Jay Pfaender introduced today’s speaker, Bud Philbrook who is the CEO of Global Volunteers. Mr. Philbrook informed us that he truly enjoys speaking at Rotary as he feels that “we are kindred spirits.” In fact, he first spoke to our club in 1976! Bud started off with a brief history on Global Volunteers. They were founded in 1994 and are an International NGO which focuses on short term volunteer opportunities to create, nurture and sustain the well-being of children all over the world. Nearly 35,000 volunteers have served in 34 countries on 6 continents. Their programs operate on 5 basic premises- they go only where they have been invited; they work under the direction of the local people; they only work on community based projects; they provide only modest funding for the projects; and they only do what they are asked to do. Bud then shared what he referred to as the Silent Tragedy.  One of the most devastating effects of hunger in children is stunted growth. These children don’t get sufficient nutrition which leads to learning struggles, reduced organ development and increased ailments in general. Global Volunteers has an initiative called “Reaching Children’s Potential” which is aimed at eradicating hunger to improve health and enhance cognition. Volunteers do this by transferring knowledge to parents. For example, teaching basic hand washing techniques with adequate safe water. They also offering support to parents and communities to make necessary changes in their lifestyles. 25% of kids on our planet are stunted, yet very few people, let alone health professionals, are aware of this fact. Hence why Global Volunteers calls this the Silent Tragedy!

 

Mr. Philbrook wrapped up his presentation with ways that we can help- Volunteer our time and talents. He said volunteers typically do any or all of the following on their short term missions: conduct workshops; do home visits with Global Volunteer staff where they reinforce what they learned at the workshops and offer support on how to implement the knowledge; health care; education; labor projects. Anyone can volunteer! He closed with a quote from Pope Francis- “You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. This is how prayer works.”

 

Respectfully submitted,