Volunteer abroad

Everybody wants to change the world. In my case I want both changing and getting to know the world. I have always loved doing social work as well as travelling. So why not put both things together?

That's what I did in 2015. I went to Cape Town, in South Africa to teach English to kids in townships (poor neighbourhoods). I spent a month there and I definetely learned more than what I taught. It was an amazing experience that everybody should have at least once.

My work

If you know anything about South Africa you must be wondering why would I teach English to southafricans if that's their official language? Well, although English is the official language, there are many other languages spoken by people there. One of those is xhosa, a very different language that existed before europeans got to Africa.

In Masiphumelele, the township I volunteered in, it was the most spoken language. Kids knew very little of English - that's why I was teaching them. In order to get in school, get a job and comunicate outside of their neighbourhood they needed do know how to speak English.

But in the end, teaching wasn't my main job. I needed to take care of children from between 3 to 5 years old during the whole morning and afternoon, while their parents were at work. Me and other 3 volunteers had to watch 30 kids. It was really hard but also really fun. We did several activities to them such as drawing, singing, playing with Lego - sometimes we would even take them to the park or the beach (which were near by). We also fed them and prepared them for the nap time.

It was really nice to see all this kids so happy even though their life conditions was not very good. They lived in tin houses, in streets with no sanitation and no pavement, in a neighbourhood without easy acess to the city and they didn't even go to kindergarden. Most of them didn't have many clothes and sometimes they didn't have food in their houses. Despite all that, they lived happily - really inspiring.

The organization I worked for, called Ubuntu, also did some activities to improve and unite the community in Masiphumelele. Every day they would cook a big meal to distribute to kids and teenagers around the neighbourhood. They also had a free space for studying and playing, and once in a while they would make some cultural events there. Also, during Mandela Day holiday, they would gather a lot of food and clothes donations to distribute to people. It would create a great sense of community which made me understand a lot of the local culture.

What I learned

Living four weeks in a place like that made me realize we don't need much to be happy, and that we can achieve hapiness through other people's smile. In South Africa they have a motto, the same one that names the organization I volunteered to: Ubuntu, which means "I am because you are". That sums up the feeling of helping others and feeling the community sense: we are all one!

Also, I realised that we don't need to do much to change the world. If you manage to make a person happy every day, you're already changing it! Sometimes, we live in a bubble where we only make things for ourselves or for people we already know. But if you take a little time everyday to make something for others, or for your community or for the world in general, you're changing the world. It can be recycling, being nice to strangers, donating money to charity, volunteering at an organization - anything really!

Last but not least, I learned a lot from different cultures. Since the organization I worked for received volunteers from all over the world I met people from 5 different continents and each of them taught me a little bit of their culture. That's why I usually say I learned a lot more than what I taught.

Be prepared

I really think everybody should have an experience like that, but before going you need to know some things. It won't be an easy task - if it was, the world woudn't be such a cold place. There will be times you'll feed tired, you'll miss home, and you'll feel like shit.

It takes a lot of energy to stay calm, happy and enthusiastic in a place with a different country, where people need your help all the time. Also, you can never be prepared enough to see other people suffering and strugling, it touches you right in the heart. That's why I advice people to do volunteering in their own countries before doing it abroad.

Finally, you should also learn a lot about the culture and history of the country you're going to, or you can be seen as disrespectful or maybe face some hard time while volunteering. When you go to a different place, you're the different, so you are the one who need to fit in! You'll have to respect!

Other than volunteering

Besides volunteering I also could travel and party during my time in South Africa. I had almost every weekends of free time, so I managed to visit Cape Town's city center, go to parties, climb the Table Mountain, go to Boulders Beach, to Cape of Good Hope and even travel to other cities. It was amazing.

The company that organized all of this things for me was You2Africa. They recruit people willing to volunteer from all over the world and they organize the trips.

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