CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE Feb. 18, 2018
On Sunday afternoon, the community came together for a spaghetti dinner at Shawville United Church to raise money for a girl with local roots who’s looking to make a positive change in the world.
Deanna Valin, is no stranger to volunteer trips. In 2011, she travelled to Costa Rica to work conserving turtles habitats. She also worked in orphanages and various other volunteer organizations in Asia during a year abroad.
“I want to preserve nature and animals, I have a passion for that,” she said, explaining that her newest adventure would take her to the South American country of Peru.

“The organization I’m going with is Operation Groundswell (OG). It’s a non-profit organization (NGO) that connects partners with local charities and NGOs around the world,” she continued. “You can go to other places abroad but Peru was the one that stood out for me because it’s all about environmental health and human rights. It really spoke to me.”
Valin said that another reason she chose the organization is due to their transparency and unique spin on volunteering and environmental activism.
“I was kind of itching and scratching to go in November and my friend suggested OG because they’re really low-profit,” she said. “I think only two to eight per cent of the actual fees go towards administration costs. Which is super, super low, it’s a lot lower than other volunteer programs.”
Billed as “backpacking with a purpose,” OG offers packages where participants travel remote countryside and help local NGOs along the way, both financially and physically. Valin explained that she will be paying her own travel costs and the money she raises will be going to three Peruvian NGOs.
“The first place we’re going is really, really remote,” she said. “I’ll be staying with the Maska tribe, which is a tribe that lives within the Andes boundary. But to get to their community is a three-day hike. There’s no roads to get there, it’s a self-sustaining community.”
There, Valin and her team will work with locals on a organic farm and experience their culture first-hand. Then they will trek down to the edges of the Amazon and work with Derechos Humanos Sin Fronteras, an organization that defends environmental rights.
“We’re going to provide, again, financial support and the physical support of being there,” she explained. “Hearing their stories and then coming back home and hopefully spreading more awareness about this issue.”
Valin was excited to play a part in preserving one of the largest and most diverse habitats in the world.
“The Amazon, I’ve always been fascinated with. I’m in awe of nature,” she said. “It really hurts me whenever I see photos or hear about national mining companies, that don’t live on that land, coming in and destroying all the amazing things that live there and the livelihood of the people that live in the area.”
A shrewd operator, Valin planned out the dinner to coincide with the end of Sunday services and she was extremely pleased with the turnout.
“We had the first wave after Church was done,” she said. “I kinda got overwhelmed, like emotional, because it’s really nice to see all the support from the community.”
She thanked everyone that helped out or donated food and baked goods to the event, especially her parents Rick and Carole, who were slinging plates of pasta like nobody’s business.
Those wishing to donate can visit Valin’s Gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/backpacking-with-purpose.