l remain unanswered – or the answers we have accumulated are not satisfactory enough. Although we learned much about human kind and the world, and we had enormous technological improvements changing our lives (for the better?), some genuine aspects have never changed. We might have forgotten or put aside our emotions, feelings, and our innate altruism. Today, we realize once more that humans have emotions and they are not always profit-seeking or utility maximizing. As articulated in the article of Ernst Fehr and Urs Fischbacher The nature of Human Altruism, “experimental evidence indicates that human altruism is a powerful force and is unique in the animal world” (Nature, vol. 425, 23 October 2003). Yes, we do things without seeking any profit and it is in our nature. Discrepancies still exist and maybe more flagrant than before. Observing the big picture can be overwhelming since it enables us to see how clear the asymmetries are regarding the life conditions around the world. On the one hand we see the developing and underdeveloped countries where people lack bare minimum standards; housing, food, sanitation, electricity, health services, education and many more social services. On the other hand we see that developed countries have stable economies, high welfare, and for citizens of these countries achieving a decent life standard is relatively easy as opposed to a “life & death matter”. Although, this absence of life struggle is an undeniable advantage to be a citizen of a developed country it does not always imply happiness. As a famous aspect of human behavior, our brains have biases and love to take things and situations for granted. Hence, we appreciate what we have less and less. Obviously there is a shortcoming in the equation relating happiness to utility maximization, and this is what we have been progressively losing: human contact, emotions, feelings or even our creativity. Consequently, you can meet many first world citizens who have a decent life but seem to be extremely bored. Some fill this “void” with material things, some identify themselves with a certain persona, e.g. This, I believe, is comes from the lack of a real meaning of life; living like a human being as opposed to a formatted machine, by embracing our emotions and our nature which would in turn give space to our altruistic nature to manifest. Helptourage proposes a whole new way of “filling this void”, which enables them to jump in the virtuous cycle of happiness via helping – connecting. Helptourage gives a chance to humanity to start something good from the very bottom. Undeniably, there is already an existing inflow of resources from the developed countries to the rest of the world. Although, we struggle to decide on the limits of helping others in the Western world, the need is continuously increasing. I hear more and more people who are willing to be involved in altruistic activities, i.e. Mostly they are discouraged by the rules and regulations to be followed, e.g. in volunteering. Certainly, we need to pay homage to NGO’s who undertook the role of humanitarian work in the modern society. Nonetheless, with their institutional structure they are unlikely to soak the potential that is out there. I am convinced that there are more ways that we can implement in order to fulfill more needs. This can happen with a more liberal approach: fewer burdens, less financial requirements, more creativity. By the same token the spectrum of humanitarian work would broaden as well. These ideas are already out there, and they are waiting to be heard, spread around and implemented. This trend has already started: for instance there exist platforms aiming to help elderly people with some tasks as grocery shopping. This is not merely helping; it has an equally important aspect of re-establishing the human contact, which has been drastically decreasing over the last decade. Helptourage aims to accelerate the creation new ideas such as www.circlecentral.com. Also, the “one-platform” approach that it proposes would decrease the costs for the NGOs as well, whereas for the fundraising the cost per spending would diminish allowing higher influence on the welfare of the people in need. Helptourage promotes the transmission of new ideas bringing solutions to new problems that arise with the continuous technological development. We all have our views and ideas on these new ways of doing and living. However, only few of us find the right platform to make our ideas to be a candidate for a new solution. Hence, Helptourage acts as catalyzer giving your ideas the possibility to be shared. There are no limits to our creativity and the possibilities that we can create but ourselves. We can happily live with technology without adopting a dualistic approach to classify it as good or bad, this is possible by using it as a tool to leverage our altruistic activities. Experiencing the joy and enchantment of doing something without expecting any return once will enable us to re-connect with people, giving hope and restoring the faith for humanity. When it comes to me, being guided by my inner feelings and my background, I made the decision to walk for what I believe in. During my walk, I will be sharing my vision and mission with the people who I will encounter from different countries, cultures, religions, races and backgrounds. Also, through these encounters I will try to figure out how we can help others in better ways and to see what we can create together by collecting ideas and insights on the way. On my journey I will be using my skills and knowledge to do something for others for free. Although I will have my tent with me the whole time I will be glad to stay with locals and good people to share a moment with them wherever I will be welcome. You will be able to see my location on this website and I will be happy to meet you to hear your opinions if I happen to be crossing your area. I would like to underline that Helptourage is not about money; instead it welcomes everyone who would like to be a part of this movement by connecting through any platform that you find below. Your insights, comments, ideas and propositions will be greatly appreciated while strengthening Helptourage’s solidarity. Connect and be a part of this family! So the walk begins,
True Love.
