【推荐1】Are you looking for teen volunteer opportunities for 2024 that provide a rewarding experience that will stay with you for life? Every year thousands of teens choose to volunteer abroad with International Volunteer HQ(IVHQ)-the world’s most trusted provider of safe and affordable volunteer programs for teens.

Service trips for teens are available in more than 50 destinations and there are 17 teen volunteer programs for 16 to 18 year-olds. Some of the best programs in 2024 include Turtle Conservation in Bali, Animal Care in Costa Rica and Childcare in Tanzania. Or, if you’re wanting to volunteer with a group of students from your high school, IVHQ can tailor a program for your group too!

Benefits for volunteers:

There is no doubt that volunteering as a teenager is a meaningful way to broaden your education and add experiences that will stand out on your college application.

Crossing boundaries to work with partners from different parts of the world fosters global understanding.

Living in a country different to your own means that you will be involved in a new culture, cuisine, and way of thinking.

Guaranteed support:

Chances are your parents will also want to learn more about IVHQ, whether or not they will go abroad with you. Having placed more than 130, 000 volunteers abroad, we’re always happy to speak with parents to ensure all their questions are fielded. Through our online safety training, comprehensive information brochures, on-going support from experienced program managers and round-the-clock support from our local teams, IVHQ volunteers are well supported to make the most of the time abroad.

If you’re ready to pack your bags and experience a completely different lifestyle and widen your global perspective, please contact us. IVHQ will be more than happy to offer a service.

【推荐3】2022 Earthshot Prize Winners

The Earthshot Prize is a 10-year project by Britain government that aims to find solutions to the biggest environmental problems the planet faces. The hope is that those solutions can be shared and repeated around the world. Every year, four prizes are awarded and each prize-winner wins ＄1. 2 million for their efforts.

Protect And Restore Nature

Kheyti won the prize for protecting and restoring nature with its “Greenhouse-in-a-box” idea. The company provides a simple, large greenhouse to small farmers at a low cost. The greenhouses allow farmers to use 90% less water and produce seven times as much food. The company is already working with 1, 000 farmers across India Kheytihopes to get its greenhouses to 50, 000 farmers by 2027. Clean Our Air Charlot Magayi won the prize for cleaning the air. After her daughter was burned by a charcoal-burning stove, Ms. Magayi developed a safer, cleaner stove, called the Mukuru Clean Stove. Ms. Magayi’s stoves use a different fuel that’s cheaper and pollutes far less than charcoal stoves. Currently. over 200, 000 Mukuru Clean Stoves are being used in Kenya. In three years, Ms. Magayi hopes to increase that number to 1 million.

Revive Our Oceans

The Revive Our Oceans prize was won by the Queensland Indigenous Women Rangers Network (QIWRN). Over the last four years, QIWRN has trained 60 indigenous women to help protect the environment. The women learned to use modern tools like drones. They also shared important history of Australia and information that’s been passed down for years among their people.

Build a Waste-Free World

A London-based company called Notpla (for “Not Plastic”) won the prize for building a waste-free world. Their plastic substitute is made from seaweed, and breaks down naturally with no microplastics. In 2022 alone, the company has made one million Notpla take away food boxes, replacing similar plastic-coated boxes. By 2025, the company hopes to increase that number to 25 million.

【推荐2】Some pals and I were in the midst of a pinball competition at a bar the other night when the machine kept breaking down. We called over a very busy employee who’s responsible for helping keep the place running. He put everything aside to fix our problematic pinball machine twice.    1    A couple of the guys immediately objected, saying the employee was just doing the job he was paid to do. I insisted and got the group to agree to the plan, although somewhat reluctantly.   

My pinball wizard didn’t stretch out his hand, but how many times have we run across those payment screens that suggest a 20% tip for being handed a sandwich we ordered?    2    There is data to back up the trend: 66% of American adults have a negative view of tipping, and 32% say they’re sick of those payment-screen hints, according to a recent Bankrate survey.   

    3    I admit there are times I suspect the tipping thing has gone too far - say, when I’m at a self-checkout line and there’s still request to leave something extra. But I’m generally willing to err on the side of caution: If someone is expecting a tip, I’ll assume they have financial reasons to do so.     4    

Plus, tipping is good karma (因果报应). It’s always worth it to tip in unexpected situations- ones that don’t necessarily involve a hint on a payment screen.       5    He was so grateful for the $10 tip that later that night, he rewarded our group with well more than $10 in free tokens (代金券) for future play.   

So next time, there must be no arguments with my friends when times come to tip.

【推荐1】In a breathtaking incident in Berlin, a young man narrowly escaped a life-threatening situation where he became trapped beneath a bus.

The 16-year-old found himself unable to move beneath a tyre (轮胎) of the bus when   he fell down during an attempt to catch the departing vehicle at a local stop on a Monday afternoon. The quick response of the bus driver, who immediately stopped the vehicle, coupled with the assistance of roughly 40 people, including both passengers and bystanders, led to a remarkable achievement. Together, they managed to lift the right side of the bus sufficiently to free the young man.

Frank Kurze, one of the courageous volunteers who participated in the rescue, recalled the messy scene, stating, “I saw the men trying to lift the bus, and it was clear to me that I also had to help lift the bus and try to pull the young man from underneath.”

Nearby medical professionals from a healthcare center in the Spandau neighborhood of Berlin instantly arrived at the scene to provide vital first aid. Michelle Rueckborn, one of the nurses on duty, shared their response, saying, “We were at work when we heard screams, and our coworker looked out of the window and saw what had happened, and said ‘Grab the doctor’s kit and run.’”

Sandra Grunwald, another nurse present at the scene, added, “He was responsive but understandably confused, unsure of what was unfolding around him.” Despite the frightening circumstances, the young man unbelievably survived with only minor injuries, thanks to the collective effort of around 40 individuals who came together to perform a heroic rescue.

The Berlin police department praised the collective efforts of those involved in the rescue as “heroes” and expressed their gratitude on social media, stating, “Thank you, Spandau. Thank you, Berlin.”

【推荐2】All seven people have been rescued from a stricken cable car high above a remote Pakistan valley, a spokesman for the state-run emergency services said.

Pakistani authorities said army commandos (突击队), with the help of civilians, made the final rescues after an operation lasting hours. Floodlights were installed and a ground-based operation reached the remaining two people late on Tuesday more than 12 hours after their cable car was damaged, leaving it hanging unsteadily at an angle.

A helicopter had earlier plucked two children to safety before darkness. High winds meant the air rescue had to be called off. Rescuers used the cable keeping the cable car from plunging (突然向下冲) into the valley as a zip line to rescue three more children. Relatives of those trapped prayed while watching the operation and anxious crowds gathered on both sides of the valley, which is in a mountainous area of Battagram, about 125 miles (200km) north of Islamabad.

Several military helicopters had earlier in the day flown sorties and an airman was lowered by a set of bands to deliver food, water and medicine. Commandos could be seen on local TV trying to lower themselves on ropes from the helicopters to the cable car. An expert confirmed that the rescue was delicate because the wind created by the helicopters’ blades could further weaken cables holding the car up in the sky.

The children trapped were teenage boys studying at the government high school. The school is located in a mountainous area and there are no safe crossings, so it’s common to use the chairlift. People who live in the northern mountainous regions of Pakistan often use chairlifts for transport from one village to another. In 2017, 10 people were killed when a chairlift cable broke sending passengers plunging into a valley in a mountain hamlet near the capital, Islamabad.