Global Citizenship

The idea that people around the world are increasingly connected to global issues and see themselves as part of a global citizenry is part of the motivation to become involved in service, advocacy, and activism around the world. With this growing sense of global citizenship, many globalites seek alternative travel experiences that allow them to engage with global issues. They are eager to partner with local community organizations, particularly in the developing world, that focus on direct service and promoting sustainable community development. However, travelers seeking these volunteering or internship opportunities often find it difficult to find the right project with the right organization. They are in need of a centralized resource and intermediary organization that can ensure a high-quality field experience. Likewise, local organizations invested in community development projects seek ways to attract qualified volunteers and interns and to utilize these human resources in a sustainable way. AMAIDI bridges these needs, using a social networking hub to link high quality volunteers with local community organizations to guarantee a mutually beneficial partnership. In addition to this matching service, AMAIDI also provides all services related to volunteers’ travel needs while assisting host organizations in their own growth and the actualization of their goals. Underscoring AMAIDI’s work is a focus on sustainable development – development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” AMAIDI is committed to thoughtful and lasting partnerships with local communities in the developing countries it works in, in Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Community Based Projects

Working in housing project for tribal Irula’s in South-India

Since its inception in India, AMAIDI has developed partnerships with several community-based projects and groups around the world, detailing their needs to craft a wide array of volunteering and internship opportunities for responsible global volunteers. With a large portfolio of projects and organizations, AMAIDI is able to connect the specific talents and skills of volunteers to the identified needs of partner organizations. For a one-time service fee of EUR 299, interested voluntourists, travelers who aim to engage in humanitarian or other volunteer activities, can be perfectly matched with a partner organization or project that can benefit from their skills. AMAIDI is developing its capacity to provide all services related to the volunteer work and the needs of the volunteer, and is rendering consultancy to support local organizations in sustainable program development. Furthermore, AMAIDI is diversifying its portfolio of development-supporting interventions in the field, including bolstering social investment partnerships, supporting responsible tourism projects and other methods of long-term support. This offers our clients (both volunteers and local partners) a larger launch pad for continued collaboration and organizational sustainability.

Social Investments

This is about enabling money to travel to places where it is needed, as loans with a return on investment, fueling economic growth of local communities, making sure that everyone’s involved in a life-changing opportunity that money can offer. AMAIDI wants to create a virtual space where social investors (formerly known as ‘donors’) and those in who’s life the money is being invested, meet. In such a way that a lasting relationship is brought about between people that feel connected and have the means to bring out the best in themselves. AMAIDI aims at enabling financial resources to flow freely from places of plenty to places of scarcity, making sure that everyone gains. AMAIDI aims at promoting Community Investing which directs capital from investors and lenders to communities that are under-served by traditional financial services institutions. Community investing provides access to credit, equity, capital, and basic banking products that these communities would otherwise lack. In the US and around the world, community investing makes it possible for local organizations to provide financial services to low-income individuals and to supply capital for small businesses and vital community services, such as affordable housing, child care, and health-care.

Responsible Tourism

Responsible Tourism in Kenya

Whereas overseas volunteers are mostly unable to directly work with people in villages and urban pockets due to the language gap and social investors often deal ‘from afar’ with the communities they support, tourist are no less restrained in their contact with the locals in the countries they visit. AMAIDI wants to close the gap by making an effort to bring tourists in Africa, Asia and the Americas in close contact with village communities. Interaction with an aim to promote mutual understanding and create a sustainable livelihood space where the villagers are able to generate income for themselves. AMAIDI while supporting local responsible tourism initiatives, wants to ensure that an economic benefit is created for local people and the well being of host communities as a whole is enhanced; that working conditions of the villagers and urbanites involved in the RT programs exceed the local standard and are acceptable in the community; that it involves all local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances; that it makes a positive contribution to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage embracing diversity; that it provides enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues; that it provides access for physically challenged people; that the program is culturally sensitive and encourages respect between tourists and hosts, building local pride and confidence; and that it is integrated in the local ecosystem.

Vision

A world where human and financial resources flow freely from places of plenty to places of scarcity – a flow guided by compassion, human capital and research about sustainable solutions. AMAIDI seeks to use the connective power of the Internet to intertwine local needs with global resources, working towards inclusiveness of all members in a greater world society.

Mission

AMAIDI seeks to promote sustainable local development by connecting human, financial and material resources with the growing needs of community-based partner organizations in a mutually beneficial way through a global network of highly qualified project partners, country- and local teams, lead by small regional management teams, regulating the exchange of volunteers, contributing to the collective learning efforts made everywhere on our planet to deal with local challenges. Local partners may be smaller or bigger NGOs or CBOs, schools, child care centers, orphanages, health clinics, social enterprises and government agencies, where the need of the partner organization and the need of the volunteers, interns or professionals are perfectly matched, with all the services needed to succeed within close range. Our ambition is to be a focal point for the growing army of global volunteers, interns and professionals (and not only those from Europe and US) and for organizations that would like to receive them, matching supply and demand in either direction, whether short term or long term, as a single assignment or as a combination of travel and work, facilitating placement, guidance, logistics and accomodation.

Sustainable development

Where overseas- and local volunteers work together alongside our project partners’ staff as a result of which transfer of knowledge and experience takes place in a mutual process. The aim is to constantly deliver a refreshed view on the partner’s strategy and operations, so that learning organizations come about that are future proof in serving their beneficiaries: the urban and rural poor. With initiatives in the field of socially responsible investment, responsible tourism and development consultancy services, AMAIDI can offer its clients (both volunteers/interns as well as local partners) a launch pad for multiple forms of

continued collaboration and support.