For the past few years, United Planet has been delighted to work with Flagstone Reinsurance to send groups of employees on Short-term Quests to several countries. Each project has welcomed them with open arms: they’re friendly, lively, and hard-working. They’ve accomplished a lot — and, as Ian reports, had a great time.
Thanks to everyone involved in making these trips possible, and rewarding!
by Ian McKillop of Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings, S.A.
From humble beginnings to an annual corporate social responsibility legacy…
Large multi-national organizations, ethical consumers, and financial donors often suffer from a credibility gap, and struggle to understand whether the money and efforts they entrust with non-profits and NGOs are actually meeting the criteria these organizations set out in their missions and mandates.
Other than information generated through the NGOs or non-profits themselves, or through occasional media coverage, there are few ways for donors and consumers to gather the evidence necessary to judge for themselves the impacts of their philanthropic endeavors. The best way to do something right and to know for sure is to do it yourself. So we did.
“Where to Next Year?”
In September of 2007 I approached our CEO with a unique opportunity to help support disadvantaged communities around the world, to strengthen our corporate team bonds, and to foster respect and appreciation for cultural diversity while improving and enriching lives worldwide.
We promptly enlisted the expertise of Boston-based United Planet and in May of 2008, myself and twelve colleagues from three of our global offices teamed up to volunteer our services for two weeks in Las Québradas, Costa Rica.
Since then, we have been fortunate enough to have a CEO endorse such a worthwhile endeavor every May since the initial experience to Costa Rica in 2008.
Over the past four years, we have sent 27 colleagues (some have participated in multiple Quests) from our Bermuda, Cyprus, Canadian, Indian, UK, and Swiss offices on two week voluntourism quests to Costa Rica (2008), Cambodia (2009), India (2010), and Romania (2011) to fulfill the goals set out and mandated by the original group in late 2007.
“Vacation” Choice – which picture is more enticing???
Lucky for me, it wasn’t too hard to convince a few of my colleagues which vacation destination was the more enticing choice for us to use two weeks of our personal vacation time.
It was obvious . . . we decided to choose the option on the right, and wheels were set in motion to travel to Costa Rica to spend two weeks working in a beautiful biological reserve in the middle of the rainforest. (Believe it or not, BOTH of the pictures above were taken during the same week we were volunteering in Costa Rica.)
Worthwhile Causes
United Planet volunteer Quests are extremely flexible, well-run, and have a lot of experience with groups of our size and background. Also – the ability of staying with host families and at the orphanages and schools adds to the humility of the projects.
Getting away from using video and telephone conferencing – these Quests also allowed our group to work together as a team outside of an office setting.
Our company is extremely diverse . . . we have offices spread across the globe and my colleagues are extremely bright, have diverse backgrounds, and different experiences and ideals to the group. Some are professional accountants . . . others are engineers . . . some have PhD’s and other advanced degrees . . . we even employ meteorologists . . . but one thing we all have in common is a will to expand our horizons, break out of our comfort zones, and immerse ourselves in a completely new and exciting culture.
Who would have known that in just over a week, a group of professionals with no construction background would turn this . . .
Into this . . .
To eventually allow children in Siem Reap, Cambodia the ability to study English in a much better environment.
Reflections and Insights
These types of experiences leave different intangible impressions on each individual and can only be measured by the size of the effort and hearts of the participants who gave their time, blood, sweat, and tears to make these quests overwhelming successes.
The feelings, reflections, lessons learned, and camaraderie throughout each project have carried-on and have since become part of our daily professional lives. The simplicity, and often frugality of these Quests, makes this type of initiative a grounded and humbling experience . . . definitely offering a “less is more” form of leisure travel.
Corporate Social Responsibility programs embrace responsibility for companies’ actions and encourage positive impact through various activities focusing on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, and other stakeholders.
Flood in Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, we were able to witness first-hand the massive floods the rainy season often brings without warning. Working for a (re)insurance company, this really hit home for our group. Insurance is a must-have in our North American daily lives . . . health, home, and automobile.
Our programs’ missions is to help support disadvantaged communities around the world, to strengthen our corporate team bonds, and to foster respect and appreciation for cultural diversity while improving and enriching lives worldwide. Working in remote communities allows participants to focus on the first two aspects of triple bottom line concept – people, planet, profit.
You do not get to pick your parents, or the country where you are born . . . but you soon realize the luxuries you are afforded by simply being born in North America . . . what every day needs really are . . . and that happiness can not be bought.
Voluntourism isn’t for everyone. But embarking on such an initiative for the first time often requires a small push. Breaking out of your comfort zone is tough, but in this case, extremely rewarding. Ask someone who has done it . . . and get a friend, a colleague, or family member to join you . . . you’ll be glad you did!
Respectfully submitted,
Ian McKillop
I will leave you with a few pictures from our past Quests. Although most of the time is spent volunteering . . . individuals are also afforded time to immerse themselves in the local culture and experience the natural wonders of each quest country (which the proud locals are eagerly waiting to introduce you to).
Volunteer Pictures
Costa Rica
Cambodia
India
Romania
Laying Laminate Floor in a Newly Constructed House for the Elderly at the Pro Vita Orphanage
Giving Gifts to Children of Pro Vita on Romania’s Children’s Day
Experiencing the Local Cultures & Wonders
Costa Rica
Cambodia
India
The Group Visiting the Taj Mahal (in background)
Romania
ABOUT UNITED PLANET
United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. Established in 2001, United Planet offers volunteer abroad, virtual internships, internships abroad, gap year volunteering, and global virtual exchange in more than 40 countries.
