swiss replica watches from his stint with the Peace Corps

By Mary Catherine OConnorDuring a break swiss replica watches from his stint with the Peace Corps in Peru, Dave Aabo spend a few days in Lobitos, a small fishing community on the Pacific Coast. There, he came upon a great northwest swell. And an idea. The first time I went to Lobitos, I was really impressed by the wave but theres no infrastructure [in town], says Aabo. While the opportunity was ripe for locals to start tourismbased businesses, they lacked the resources to take advantage of the areas growing popularity. So Aabo and a Peace Corps cohort, Kevin Fitzpatrick, started a voluntourism organization called Waves for Development in 2004.

The goal: to help Lobitos locals kickstart small, sustainable businesses with the help of tourists who are down for mixing some skillssharing in with their Replica Ulysse Nardin watches surf trips.Aabo and Fitzpatrick already had experiences developing sociallyresponsible enterprises and promoting adventurebased conservation programs during their time with the Peace Corps. After working out a sponsorship deal with Global Surf Industries to provide surfboards for local kids, they started developing their programs. Up to seven volunteers travel to Lobitos for each twoweek session. They pay $250 per week for food and lodging, staying with a host family.

Each day the volunteers help teach English language skills to the Lobitos locals, or they might help in another way, based on their expertise. Some help teach marine conservation, or the basic skills needed to build and sustain small tourismba Replica Vacheron Constantin watches sed businesses. Locals even learn the basics of surfboard repair. And, of course, teaching local kids how to swim and surf is a high priority too, says Aabo.There are some [Lobitos] kids that used to be really afraid of surfing, and some of them are now competing in area contests, says Aabo.