WIVP: Wharton's spirit of volunteerism
Paulami Kar, WG'04
Issue date: 3/24/03 Section: News
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Planning a vacation in China this summer? Or, maybe you’re thinking of visiting exotic locales such as Morocco or Panama. Well, a group of Wharton students is busily organizing trips to these, and other, countries around the world, but ours is truly an expedition with a difference!
For example, in Panama, you will find these Wharton students not at the usual tourist attractions but at the crafts store in Portobelo, a historic district that dates back to Columbus. Wharton International Volunteer Project members will be partnering with a local NGO for three weeks in May to design a marketing strategy for the handicrafts of the area, a mainstay of the 500-odd population of the district. In August, there will be yet another trip to the country, and this time, the Wharton group will be helping an NGO to train impoverished women in vocational skills and to provide support through legal assistance and micro-credit.
Or, if you’re in China, you may find fellow classmates in Shanghai, running an AIDS education workshop for local university students. Discussing AIDS is tricky business in China, so Wharton students will be called upon to use their ingenuity as well as games and role playing to increase awareness and educate the youth to prevent HIV infection. Another group of students will be traveling to Brazil to help children infected with HIV and work with an NGO that provides 150 kids with access to medical aid.
Just in case you’re still wondering what the Wharton International Volunteer Project is, (even after all the fun you had at the Winter Ball), let me briefly introduce this unique Wharton community to you. In existence for eighteen years, the Wharton International Volunteer Project, or WIVP for short, is a non-profit, student-run initiative that utilizes the business skills of Wharton MBA students to further the cause of social welfare in developing countries. Wharton students work pro bono with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and travel to developing countries around the world to work on a variety of economic and social development projects over the summer.
For example, in Panama, you will find these Wharton students not at the usual tourist attractions but at the crafts store in Portobelo, a historic district that dates back to Columbus. Wharton International Volunteer Project members will be partnering with a local NGO for three weeks in May to design a marketing strategy for the handicrafts of the area, a mainstay of the 500-odd population of the district. In August, there will be yet another trip to the country, and this time, the Wharton group will be helping an NGO to train impoverished women in vocational skills and to provide support through legal assistance and micro-credit.
Or, if you’re in China, you may find fellow classmates in Shanghai, running an AIDS education workshop for local university students. Discussing AIDS is tricky business in China, so Wharton students will be called upon to use their ingenuity as well as games and role playing to increase awareness and educate the youth to prevent HIV infection. Another group of students will be traveling to Brazil to help children infected with HIV and work with an NGO that provides 150 kids with access to medical aid.
Just in case you’re still wondering what the Wharton International Volunteer Project is, (even after all the fun you had at the Winter Ball), let me briefly introduce this unique Wharton community to you. In existence for eighteen years, the Wharton International Volunteer Project, or WIVP for short, is a non-profit, student-run initiative that utilizes the business skills of Wharton MBA students to further the cause of social welfare in developing countries. Wharton students work pro bono with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and travel to developing countries around the world to work on a variety of economic and social development projects over the summer.