Volunteering in CZ...biggest social issues?

Discussion in 'Culture' started by caulfield2, Sep 19, 2006.

  1. caulfield2

    caulfield2 Well-Known Member

    No, it's not easy. Yes, many people want "quick fix" solutions. Every person has to find their "cause" in life. Some can spend all of their time on it, while many others have the intrusion of "real world" jobs, they need to pay the bills.

    The reality is that I was just trying to understand the situation in CR, with the benefit of hearing from different viewpoints and perspectives.

    Could I begin to compare any European Union country to Colombia, the country I just lived in the past year? No way, not even close.

    No matter what, being an American abroad, whether you're a Peace Corps volunteer or a civilian, you're going to have resistance, especially after the war in Iraq started.

    I've also spent a lot of time in Russia. There's more domestic violence there, there's a lot more alcoholism than the US...and hopefully the culture is changing for the better. Every country has its weaknesses. In another thread, I was criticized for criticing the United States, so you can't win. Yes, I could go to Zaire or the Congo and install mosquito nets to prevent people from getting malaria (something that's no longer an issue in most of the industrialized world) or tuberculosis. Some day I do intend to that, when I'm 50-55 years old and can devote all my time and resources but while I still am young enough and have enough energy tomake a difference (instead of just throwing money around).

    There's no way I could survive for the long-term in the CR without doing something to earn money, like teaching. What I was looking to do was find something to do in my spare to make my time more worthwhile.
     
  2. JJJ

    JJJ Member

    Ok, now I understand more.

    So your primary motivation to come to the Czech Republic is not volunteering, but rather just living here, working and, besides that, doing some volunteering in your free time?

    If this is the case, I am sure you will be able to find a lot of areas where you can help. But I suggest you confine yourself to big cities, where there are social problems more "universal" or "general". In the countryside, you as a foreigner wouldn't probably be accepted to deal with local issues.

    Social services (for old people, physically and mentally disabled, orphaned children etc.) are perhaps a good area where you can help. After you arrive in Prague, you will easily find NGOs and charities active in this area.
     
  3. caulfield2

    caulfield2 Well-Known Member

    Well, I don't want to live in Prague, but I will keep learning about Olomouc, Brno and Ostrava. One of those cities. I think Zlin is too small for me. I like a little culture....movies, museums, plays/theatre, hockey or soccer teams...things you find in the bigger cities.

    My dream job is to do non-profit work in the US (which I have done for over five years in a community where I know all the funders and problems) which is on a teacher's schedule, so I would have summers free, winter break and Spring Break to freely travel around the world.

    Right now, I'm writing a grant to do just that....but I won't know until the spring whether I will be getting the money or not.

    In general, I think the Millenium Villages Project through the UN and the Earth Institute, guided by Dr. Jeffrey Sachs at Colombia University, is one of the most effective models or templates for fighting poverty, health problems and lack of education in the world.

    Most of the problems of the world are centered in Asia (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) and Africa, of course. But every country has its own unique, distinctive problems.

    In reality, I always come back to the domestic violence shelter idea, but it would be a horrible idea for a man to be in charge of it.
     
  4. JayBee

    JayBee Active Member

  5. caulfield2

    caulfield2 Well-Known Member

    Yeah Jaybee....I also read the story about the guy from India who's working with the gypsies, the house building project/community and flood relief from 8 years ago.

    Can you find his contact information for me? I will definitely be up in that direction....everyone keeps telling me to go to Stodolni or whatever it's called.
     
  6. wer

    wer Well-Known Member

    But Zlín can offer this all. It's one of the most important film centres in the CR. And the ice hockey team? I dislike it, but I must admit it's one of the best in the CR.
     
  7. caulfield2

    caulfield2 Well-Known Member

    Well, I'll put it this way. I grew up in a city of 400,000 or so in Iowa.

    I live in a city of 1,400,000 and sometimes get bored (Kansas City).

    When I lived in South America last year, the city was 310,000 and I felt it was too small and confining sometimes.

    I guess I'll have a better idea after I visit.

    All I know is that I'm not really interested in living in Prague. Maybe I will change my mind?
     
  8. wer

    wer Well-Known Member

    But it's incomparable in the CR. Europe is much more uniformly urbanized. Towns (and villages) aren't so isolated. The commuting to another city could be easier than commuting within an American city of 1,400,000.

    BTW, I thought Kansas City is smaller, cca 140,000.
     
  9. caulfield2

    caulfield2 Well-Known Member

    Is the CR like Russia?

    Russia has lots of high-rise apartment buildings from the 60's and early 70's...so the population is compressed and the "perception" is that the city is smaller than it actually is.

    Kansas City is very spread out....it's what is called urban sprawl in the US. All of the wealthier people moved away from the inner core of the city to the suburbs....on average, it takes 45 minutes to an hour in the morning and returning home from work in the evening.

    There's actually more square inches of interstate highway (per person/capita) than any other city in the US.
     
  10. Rommie

    Rommie Well-Known Member

    Aww, Budějovice - it´s unfortunately too far from where I live, dzurisovak! :( Other half of our republic.
    But thank you very much for your kind offer, very appreciated! :wink:
    If you´ll ever need some info or stuff you can let me know, ok :)
     
  11. Rommie

    Rommie Well-Known Member

    "Is the CR like Russia" - NEVER say that again if you wanna live :lol:

    And YES, we´ve got very weird communistic architecture. I´m blessed with living in one of these buildings - we call them henhouses 8)
     
  12. eso

    eso Well-Known Member

    or rabbit hutches :)

    This photo is view from my window taken yesterday (Kladno, population 70 000):

    [​IMG]
     
  13. wer

    wer Well-Known Member

    Definitely not. Russian towns are much more younger and Russian population is more concetrated to these big centres.
    Czech country is relatively densely colonized since Middle Ages.
    We have also paneláks, but Czech population is less urbanized in this way.

    You can simply compare the American, Russian and Czech settlement using satellite maps at http://www.google.com/maps .

    All are urbanized in a different way, but the American and the Russian are more similar (big centres with rectangular blocks of buildings and large unpopulated areas).
     
  14. eso

    eso Well-Known Member

  15. Rommie

    Rommie Well-Known Member

    Home sweet home :wink:
     
  16. JayBee

    JayBee Active Member

  17. JayBee

    JayBee Active Member

  18. BMoody

    BMoody Well-Known Member

    I've just been studying Austrian city planning and the "ringstrasse" of Vienna. Considering the Austrian rule, was a "ringstrasse" ever used to remodel a Czech city? Just curious. I read that the Austrians thought Wagner's invention part of modernization and that they used it elsewhere. I've seen it in some German cities... but the bird's eye view of Prague from Google Earth left me thinking that Prague hadn't recieved much remodeling in the Austrian direction. Any ideas? (Since we are on the buildings topic anyway :0] )
     
  19. JayBee

    JayBee Active Member

    Kumar Vishwanathan
    Obcanske sdruzeni Vzajemne souziti
    30. dubna 3
    Ostrava 702 00
    The Czech Republic
    00-420-777-760-191
    kumar.vishwanathan@lycos.com
     
  20. Rommie

    Rommie Well-Known Member

    I´ve seen this guy in a TV already. Was kinda surprised 8)
     

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