So many of our volunteers who travel to Chile come back and rave about their experience; we thought we should let you see how much United Planet’s Chilean Country Coordinator, Paul, raves about the volunteers. Here’s what he had to say…
One of the wonderful host moms of Chile
What’s the best part about your country’s United Planet Quest?
The exchange of cultures between volunteers and community members. The volunteers’ stay with our Chilean host families usually makes a deep impression on them, and leaving Chile touches their feelings.
On my way to drop off volunteers at the airport, it’s been comments like, “I know I’ll keep in contact with my family” that have been the most common.
The host families have been selected because their objectives coincide with the mission of UP, furthering international understanding.
Another amazing host family
Many of our volunteers stay in touch with their host families afterward, so this represents a permanent effect of their quest. For example, a volunteer from 2006 came back to Chile this year and had dinner with her host family.
The warmth and quality of UP’s home stay families have been emphasized in our volunteers’ evaluations.
What was your most memorable moment with a volunteer or project in the past few months?
It probably was my meeting with one volunteer, Cynthia, after her first very challenging week at 4 different schools making presentations and lunching with 4 different groups of Chilean teachers. I was holding my breath because I thought it may have been too difficult. The first thing she said to me was “thanks, it was great”
The other was when a volunteer, Micala, told me she didn’t want to go to Viña del Mar for her last week as scheduled because she had fallen in love with the kids at the daycare center in Santiago and this was the reason she had saved her money to come to Chile. I had to cancel her Viña home stay and work site, realizing Micala had the most convincing argument.
What a difference volunteering makes!
Also, most recently with the Idaho group at a daycare center where their work was to do basic landscaping and painting outside. One of the group members found some old wooden desks that had been discarded in their backyard. He took them apart and in just a day and a half constructed a slide and a long table for the children.
He told me he just wanted to leave them with something. The group from Idaho were very hard workers and fast learners. The Costasur project would like to continue working with UP volunteers. (Read more about the group from University of Idaho)
Can you highlight some of the projects that volunteers from UP have participated in while you’ve been a country coordinator in Chile?
Busy workers at the construction site
Project #1 Home-building
-Volunteers are in charge of building houses for the poorest peoples, landscaping, starting vegetable gardens, improving water usage techniques, and implementing alternative energy sources such as solar panels.
The most recent volunteers spent 10 days building houses with a seven-member team of Chilean volunteers. They built 3 houses and worked form 7 am to 7 pm every day.
United Planet is probably the only international organization which is allowed to participate in this project. A USA student exchange program here was rejected.
Some of the students at the school program
Project #2 Teacher assistants
Volunteers have shown their CAP presentations and helped in as many ways as the teachers requested.
Examples of volunteer tasks at this project include helping Chilean English teachers in various ways and taking on responsibilities in the classroom. Sometimes the volunteers will teach a class. We are continuing to send volunteers to the foundation which operates 19 schools in Santiago for low-income families.
The last week in Viña de Mar was spent giving CAP talks to students in a technical school. The feedback from the schools has been very positive; they are always eager to welcome a new UP volunteer.
A volunteer with one of the Chilean children at the Rehabilitation Center
Project #3 Physical Rehabilitation – Childcare
Volunteers were asked to entertain physically handicapped children using puzzles, coloring books, etc. as they await their appointment with a health specialist.
Project # 4 Women’s Shelter
The volunteers were mostly in charge of organizing activities for the children (age 1 to 12) of the women who are staying at the shelter. This was a new site in Feb. 2009 for United Planet; we are the only organization sending volunteers here so the shelter was thrilled to receive our volunteers.
Thanks for sharing, Paul…find out more about how you can be a part of one of these incredible programs in Chile!
ABOUT UNITED PLANET
United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. Established in 2001, United Planet offers volunteer abroad, virtual internships, internships abroad, gap year volunteering, and global virtual exchange in more than 40 countries.
