THE ONE REVOLUTION PROGRAM

"Be the change" in 2010!

One Revolution is a group program of travel and service in Central America, Asia and Africa - the only program we know of that takes you to three continents in four months!  One Revolution is the ideal gap year program because it gives you an overview of the whole planet by immersing you in life on three continents, and you can explore individually on each continent while you have the support of a group and great leaders.  Add in a guided contemplative journey and optional college credit and you have an unparalleled start to a gap year, or a perfect break from an academic environment.

Each spring (Jan-May) and fall (late August - mid-Dec), a group of people ages 17 and older travel together around the world and do three periods of volunteer service:  in Guatemala, India and Uganda.  The program is bound together with three contemplative retreats that allow your inner growth to keep pace with your dramatic outer journey.

ONE REVOLUTION - The program at a glance:

One Revolution at a glance

The purpose of this journey is to:

"When historians look back on our century, they may remember it most, not for space travel or the release of nuclear energy, but as a time when the peoples of the world first came to take one another seriously.   The change that this new situation requires of us all - we who have been suddenly catapulted from town and country onto a world stage - is staggering.  Twenty-five hundred years ago it took an exceptional man like Diogenes to exclaim, "I am not an Athenian or a Greek but a citizen of the world."  Today we must all be struggling to make those words our own.  We have come to the point in history when anyone who is only Japanese or American, only Oriental or Occidental, in only half human.  The other half that beats with the pulse of all humanity has yet to be born. - Huston Smith

In terms of abundance and opportunity, Americans are among the most privileged people on the planet.  If everyone on the planet were to have the standard of living of an average American, we would need SIX planets to support us!   What is our responsibility to this level of privilege?  Is it "responsible" not to think about this?   One Revolution is a chance to learn how people live in other parts of the world – in regions that don’t enjoy our level of affluence and abundance.  Through such “deep travel” we can begin to envision how we might respond to global problems, rather than being an unconscious contributor to them.

One Revolution outside of the Taj Mahal

A quote from a Spring 2009 One Revolution participant:

"I want to say that this semester has been one of the most incredible times of my entire life. I have had absolutely wonderful volunteer experiences that I will never forget. I have learned so much about life, the world, and myself along this wonderful journey. All three countries have been spectacular and uniquely beautiful in their own ways. Working in the AIDS/TB hospital in Guatemala completely threw me into this experience full time. In my first week I was already interacting with patients who didn’t speak one word of English, administering medications, and giving injections. Here was also my first exposure to the huge amount of HIV/AIDS education still needed in the world. I met grown working men who had no idea what it meant to be HIV +. I watched one of our AIDS patients deteriorate into eventual death in a matter of hours. It was certainly tough working here, but it was also a huge opportunity for growth and exposure to new elements of life. From hearing life stories and struggles of these lower class fruit pickers and ranch hands to gain property and feed their families to teaching them how to play chess (in Spanish…haha) to just sitting with a lonely patient even when we couldn’t communicate; the whole experience was absolutely tremendous...

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The beginning, middle and end of the One Revolution journey incorporates contemplative retreats - two at the LEAPNOW campus north of San Francisco, and one in India.   These give participants time to get oriented and learn vital skills (conscious communication, agreements, integrity & transitions), to breathe and realize how much has happened.   The first retreat will help you prepare for the journey, and give the group some time to come together before traveling.  The second retreat (in India) and the final retreat back in the U.S. give you time to harvest your learning, take time to digest your experiences, and connect your internship experiences to your specific life purpose.

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