Bono for President

by Erik Olsen on

The cover of the
New York Times Magazine tomorrow will feature the
mug of U2’s lead singer Bono…certainly NOT the first time he has been featured on a cover of a magazine, but perhaps
one of the few times he has been featured NOT for his music, but for his humanitarian efforts.

The piece refers to Bono as “the world’s foremost agitator for aid to Africa”. Bono really does seem to be one of a
rare breed of celebrities who puts both his money and his time where his mouth is. He’s met with US Presidents and
other world leaders across the globe and has turned his passion for debt relief into vigorous action.

By all appearances, his activism is not some faddish escapade, like those that are so common among the Hollywood
set. The guy is real, and he is to be respected for it. The piece does a very good job examining the Bono phenomenon,
and my guess is you will come away both impressed and inspired.

Costa Rican Botanical Excursions & Tours

by Kelly Amabile on

Botanical Garden Excursions, SA offers daily excursions to three
horticultural areas of the Pacific coast of central Costa Rica. Destinations include a vital regional botanical
garden, tropical waterfalls and an essential oils and spice farm. They also run week-long tours of the entire region
with a detailed itinerary.

The company was formed by horticulturalist Donna Porter,
who works to educate visitors about the ecological wonders of the land, as well as the importance of ongoing education
in the area. Through the company’s Fare Share program, they
donate 5% of the proceeds from all tour groups to the Organization for Tropical Studies, the managing, non-profit
organization of the Wilson Botanical Garden and the Las Cruces
Biological Station, for continued preservation of the garden’s plant collections.

Post Bumbershoot: Dave Eggers

by Erik Olsen on

If you missed Bumbershoot this year, well, that’s
unfortunate because apparently there was a pretty cool scene at the Dave Eggers, Sarah Vowell, Daniel Handler, Mike
Doughty, and Death Cab for Cutie music/reading event.

Eggers, who is best known for his book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (which it was not, but was quite
good nonetheless), is also the force behind the 826 Valencia project (as well
as the nascent 826Seattle project), which tutor and mentor young
writers.

At Bumbershoot, Eggers staged a kind of impromptu fund raising effort for 826Seattle, promising more Death Cab music
if folks put some dough in envelopes that were passed around. As Eggers writes in this article for Seattle’s Stranger,
they raised far more than they hoped, and Eggers waxes enthusiasm about how well things turned out. Pretty cool
piece.

Tibet Vision Project

by Kelly Amabile on

Our engaged traveler of the week has been practicing Philanthropy on the Road for ten years in the
most remote regions of Tibet. I read about Marc F. Lieberman in the latest
Johns Hopkins magazine and was quite moved
by his story and the wonderful work of his organization.

The Tibet Vision Project has restored sight to 2,500
Tibetans and trained 18 Tibetan surgeons since its founding in 1995. As part of the program’s ten year anniversary, the
documentary Visioning Tibet was produced to tell the story of Dr.
Lieberman, his team and their admirable goal — to eliminate preventable blindness in Tibet by 2020.

The website for this project is very well done and includes a superb
photo gallery with incredible images of the faces
and landscapes of Tibet, most taken by Marc Lieberman himself. Unfortunately they cannot respond to volunteers who wish
to join them, but they do accept donations. Take a peek
at this sight to learn more about these amazing surgical ophthalmology programs that are improving the lives of
thousands.

Hobo Traveler in Niger

by Erik Olsen on

It’s been a while since we last checked in on Andy the Hobo
Traveler, and man, has he been busy. The uber-vagabond has been traversing the globe now for eight (yes, eight)
years, posting his views and news from far off locales. In what you might say is the king of all understatements: the
guy gets around.

We find Andy now in Niger, Africa, riding buses, visiting villages and eating “lightly curded milk substances”. He’s
also snapping some wonderful photos of daily life in Africa that should be required viewing for students around the
country. The faces of the people are often bright and friendly, nicely conveying the reality that all of Africa is not
some vast miserable stew of disease and poverty…as someone said to me recently in blinkered ignorance.

Take some time today and catch up on Andy’s travels. You might learn something.