by Elijah Eyre
Communications 483
The Gap between the Rich and the Poor
There is a gap between the rich and the poor across the globe that is only getting wider. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Over the past several decades this gap has only widened, resulting in even more posh lives for the upper class, and greater poverty levels around the world.
A prime illustration of this gap is the comparison between those who run companies and those who work for the companies. According to a study that took place over the course of 15 years from 1990 to 2005, the CEO has left the average worker in the dust. The study states, “the CEO salary has been increasing steadily over the years and since 1990, the salary of the CEO has increased by 298%, while the salary of the Worker has increased only marginally by 4.3%, put in inflation and high standard of living conditions this increase will be nothing.”[1]
Another example can be found in comparing the average salary of a CEO to an average production worker. In 1982 the ratio was 42-to-1. In 1990 the ratio jumped to 107-to-1. By 1996 it was 289-to-1, and by 2004 it had skyrocketed to 431-to-1.[2] For every dollar that a hard working production worker makes, the CEO of his/her company is making $431. These CEOs are taking such a large percentage of the money that is making it nearly impossible for this gap between the rich and the poor to become narrower; rather it is making wider every day.
To put it simply, the upper class has the majority of the money and this is making it very hard for members of the lower class to rise up economically. In regard to this, Paul Kruger, a liberal economist wrote the following in the New York Times Magazine, “The 13,000 richest families in the U.S. now have almost as much income as the 20 million poorest. And those 13,000 families have incomes 300 times that of average families."[3]
So the world is presented with a problem; there is a widening gap between the rich and the poor. Can the continual and rapid widening of this gap be stopped? Is there a way to bring the rich and the poor together? There are many efforts being made around the world by everyone from governments, to corporations, to humanitarian groups and organizations, to common people in order to find ways to both narrow and bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. One method in bridging this gap is something called humanitarian travel.
Humanitarian Travel
Humanitarian travel is a new trend that is beginning to catch on, particularly in the United States. The idea of humanitarian travel is for travelers to either dedicate their entire vacation or just take a couple of days out of their vacation to volunteer and perform acts of service. Travelers often find this form of vacationing to be very therapeutic as they are able to travel with a purpose. They are able to reach out a helping hand and then see direct results. Humanitarian travel thus helps both parties. Those who perform the service enjoy the feelings of self fulfillment and service as well as experience other cultures first hand. Those who are on the receiving end of the service obtain help in many different ways whether it be medically, scholastically, or in many other ways, and are given a new hope for success and progress.
Examples of these types of vacations are becoming more visible. Cheaptickets.com and the United Way have recently teamed up to form these types of vacation options for travelers. Travelocity and other web based travel search engines have humanitarian travel options available on their websites. GlobeAware is another example; an organization featuring “volunteer vacations” to destinations all over the world from South America to South-east Asia and Africa. In these locations camps are set at specific target locations where help is needed. Travelers arrange with GlobeAware, purchase their airline tickets, then go to the various locations and learn about the respective cultures and help out in any way that they can.
In Travelocity’s most recent poll of active members of their website, 11 percent said that they plan to participate in some sort of humanitarian travel in the next year. That percentage is still relatively low, but it has nearly doubled over the last year (2006-07).[4] People are becoming more aware of this new travel option, and they are trying it out.
Coming Together
Bringing together the rich and the poor; bringing large organizations of business leaders and affluent families together with a humanitarian service organization in order to bridge the gap. There are three parts to this puzzle; two large organizations, Young Presidents Organization and Entrepreneurs Organization, and then a very well established humanitarian organization, Ascend: A Humanitarian Alliance. The following is a brief description of each of the organizations:
Young Presidents Organization (YPO)
• More than 10,000 young global business leaders in more than 80 nations rely on one exclusive peer network that connects them to exchange ideas, pursue learning and share strategies to achieve personal and professional growth and success.[5]
Within the Young Presidents Organization are highly successful business men and women who are trying to balance time between their work and their family.
Entrepreneurs Organization (EO)
• EO is 6,000+ members strong with over 120 Chapters in 40 Countries around the globe. Members come from all walks of life and run companies of every type and size imaginable. But whether famous or not, with a staff of 2 or 20,000, within EO there is a common desire to grow businesses, learn from others and above all, share experiences with each other.[6]
Like YPO, EO is an organization of business leaders looking to expand and grow business while maintaining and raising a strong family.
Ascend: A Humanitarian Alliance
• Working side-by-side with some of the most impoverished people of the world, helping them with life-skills mentoring, school construction, education materials; enterprise training and small business development; health training, medical and dental services, building health clinics; technology training, clean water systems, gardens, greenhouses and food storage, stoves and other energy sources, latrines and community bathrooms.[7]
Ascend: A Humanitarian Alliance is a non-profit humanitarian organization based in Salt Lake City, Utah that has been providing humanitarian service in various countries throughout the world for nearly 25 years.
Each of these organizations has something to offer to the other, as well as something to offer to those living in poverty in the third world. The families of YPO and EO for the most part live very comfortable, posh lifestyles. When they vacation, they stay at five-star hotels. When the children want something, they usually get it. Money usually isn’t a factor in most of their decision making processes. The parents in YPO and EO are worried about their children. They live such lavish lives that they are easily closed off from the rest of the world. They are quick to become selfish and think about their needs first, and other’s needs second, if they ever get past thinking about themselves.
Linda and Richard Eyre are authors who write and speak about strengthening families and teaching values to children. They are frequent guest speakers at meetings and conventions that are held when groups of YPO and EO members come together. The parents often specifically ask questions about and raise concern about their children’s lifestyles and failure to see the world beyond themselves. The Eyres are very often asked questions such as the following:
• "How do I get my kids out of their bubble? They see such a privileged, narrow slice of life."
• "I just don't think most YPO children appreciate what they have....and teenagers even less."
• "Is there a quick way to un-spoil kids?"
• "How do you instill motivation and initiative?"
• "My 13 year old is so completely wrapped up in herself - she's really unaware of anyone else.”
• "How early can affluent kids start thinking about giving back?"
• "Our kids think they're entitled - that the world owes them a living - a really good living!"
The answer to many of these questions is a humanitarian service expedition. A different kind of vacation than what their kids are used to. Not just a five-star resort on the beach for a week and a half, but instead a trip that will really open their eyes to the world. It can be a trip where they can live in a village in a third-world country and interact with native children their age, see an entirely new culture, and have a chance to really work. The families work will be rewarded as well though as they are able to culminate the trip with various exotic cultural expeditions.
Ascend has been doing humanitarian travel for years, but in this particular case, expeditions will be organized and tailor made for members of YPO and EO and their families. These trips will be customizable to the needs and wants of those in each group, but the basic structure of the expedition will always be the same; the goals will always be the same. The group will travel to a foreign country in South America or Africa and first spend time in a small village working together with villagers on specific projects; everything from building schools and water systems, to holding medical clinics, to engaging in cultural activities with members of the villages. After the allotted amount of time is spent in the village, the group will then go back to a hotel, regroup and then go out on a cultural expedition. If they are in Africa this could include traveling to the Masai Mara in Kenya for a safari, or attempting to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. If they are in South America this could include a trip to Machu Pichu, or the Amazon Rainforest, or the Galapagos Islands. The main goals of the expedition will always be the same; to reach out a helping hand, to open the eyes of affluent children to what the world is really like, and to instill a passion for service and helping others.
So families are able to experience both sides of the spectrum on their vacation. They are able to get dirty as they work in the villages, and they are able to be pampered as they visit various cultural sites and participate in adventurous activities afterward. The expeditions will benefit both parties greatly; everyone gets something out of each trip, the volunteer families and the members of the villages.
As this will be a new experience for the majority of these families, in order to help them feel comfortable and confident, a step by step detailed itinerary will be necessary. Just as any other planned vacation they have been on previously, the will need to know what they will be doing each day and be notified the best ways to prepare for each stage of the process. A very important point is that these very affluent families are accustomed to only the finest of accommodations, so planning ways to help them feel comfortable and accommodated is vital. Upon arrival in the foreign country they will first spend a day acclimatizing and overcoming jet-lag at a very classy hotel. They will enjoy the same luxuries after they have spent time in the villages. At the same time though, they need to be prepared for very basic accommodations as they actually live in the village for several days; they need to be ready to live and even eat as the villagers do.
There are two possible itineraries for these service vacations, and both are for different lengths of time. Ultimately it will be up to the families to decide the length of their trip, but as a standard, trips to South America will last roughly one week, whereas trips to Africa will last about two weeks. So a business man/woman could take five business days off and take their family to South America for a week. If they have the ability to miss two weeks of work for something like a summer vacation they would be able to take their family to Africa. The following are basic itineraries for trips to Peru and Ethiopia to give travelers a rough idea of what they will be taking part in.
South America – Peru
Day 1
Travelers will depart the United States and arrive in Lima, Peru and spend the night there.
Day 2
Morning flight to Cusco, the capital of the Incan Empire. Travelers will then enjoy afternoon tours of the beautiful European influenced city. The evening will be dedicated to rest and preparation for entering the village the following day.
Day 3
The third day will start out with a trip to villages that have been previously worked in by Ascend volunteers. This allows travelers to see the potential of the projects they will be working on while living in the village. From there the group will travel to the village they will be working in and set up camp and the projects that will be worked on. That evening the members of the village will have a special welcoming ceremony that has been prepared for the volunteers consisting of cultural dancing and activities.
Days 4-6
The next days will be spent doing project work and spending time with villagers. Projects will range from building schools and water cisterns, to medical clinics, to teaching; whatever the village is in need of. Volunteer children will have the opportunity to spend time and interact with native children in their same age range. They will be able to “shadow” children close to their age to see first-hand what the native children’s lives are like, and the work that they take part in each day. In the evening of day six, the village and the volunteers will once again come together, this time for a closing ceremony. The two parties will come together and celebrate what they have accomplished and the friendships they have made. After the ceremonies, the volunteers will pack up and head back to Cusco.
Days 6-8
Vlunteers will now have a change to indulge themselves a little bit by traveling to beautiful and exotic cultural sites. Some families may wish to travel to the ancient Incan city of Machu Pichu atop the Andes Mountains. Other families might take a trip to the depths of the Amazon Rainforests, or go and enjoy the beaches of the Galapagos Islands off the west coast of Ecuador.
Africa – Ethiopia
Day 1
Depart United States.
Day 2
Arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Check into hotel and relax for the evening.
Day 3
Rest and relax. Afternoon tours of Addis Ababa. Spend the evening preparing to enter the village the next day.
Day 4
Prior to entering the village, volunteers will be taken to villages that have been worked in previously by Ascend groups. They will have the opportunity to see the potential and impact of the work they are about to take part in. From there they will travel to the village they will be working in, greeted by the entire village. The village will then hold a welcoming ceremony of cultural dance and music.
Days 5-8
For these four days in the village, volunteers will immerse themselves in work in the village as well as interaction with villages. Volunteer children and adults will have the opportunity to “shadow” village members of the same age in order to really see what their lives are like and the things that they do on a daily basis. There will be one large project that villagers and volunteers will work on together; it may be building a school, building a water pump or a water cistern, whatever the villagers are most in need of. Along with this other services such as medical clinics, teaching about sanitation, or constructing school desks will be carried out. All the while villagers and volunteers have the opportunity to spend time together as one big family, to interact, and learn from each other.
Day 9
The volunteers and villages come together for a closing cultural ceremony to celebrate all of the work that has taken place and the tasks accomplished. Volunteers pack and leave the village and then travel back to Addis Ababa.
Day 10
Travelers board a plane and depart to Nairobi, Kenya, and then take another flight to the Masai Mara Game Reserve for a safari. That evening travelers enjoy their first game drive.
Days 11-13
The next three days are spent enjoying the wildlife and beauties of the Masai Mara. Each day the travelers will enjoy several game drives accompanied by world class accommodations and food in their luxurious tented hotel in the middle of the Masai Mara.
On the evening of day 13 the travelers will return to Nairobi, and then take a night flight back to the United States. If the travelers are daring enough, once the safari is over, they will have the opportunity to attempt to climb nearby Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Eye Opening Experiences
Though YPO and EO have not yet begun participating in expeditions, there have been others under similar circumstances that have. From those who have participated, both children and adult, the reactions have been very positive. The reactions coming from the children seem to be direct answers to many of questions and concerns that have been raised by YPO and EO parents (mentioned previously). Children have had eye opening experiences helping them see beyond their narrow slice of life that they normally see. They have come to the realization that the children in impoverished areas are, even though they don’t have the material assets, are just the same as they are. They have come to the realization that they, though they are just one kid, can make a difference. The children have also been able to come to the realization of how blessed they are materially, and as they see how happy the kids in the villages are, they realize that they don’t have to have everything to be happy. These children in the villages don’t have television, they don’t have video games, movie theaters, or the latest brand name clothing, but they are happy. This is what has opened the eyes of children volunteering in these impoverished villages.
Catherine, a teenager from Maryland who recently participated in an expedition to South America said the following to illustrate this point, “I think that anytime you go to a country like this it is just a humbling experience and you realize how blessed you are and you become grateful for everything. They don’t have much but they are so happy, and you realize that the things you have that you think you need, you don’t, and don’t make us happy.”[8]
Scott, also from Maryland backed up this point as he talked about his experience, “It’s intense, it’s great, we help a ton. You think about the week or two weeks before you came here and what you were up to and what was more important in your life, and then you come here and overnight everything changes.”[9]
It is not uncommon for teenagers in the United States to find themselves depressed because of their feelings of incompetence. The things that teenagers experience on these expeditions allow them to feel better about themselves and their abilities, as illustrated by a teenage participant, “just the feeling of being able to give someone more than they have is so overwhelming. It just makes you feel a lot better about yourself and your self-esteem goes up and you just want to help people more.”[10]
Parents alike have enjoyed their experiences. They felt the need to give something back as a family. The father of a family who participated in an expedition said the following, “We as a family felt like we had been pretty blessed over the course of our lives and we felt like it would be appropriate to find a way to give something back. We expected to see things very different than what we normally see and experience things that are different than what we normally experience, and that has certainly been the case.”
These are real experiences illustrating the impact that these expeditions have on people as individuals, and as a family.
Ultimate Goal
The ultimate goal of these humanitarian service expeditions is to dramatically help both sides; the volunteers and the native villagers in dramatic ways. The villagers receive necessary help and guidance and the volunteers see a whole new side of life. They both help each other in ways that wouldn’t be possible if they weren’t able to work together toward a common goal. Beyond this goal though, is the goal to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. YPO and EO and separated into chapters and groups throughout the world. These chapters come together several times a year to share experiences and learn from each other. The goal would be for families who have been on an expedition to go back and share of their wonderful experiences with the members of their chapter. This in turn would promote more families to go on expeditions and have similar experiences. As more people become aware of these villages and their need for help, it would be a goal for various YPO and EO chapters to establish “sponsorships” over clusters of villages (a number a villages within a relatively small geographic area). As a part of this sponsorship the chapter would commit an allotted amount of money over a certain period of time to help these villages progress (i.e. $250,000 over a three year period). Then as they donate money to these villages, families from the chapters will be able to go over personally and participate in expeditions and check up on the progress of the clusters of villages.
An Amazing Experience
The experience of a humanitarian expedition helps families in countless ways. It brings families closer together as they work and experience a new culture together, and it strengthens their values and their drive to succeed in life. In one final quote from a past participant teenager, she sums up the broad range of impact that going on an expedition had on her and the life she lives, “It has taught me how much good hard work can accomplish…if you just set your mind on something and don’t procrastinate, you can accomplish anything. This has been an amazing experience, you learn different values from living in a different culture, you see what different people’s lives are like and it totally changes your perspective on your own life, it’s just a wonderful experience.”[11]
Narrowing the Gap
There are efforts being made across the globe to narrow the gap between the rich and poor. This concept of humanitarian service expeditions targeted toward highly affluent families is just one of them. But this method in particular provides direct benefits to the people at both ends of the spectrum. It’s not just merely the rich taking out their checkbook and writing a check to the poor, but it is a family leaving their comfort zone, traveling to third world countries and using their own hands to contribute in helping people and villages develop and establish themselves. At the same time they are being provided with an eye opening experience as they see how wide the gap between the rich and the poor is. As this happens, they along with the villagers are strengthened simultaneously and the narrowing of the gap begins.
References:
Anderson, Sarah, and John Cavanagh. "Executive Excess 2005." Institute for Policy Studies (2005). 10 Apr. 2007
"Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange." Young Presidents Organization. 3 Apr. 2007
Ecuador: 2005. DVD. Ascend: a Humanitarian Alliance, 2005.
"Engaging Leading Entrepreneurs to Learn and Grow." Entrepreneurs Organization. 2 Apr. 2007
Krugman, Paul. "The New Gilded Age." 20 Oct. 2002. 3 Apr. 2007
"Our Mission & Operations." Ascend: a Humanitarian Alliance. 3 Apr. 2007
Popken, Ben. "CEO Pay Up." Consumerist. 9 Apr. 2007. 10 Apr. 2007
Wilkening, David. "Tapping the Humanitarian Travel Market." TravelMole. 22 Mar. 2007. 3 Apr. 2007
[1] Popken, Ben. "CEO Pay Up." Consumerist. 9 Apr. 2007. 10 Apr. 2007
[2] Anderson, Sarah, and John Cavanagh. "Executive Excess 2005." Institute for Policy Studies (2005). 10 Apr. 2007
[3] Krugman, Paul. "The New Gilded Age." 20 Oct. 2002. 3 Apr. 2007
[4] Wilkening, David. "Tapping the Humanitarian Travel Market." TravelMole. 22 Mar. 2007. 3 Apr. 2007
[5] "Better Leaders through Education and Idea Exchange." Young Presidents Organization. 3 Apr. 2007
[6] "Engaging Leading Entrepreneurs to Learn and Grow." Entrepreneurs Organization. 2 Apr. 2007
[7] "Our Mission & Operations." Ascend: a Humanitarian Alliance. 3 Apr. 2007
[8] Ecuador: 2005. DVD. Ascend: a Humanitarian Alliance, 2005.
[9] Ecuador: 2005. DVD. Ascend: a Humanitarian Alliance, 2005.
[10] Ecuador: 2005. DVD. Ascend: a Humanitarian Alliance, 2005.
[11] Ecuador: 2005. DVD. Ascend: a Humanitarian Alliance, 2005.
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