WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 155608 [post_author] => 21 [post_date] => 2019-11-21 12:05:44 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-11-21 19:05:44 [post_content] =>

Dear Dragons Community,

Is global education a privilege thing? At both Where There Be Dragons and its nonprofit scholarship organization, called the Dragons Fund, we are constantly asking ourselves this question. We work hard to provide students from ALL backgrounds with access to Dragons programs. And we need your help.

Giving Tuesday (12/3/19) is the annual global generosity movement that supports nonprofits.

As you may know, Giving Tuesday (12/3/19) is the annual global generosity movement that supports nonprofits. For 2019, we've set a goal of "Ten in 2020": ten scholarships for students from all backgrounds to participate in a Dragons program next year. We have raised nearly 60% of the funds toward our goal, but still have over four more scholarships that need funding. These scholarships are only possible if we receive enough donations from the Dragons community. Did you know that you can establish a scholarship in your name, or in the name of a student or loved one? We think this makes for a pretty extraordinary holiday gift.

Did you know that you can establish a scholarship in your name, or in the name of a student or loved one?

Giving Tuesday is in ten days, but you don't have a to wait to visit www.DragonsFund.org and donate. Help us reach our Ten in 2020 goal! We'll be providing more details closer to December 3, including an Instagram takeover (11/25-12/3), a few email reminders, and updates on our progress.

The Dragons Fund is proud to offer need-based scholarships so that participants from all backgrounds may experience a transformational global education on a Where There Be Dragons program. None of it would be possible without your support. So, in the spirit of giving, allow us to give thanks to you for making these scholarships possible - and for encouraging global education in an increasingly urgent time.

ALL donations directly support scholarships for 2020 students who could not otherwise afford a Dragons program.

ALL donations directly support scholarships for 2020 students who could not otherwise afford a Dragons program. To give you an idea, here's how your Giving Tuesday donation to the Dragons Fund increases access to Dragons programs:

$25 to $150 provides grassroots support
$150 to $999 provides domestic flights and outdoor gear
$1,000 to $2,000 provides international flights
$6,000 funds a summer program, not including flights or gear
$9,000 funds a summer program, including flights and gear
$16,000 funds an entire semester program, including flights and gear
Learn more about Named Family Scholarships

Please reach out to my colleague Briana (by phone at 510-990-0271) or myself (by email at [email protected]) if you have any questions about the Dragons Fund. When donating, visit www.dragonsfund.org/donate. Every dollar brings us closer to a more conscious world. Many thanks, Courtney Zenner Campbell & Briana Bellamy

PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️

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#GivingTuesday and How You Can Help Make Global Education not “just a privilege thing”

Posted On

11/21/19

Author

Courtney Zenner Campbell

Description

Is global education a privilege thing? At both Dragons and its nonprofit scholarship organization, called the Dragons Fund, we are constantly asking ourselves this question. We work hard to provide… Read More

Categories: About Dragons, Engage, Announcements

Tags: Recommended, Alumni, Dragons Fund

WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 155593 [post_author] => 21 [post_date] => 2019-11-18 14:54:37 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-11-18 21:54:37 [post_content] =>

We know that Bolivia is on the minds of so many people in our community. We are passing along this article on the current situation in Bolivia written by Jacquelyn Kovarik, one of Dragons current South America semester instructors. The article is titled, Bolivia's Anti-Indigenous Backlash is Growing.

Jacquelyn wrote this article while the group was participating in a rural homestay in Tocaña, an Afro-Bolivian community in the Yungas region north of La Paz. The group has now safety rerouted to Peru.

Jacquelyn, thank you for so skillfully guiding your students through a tumultuous and historic moment in Bolivia's history, all the while crafting a thoughtful journalistic piece and keeping our community informed on this complex situation!

PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️

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Article on Bolivia by Dragons Instructor, Jacquelyn Kovarik

Posted On

11/18/19

Author

Dragons HQ

Description

We know that Bolivia is on the minds of so many people in our community. We are passing along this article on the current situation in Bolivia written by Jacquelyn Kovarik,… Read More

Categories: Engage, Announcements

Tags: Press, Advocacy, South America

WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 155582 [post_author] => 21 [post_date] => 2019-11-14 13:54:06 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-11-14 20:54:06 [post_content] =>

This weekend we hosted seven Student Ambassadors at the Dragons office-house....

IMG_1961

They worked (and played) around the clock to inform our projects & programming for 2020.

We feel entirely refreshed with their vibe & vision!

There's an Instagram Highlight that captures some of the action.

And if you're curious, you can learn more about about Dragons Alumni Ambassador program.

Ps. Want Dragons blog updates sent directly to your inbox? One email a week. Nothing markety. Unsubscribe any time. Subscribe to Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community. ❤️

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Alumni Ambassadors — Refreshing Dragons HQ with Vibe & Vision

Posted On

11/14/19

Author

Dragons HQ

Description

This weekend we hosted seven Student Ambassadors at the Dragons office-house. They worked (and played) around the clock to inform our projects & programming for 2020. We have an Instagram… Read More

Categories: About Dragons, Alumni Spotlight

Tags: Students, Alumni Ambassadors, Alumni

WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 155538 [post_author] => 1525 [post_date] => 2019-11-02 06:15:09 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-11-02 12:15:09 [post_content] =>

FIRST PLACE: JULIA HALLIN

North India, Summer 2019

"Taken in the beginning of a grueling, warm day of trekking. There was nothing but a sheer cliff beyond and an endless flat expanse of desert behind. Glorious."

SECOND PLACE: VICTORIA SULLIVAN

China, Summer 2019

"My Bangdong homestay sister who loves ping-pong."

THIRD PLACE: HOPE LANE

Madagascar, Summer 2019

"Looking out over Isalo before sunset."

Congratulations to our winners and thanks to all that submitted and shared such lovely images with us!

VIEW ALL PHOTOS

[post_title] => Announcing Summer 2019 Photo Contest Winners! [post_excerpt] => Congratulations to the winners of Dragons Summer 2019 Photo Contest... [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => announcing-summer-2019-photo-contest-winners [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-11-14 13:58:23 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-14 20:58:23 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/ [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw [categories] => Array ( [0] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 646 [name] => Alumni Spotlight [slug] => alumni_spotlight [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 646 [taxonomy] => category [description] => Featured Student Alumni and their projects/organizations/visions. [parent] => 0 [count] => 38 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 10 [cat_ID] => 646 [category_count] => 38 [category_description] => Featured Student Alumni and their projects/organizations/visions. [cat_name] => Alumni Spotlight [category_nicename] => alumni_spotlight [category_parent] => 0 [link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/alumni_spotlight/ ) [1] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 651 [name] => Announcements [slug] => announcements [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 651 [taxonomy] => category [description] => Announcements on: New Programs, Surveys, Jobs/Internships, Contests, & Behind-the-Scenes Activity. [parent] => 0 [count] => 51 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 14 [cat_ID] => 651 [category_count] => 51 [category_description] => Announcements on: New Programs, Surveys, Jobs/Internships, Contests, & Behind-the-Scenes Activity. [cat_name] => Announcements [category_nicename] => announcements [category_parent] => 0 [link] => https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/news/category/announcements/ ) ) [category_links] => Alumni Spotlight, Announcements )

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Announcing Summer 2019 Photo Contest Winners!

Posted On

11/02/19

Author

Dragons HQ

Description

Congratulations to the winners of Dragons Summer 2019 Photo Contest... Read More

Categories: Alumni Spotlight, Announcements

Tags: Photography, Contests, Summer Travel Abroad, Alumni

WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 155486 [post_author] => 21 [post_date] => 2019-10-18 12:14:35 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-10-18 18:14:35 [post_content] =>

Before Megan Fettig joined Dragons as an administrator, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small rural community in southern Senegal from 2000-2002. Here's a series of black and white photographs she took while living in the community that, over the past 14 years, has welcomed, taught, and cared for over a hundred Dragons students. Her artist’s statement is included with the gallery.

This series of work has been exhibited at the Alliance Frances in Accra, Ghana, the National Museum of Ghana in Accra, Ghana, and PII Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the photos in the series was awarded a second place prize in a juried exhibition at the University of Alaska. Please enjoy this digital version of her gallery!

Manthiankani: A Photographic Tale of Life in a Senegalese Village

Photos & words by Megan E. Fettig

The roosters crow, there is a consistent pounding of mortar against pestle as the women prepare the morning meal. My neighbors awaken, a baby wails, the men chat across the way in the Chief’s compound. A hot and unforgiving sun creeps above the proud palm trees on the eastern horizon and I rise from my spot of slumber under a growing mango tree. I wander out into the day, to greet each member of my family; my host mother, father, my grandma, my dad’s second wife, my teen-aged brother. My two year old sister spots me and runs in my direction on wobbly legs grinning to greet me as she jumps into my open arms. I greet the Chief and the women whose pounding stirred me out of sleep and then the children who somehow over the weeks turned into months turned into years, became mine. And I decide that the sun is just right, that my adopted family looks so perfectly beautiful in this rising light, that I must hold my clunky old Olympus passed down to me from my own father in a far away land. I hear the familiar click as each frame of film is exposed and the story of my relationship with Senegal unwinds. A story of connection, of beauty, and of how strangers took me into their homes and their hearts, how I became theirs and they, mine.

This is a story that was born of a dream. A tale of my experience living, crying, sweating, laughing, and growing in a small village called Mancankani (pronounced maan-chan-kan-ee) in the southern region of Senegal, West Africa where I spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I arrived in Senegal in April of 2000 after having spent a decade yearning to experience life in an African village. I longed to witness something pure, some quintessential elemental way of living that I had not experienced among the materialistic tendencies and the spiritual inadequacies of life in America. I wanted to walk barefoot, to feel deeply connected with people, the cycles of the moon, and the nuances of each season. I wanted to live the naive and romantic ideal of an African life. I wanted to move to the rhythms of an African drum, carry babies on my back, dance in the first falling drops of the rainy season.

Little did I know that I would indeed experience all those things and more. I neglected to imagine the frustration of trying to communicate with people of a different language and culture. My daydreams didn’t include feelings of intense isolation nor the hours and hours of anguished boredom with sweat running rivers down my stomach. Slowly, towards the end of two years, the frustrations eased, the isolation somehow transformed into connection, my expressions learned to lean towards laughter. The strangers I lived amongst evolved into neighbors, friends, and family. Their lives revealed wealth to me, perhaps not the type of wealth we try to cultivate in the West; this wealth is more subtle, it dwells closer to the earth, it’s gem is the sparkle of an African sky on any given night, it’s heart is in family, in simply living close to each other.

My hope is that these photographs build a bridge from one human family to another. View them and set aside the traditional misconceptions of Africa; the idea that only poverty, illness and war stricken lives reside there. Experience the mornings when I picked up my camera as the sun rose over the distant palm trees, now two decades ago. See beauty in the face of simplicity so you can know a people who possess the traits of easy laughter, immense hospitality, and an openness to inviting a stranger into their home and calling her their daughter.

In 2005, Megan Fettig co-created and guided Dragons first program on the African continent bringing students to her Peace Corps village in Senegal. The holistic, community centered, and off-the-beaten-path style of Dragons programs captured Megan’s heart and in the past dozen years, she has continued her involvement with Dragons in several capacities including Instructor, West Africa Program Director, Marketing Director, and most recently, Co-Director of Adult Programs.

Ps. Want Dragons blog updates sent directly to your inbox? One email a week. Nothing markety. Unsubscribe any time. Subscribe to Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community. ❤️

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Manthiankani: A Photographic Tale of Life in a Senegalese Village – A Photo Gallery by Megan Fettig

Posted On

10/18/19

Author

Dragons HQ

Description

Before Megan Fettig joined Dragons as an administrator, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small rural community in southern Senegal from 2000-2002. Here's a series of black… Read More

Categories: Global Community, Mixed Media

Tags: Photo Essays, Photography, Africa

WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 155475 [post_author] => 21 [post_date] => 2019-10-15 15:34:08 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-10-15 21:34:08 [post_content] => The following is an excerpt of a recent letter that Executive Director Reed Harwood sent to Dragons instructors, past and present. It offers some history on the new Bishop Paiute Scholarship, which is the result of a relationship between Dragons staff and the indigenous tribe that lives near the site of Dragons annual staff orientation in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains.

Dear Instructor Community:

“I believe in gatherings” said Paul Chaves, a member of the Bishop Paiute Tribe. “And when you gather good people… that’s powerful. This is powerful.” We shared a canopy of stars, the dusty forest floor, and the piñon breeze. We gathered in the current and ancestral home of the Paiute: the Payahuunadu, aka the Owens River Valley, aka the annual site of Dragons Staff Orientation in the Eastern Sierra.

Dragons and the Bishop Paiute forged a connection in June of 2018, when a small group of Dragons instructors visited the Paiute tribe on their land in Bishop. The Dragons delegation had collected seeds from Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala, Madagascar, Thailand, India, Laos, and Mexico for the Paiute’s Food Sovereignty Program. Later that week, a small group of Paiute representatives visited Dragons Orientation at the mouth of Rock Creek. We broke bread, they wondered and laughed at our “Talent Show,” and in Paul’s words a “friendship and allyship” was born. This year, we again participated in their Food Sovereignty program. They shared a meal with us at the our orientation campground, performed traditional songs and spoken word poetry at our talent show, and returned the next day to sell artisan goods at our global market.

Paul told me the ancient myths of the condor and the eagle, and the connections between his people and the people where the Andean condor flies. His people have always been global travelers. “The Paiute are a sovereign nation,” he said, “and our voice is needed at the global table. We’re getting there, but our youth need more global perspective and connection.” I felt the call of reciprocity pulse through my body. The ancestral home of the Paiute has held us for decades, and the Dragons community can now support the Paiute in gaining access to global engagement.

This fall, the Dragons Fund created a scholarship: the Bishop Paiute Scholarship. This annually-awarded, full-ride scholarship will support Bishop Paiute youth on Dragons programs.

As a Dragons staff member, you have received inspiration and solace from the Payahuunadu, the land of the Paiute. You believe in the power of global education. You know how vital it is to have indigenous representation at the table, as we navigate the survival of our collective history.

Over the next four months, Courtney Zenner Campbell* and Briana Bellamy* will guide the Dragons Fund’s “Ten Scholarships in 2020” campaign, which includes our goal to provide one full-ride summer scholarship to a Bishop Paiute student. Their campaign is just beginning, and they will need your help. If the spirit moves you to support this scholarship, when donating, simply write “Bishop Paiute Scholarship” in the “Add Special Instructions” section.

You will hear from Briana and Courtney soon about this important initiative. Thank you, in advance, for considering this effort.

Reed

*Former Dragons instructors and administrators, Briana Bellamy and Courtney Zenner Campbell currently manage the Dragons Fund and its fall “Ten in 2020” campaign. Their goal is to raise money for ten full scholarships for students who could not otherwise afford to participate in a Dragons program. You can learn more about the Ten in 2020 campaign at www.DragonsFund.org, or by reaching out to Courtney ([email protected]) or Briana ([email protected], 510-990-0271).

Ps. Want Dragons blog updates sent directly to your inbox? One email a week. Nothing markety. Unsubscribe any time. Subscribe to Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community. ❤️

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Dragons ED, Reed Harwood, on Gatherings & The New Bishop Paiute Scholarship

Posted On

10/15/19

Author

Dragons HQ

Description

An excerpt of a letter that Dragons Executive Director, Reed Harwood, sent to Dragons instructors to offer history on the new Bishop Paiute Scholarship... Read More

Categories: About Dragons, Announcements

Tags: Advocacy, Dragons Fund, Scholarships

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Where There Be Dragons

Dear Dragons Community,

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PS. WANT DRAGONS BLOG UPDATES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX? ONE EMAIL A WEEK. NOTHING MARKETY. UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME. SUBSCRIBE TO DRAGONS BLOG AND STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY. ❤️

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This weekend we hosted seven Student Ambassadors at the Dragons office-house....

Ps. Want Dragons blog updates sent directly to your inbox? One email a week. Nothing markety. Unsubscribe any time. Subscribe to Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community. ❤️

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Manthiankani: A Photographic Tale of Life in a Senegalese Village

Photos & words by Megan E. Fettig

Ps. Want Dragons blog updates sent directly to your inbox? One email a week. Nothing markety. Unsubscribe any time. Subscribe to Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community. ❤️

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Ps. Want Dragons blog updates sent directly to your inbox? One email a week. Nothing markety. Unsubscribe any time. Subscribe to Dragons Blog and stay connected to the community. ❤️

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