can swim or dinghy through, straight up on to the sand bank. This is the ultimate desert island and if you stand on the south-west corner, you can get a photo with the sea on the left, on the right the hump of sand with the triangular thatched shelter in the middle and nothing in the background except for the ocean. The snorkelling around the reef is very good and you may see rays, large parrotfish and even groupers. This is a terrific lunch stop but not an overnight anchorage as the holding is poor.

Chatham Bay is a very secluded yacht anchorage. It is rare to find more than 5 yachts anchored here even in high season and in the low season you could well be the only yacht. At Chatham Bay there are no bars, no restaurants, no buildings, no roads, and no people.

One way yacht charter options are available from St Vincent to Union, Saint Lucia, Grenada and Martinique. Consult with the yacht charter company for more details.

Diving: St Vincent and the Grenadines have a large number of recognized and enthusiastic diving schools on St Vincent, Bequia, Mustique and of course the Tobago Cays. Spectacular underwater seascapes include the wreck of Jonas on the eastern side of the Montezuma shoal near Mustique and there are many drift dives offering a changing panorama of soft corals, turtles, Creole wrasses and the occasional sighting of an eagle ray.

About the Author

Ken Jones runs a Yacht Charter Guide.
Follow this link for more info on Yacht Charter St Vincent & the Grenadines.
Follow this link for more info on Yacht Charter in the Caribbean.

Which countries have black populations that most people aren’t aware of?

For example, most people don’t realize it, but Mexico has a black population that has been around since the 1500′s:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-afromex13apr13,0,7409207,full.story

Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras all have large “Garifuna” populations which are ethnically West African for the most part, mixed with native and some Spaniard. In fact, Miss Guatemala from the Miss Universe pageant a few years ago was a black Garifuna woman.

The Philippines and Malaysia both have “negrito” populations of black-skinned people, and so does India’s Andaman Island chain. There are also ancient communities of black Africans living in India, who came over as traders centuries ago.

Iran and Iraq both have black populations, as do most nations of the mideast. Iraq is about 1% black.

What other places have black populations that most people don’t know about?

they are blacks in every country and they are usually at the low end of economics not always. and when blacks are the majority colorism and classissm put darker blacks on the lower end than lighter blacks not always but mostly. blacks are most numerous in africa of course, then asia with most liviving in southern india and extending to pacific ocean countries. south america has more blacks than north america and the carribeans have the highest porportions of blacks. central american countries mostly have a lot of blacks on the coast. in america the black the absorbed indian genes but in mexico the indians absorbed black genes but there are many blacks in mexico but there are indians than anything else whether it be white, mestizo, mulatto or black. oh yeah europe and the middle east have many blacks as well and a lot of middle eastern look mixed with black not all but and in europe the black population is growing due to high birth rate and immigration.
good question sorry it was so long but you can’t tal

Honduras: Garifuna of the North Coast

A Short History Of Cocoa

Cocoa was a well-established crop and article of commerce in the early 16th century in Central America. In 1520, when Cortés discovered Mexico City (then the capital of the Aztec peoples) and met their leader (Montezuma), he found that cocoa beans were used in the preparation of a luxury drink “chocolatl” made by roasting the whole cocoa beans, grinding them and mixing with maize meal, vanilla and chilli. They were then stirred with a special whisk, rather in the fashion still adopted today in Colombia, the Philippines and elsewhere. These cocoa beans had not been actually grown by the Aztec peoples but by Mayas who gave them as tribute to Montezuma. At that time cocoa had more significance than merely being the main ingredient of a drink; as the cocoa beans were easy to count and were relatively valuable, they were widely used as currency. In Mexico, this use for cocoa beans appears to have continued until at least 1840.

From 1520 through to the middle of the 17th century, the main cocoa areas were all in, or around, present-day Mexico, extending as far as Honduras. All the cocoa cultivated at that time was Criollo, probably as this type gives a palatable drink with little fermentation. Columbus encountered cocoa from Honduras in 1502 and this represented the first contact of the Old World with cocoa beans. He transported some to Spain and introduced cocoa drinks to the Spanish court, where it was much valued. The drink soon became popular amongst the aristocracy in Spain, later in Italy, Flanders, France and England. Spain maintained a monopoly on the trade in cocoa until the Dutch took over Curaçao in 1634, enabling the trade and use of cocoa beans to then expand rapidly, though still only amongst the most wealthy as the duties and cost of transport were very high.

In the mid-16th century, cocoa cultivation of Criollo types spread in the West Indies (Jamaica, Martinique and Trinidad), having in addition been transported in about 1560 across the Pacific to the Philippines, thence a little later to Sulawesi and Java, and perhaps as well to India and Sri Lanka. By 1700, cocoa was being grown throughout Central America, in many of the Caribbean Islands and in areas adjacent to the Andes in South America, but it still remained a great luxury.

Early in the 1800s, duties were reduced and consumption increased, though only as a chocolate drink high in fat, being still made from the whole cocoa bean. In 1828, Van Houten designed a press to remove some of the fat and opened up a vast range of new products including chocolates as we know them today! This was the first of many major technical advances that have led to the wide variety of products based on the cocoa bean now available. Very modest quantities of cocoa are used in cosmetics, the rest being as chocolate and other foodstuffs.

There was considerable trade between Brazil and West Africa in the 19th century and so the introduction of cocoa into Africa could be seen as inevitable, and 1822 seems to be the date generally given for the movement of cocoa to Principe, a small volcanic island just off the West African coast, then under Portuguese control. Plants were then soon moved to all the other islands off that coast, but large-scale cultivation in West Africa only started in Nigeria in 1874 and Ghana in 1879. However, from 1857 missionary groups had been attempting introductions into Ghana although with almost no success.

In 1876, Daniel Peter mixed milk solids with cocoa and sugar to make milk chocolate and this led to very rapid growth in chocolate popularity from the start of the 20th century. With this, cocoa plantings on a significant scale began and there was a shift in the balance of production from South America and the Caribbean to West Africa. The other great change then was the move from plantings of the Criollo types to the Forastero types, because of their higher yield potential and greater resistance to pests and diseases. In the 1850s, beans from Criollo types accounted for almost 80% of total global production of cocoa, by 1900 it had fallen to 40-45% and since then it has continued to fall steadily to perhaps only 1 or 2% in 1998.

About the Author

Marabel Cocoa Farms – cocoa beans – Sanchez and Hispaniola cocoa beans producer and importer from the Dominican Republic.

How do I find a grant to help fund building a technical school in Honduras?

We are trying to fund the building of a technical school in Puerto Cortes County in Honduras. We have filmed and made a documentary that is being shown in churches within our community however the funds that are raised from the documentary are not seeming to be enough to cover the costs of materials and labor for the entire project. We don’t know where or how to apply for a grant to help fund the project. Please help guide us in the right direction.

Grant.com is a great source of free grants, scholarships.
Try it.

HCA Villanueva Cortes Honduras