Volunteer work from 8-20 May 2007
"I spent two weeks in Lima volunteering with two different organizations that were introduced to me through Generation Acts. The first involved working with Zoila, who headed ACAPAN (social welfare organization dedicated to improving social welfare of kids)
Zoila is a feisty 69 year old lady with a lot more passion and energy than a lot of yuppies I know. Her organization is dedicated to improving the lives of kids living in Huaycan, a shantytown 45 mins outside of Lima. They started small, by feeding kids a daily breakfast, and gifts on special occasions like Christmas and then moved on by taking them on excursions and involving the parents. Zoila speaks about as much English as I do Greek, so we had to make do with my mangled Spanish. We got along really well and I helped her update and translate (into English) some presentations and website. I also helped with sorting and packing of the breakfasts as well as toy donations for the kids and got to make a trip out to Huaycan with some of her committee members! I don't know how we connected so well, given that on the surface we had little in common, but we had several good conversations and even took walks in around the neighborhood.
I really enjoyed working with Zoila and the fact that she fed me every two hours with good home cooked Peruvian food certainly didn't hurt. Seriously though, she inspired me to believe that you can change the world, one kid at a time.
My other part of the volunteer project involved teaching kids English at Agape Children's Home. Which was a lot tougher than it sounded. Largely because the kids were more ADD than me and spoke Spanish at breakneck speed! I am not sure how much English they learned, but we had a blast! We sang songs, danced, played marbles, I chased them around and before I knew it, it was time for me to go.
My time volunteering in Peru came with its ups and downs but I would do it again in a heartbeat. It offered me an insight into the real Peru and I made some wonderful friends Ironically, my Spanish improved dramatically in my last two weeks in Perú.
"I spent two weeks in Lima volunteering with two different organizations that were introduced to me through Generation Acts. The first involved working with Zoila, who headed ACAPAN (social welfare organization dedicated to improving social welfare of kids)
Zoila is a feisty 69 year old lady with a lot more passion and energy than a lot of yuppies I know. Her organization is dedicated to improving the lives of kids living in Huaycan, a shantytown 45 mins outside of Lima. They started small, by feeding kids a daily breakfast, and gifts on special occasions like Christmas and then moved on by taking them on excursions and involving the parents. Zoila speaks about as much English as I do Greek, so we had to make do with my mangled Spanish. We got along really well and I helped her update and translate (into English) some presentations and website. I also helped with sorting and packing of the breakfasts as well as toy donations for the kids and got to make a trip out to Huaycan with some of her committee members! I don't know how we connected so well, given that on the surface we had little in common, but we had several good conversations and even took walks in around the neighborhood.
I really enjoyed working with Zoila and the fact that she fed me every two hours with good home cooked Peruvian food certainly didn't hurt. Seriously though, she inspired me to believe that you can change the world, one kid at a time.
My other part of the volunteer project involved teaching kids English at Agape Children's Home. Which was a lot tougher than it sounded. Largely because the kids were more ADD than me and spoke Spanish at breakneck speed! I am not sure how much English they learned, but we had a blast! We sang songs, danced, played marbles, I chased them around and before I knew it, it was time for me to go.
My time volunteering in Peru came with its ups and downs but I would do it again in a heartbeat. It offered me an insight into the real Peru and I made some wonderful friends Ironically, my Spanish improved dramatically in my last two weeks in Perú.
Voluntaria Internacional – Experiencia de voluntariado de Yeo Suan Wei
"Mi tiempo de voluntariado en Perú vino con sus altas y bajas pero lo volvería hacer sin dudar. Me ofreció una vista interior del Perú real y conocí algunos amigos maravillosos. Irónicamente, mi español mejoró dramáticamente en mis dos últimas semanas en Perú".
Click on the top right hand side x to watch slide show again:)
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