Traveling the World for a Year of Rotary Service

The Alba family is looking for projects in all areas of service around the world that they can engage in while traveling over the next year.  They are happy to go to schools in countries where you have projects, or to train teachers and administrators pro-bono if there is no project currently available.  

Have you every just wanted to travel the world for a year without anything to do but help people in need?  Have you every just wanted to sell your cars, rent out the house, and take an eastbound flight visiting new and exotic cultures and enjoying the fellowship of service for a year?  Well, one of the 5340 member families has decided to undertake this very thing.  Ivan Alba, his wife Elena, and daughters Isabel and Lily (who will be 9 and 11 during the trip) are planning their journey from August of 2015-July of 2016 which they are calling their Rotary Year of Service.

Together, the family plans to travel to Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. Then, the family will fly to Europe, and then to mid and south Africa.  The plans are to then travel to Jordan and the Middle East before going to India and China.  The trip will end in Japan, then Hawaii before returning to San Diego to restart their lives.  This year is the “year of details” when their duty is to set the itinerary and identify their hands-on projects throughout the countries where they will live. 

Ivan is an educational consultant in leadership and mathematics who trains teachers nationally and internationally on “best practices” to help students make sense of math.  Elena trains teachers in helping students learn English as a new language as well as literacy strategies. Isabel and Lily are wonderful with other children and embody the test “Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendship?” wherever they travel.