Jordan Howie’s first trip on a humanitarian expedition was such a positive experience that he has decided to embark on another one.
Howie is the son of Brett and Jennifer Howie of Estevan, and one of the recipients of the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association’s Junior Citizen of the Year Award in 2016.
He is currently fundraising to go to Cambodia from June 2-16, 2018, through an organization named Reach Out Volunteers.
Last year he travelled to Peru with Reach Out, where he helped add infrastructure for villages in the Andes Mountains. Howie and the other team members teamed up with villagers to turn a barebones hut into a dining hall for the village.
The trip to Peru allowed him to meet a lot of great people, not only among those he travelled with, but among the Peruvian people.
Howie said his work in Cambodia will be similar to what he was doing in Peru.
“I really enjoyed my time and what we were doing in Peru, so I figured I wanted to do it again,” Howie said in an interview with Lifestyles. “I chose Cambodia as my next place to go.”
The work that was done in the Peruvian village last year was difficult and took a lot of effort, but it was rewarding to see the excitement of the people after the team had completed its work.
He has never been to Asia before, and he wanted to see another part of the world while helping people.
“I think volunteering is a really good way to see the world from a different perspective,” he said.
Howie expects the team members will be deployed to a village in Cambodia for one or two weeks, and they will likely build classrooms, houses or other buildings that could help the people.
“There are always opportunities to interact with the people,” said Howie. “When I was in Peru, the villagers would always come and help out, so they would show us what needs to be done, and they would help us out with what needs to be done sometimes.”
And he’ll get to learn more about the culture of Cambodia, such as dances and food.
Howie has done some research about the Cambodian people, so that he has a better idea of what to expect once he arrives.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Howie pay for the trip. On the page, he said it is difficult to afford post-secondary education – he is in his third year at the University of Regina – and to be able to travel abroad.
Howie had received $775 in donations as of Dec. 1. He would like to raise $1,500, which would be half of the cost of the trip and the program fees.
“By donating, you are feeding families who otherwise can't afford it, building them homes, providing education, and making a huge difference in their lives,” said Howie.
The program fees include building materials, hiring local tradesmen, guides, accommodations, meals, and donations for the local community, including food and gifts for children.
Howie said any extra money raised will be put into Reach Out Volunteers.
He also received a voucher from Reach Out Volunteers following the Peru trip that he can use to go to Cambodia. And he received additional vouchers from Reach Out for helping them with their promotional efforts when the organization has been at the University of Regina.
