There are two connotations associated with traveling: pleasure and purpose. Traveling for pleasure usually means the traveler will go somewhere to unwind and escape from the pressure of his or her life back home. Traveling with purpose or volunteering means the traveler has a specific goal or task he or she want to accomplish, whether alone or part of a team.

Both are rewarding in their own right, but the volunteer aspect is becoming a popular and cheap way for people to see the world while making a difference.

Matthew Bustin, an art student living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, traveled with purpose last March. Bustin flew down to Ecuador with a missionary team from Fall River, Nova Scotia, to help construct a nurse’s station at a camp outside a poor region of the country. The team stayed for a week.