‘Voluntourism’ trend for vacationers
More Americans are opting to spend their vacation time participating in what Christians have known for years as mission work – building houses and schools or visiting orphanages.
The new term for this trend is “voluntourism,” and some say it was spurred by the tragedies of 9/11, the Southeast Asia tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. College students are choosing charitable or humanitarian work over a week at the beach during spring break, the Associated Press reported, and baby boomers with money to spend and time to donate also are fueling the trend.
“Immersion with volunteerism is so much more than you could get by sitting on a beach or on a tour bus,” Sally Brown of Ambassadors for Children told AP, adding that the number of travel organizations that offer voluntourism trips has probably doubled in the past three years.
The nonprofit Ambassadors for Children lets participants mix purpose with pleasure by boarding them at a four-star hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and allowing them to spend three of the eight days visiting an orphanage, library and preschool, AP said.
Mike Wood spent a recent vacation in Honduras, building latrines and pig pens in a village without electricity, running water or cell phone reception, AP said. He spent the days digging holes, pouring cement and cutting wood, and he managed to sneak in some visits to nearby Mayan ruins.
Some participants told AP that voluntourism is more draining than traditional vacations but much more rewarding.
“To see the people’s faces – they were so happy we were helping them. That’s something you don’t forget,” said Peggy Fuller, a North Carolina dermatologist who built houses in Sri Lanka.
Imus’ remarks reflect pop culture
When radio host Don Imus used a racial epithet to refer to members of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team, his remarks were indicative of a culture saturated with demeaning rap lyrics, Concerned Women for America said April 12.
“Both Imus’ remarks and pop culture laud the objectification of women,” Janice Crouse of CWA said. “We hope that Imus’ remarks about the talented women on Rutgers’ basketball team will be the tipping point that ends such language and prejudice in American media.
“MTV and other television and radio stations regularly air lyrics that promote selling women as prostitutes and are filled with degrading words about women,” Crouse added. “Last year’s Academy Award-winning song lauded the pimp culture. It’s time to say ‘enough already!'”
Morality in Media joined CWA in noting that popular culture has made trash talk acceptable among adults and youth alike.
“Companies that pulled ads from the Don Imus Show are to be commended, but companies should also pull ads from music channels that daily pour forth a cultural swill that makes the Don Imus insult look tame by comparison,” Robert Peters of Morality in Media said.
“The outrage directed at Imus is more than justified, but it will prove to be largely a hollow victory if corporate America continues to give rappers who degrade women, glamorize criminal and other anti-social behavior, and promote racial stereotypes a high-profit, high-profile national platform to corrupt the minds and hearts of children and to pollute mainstream culture,” Peters said.
Barna touts ‘revolutionary parenting’
Parents who faithfully and consistently apply God’s words on life and family have a better chance at raising desirable children, Christian pollster George Barna says.
A news release promoting Barna’s book, “Revolutionary Parenting,” mentions three dominant approaches to parenting – parenting by default, trial-and-error parenting, and revolutionary parenting.
“Revolutionary parenting, which is based on one’s faith in God, makes parenting a life priority,” Barna said. “Those who engage in revolutionary parenting define success as intentionally facilitating faith-based transformation in the lives of their children, rather than simply accepting the aging and survival of the child as a satisfactory result.”
Barna sought out young adults who considered knowing and serving God their top life priority, possessed a biblical worldview and believed that their main purpose in life is to love God. Then he worked back to research what parenting characteristics produced such children.