So what’s all the fuss about?

So you are the new volunteer in your village and somehow you think your presence doesn’t mean much at the moment you stepped foot on this foreign land.  Besides being an asset to the local organization that you have been assigned to work with for the next two years, you bring income and revenue to a lot of businesses.  The transportation that you take to and from work, the Centro(center of town), malls, touristy locations and other places.  Most Americans are naturally creatures of habit and are loyal shoppers, therefore when you find a vender in the market who has the best fruits, vegetables/meat you will only go to her, thus supporting her business and her family and will frequently visit the same bakery, drug store, etc.  We share our culture to the receiving culture.  I wear braids and now all of the ladies at my agency wear braids now.  We are more than just volunteers.  To our host families, we provide income so that they can improve the structure of their homes, or re-open a sari-sari store.  By virtue of being a foreigner, at times we are charged more for items until we gain the trust of locals.  In a way, we bring the same perks as a tourist just passing through but for two years.  Many of us don’t think about these contributions on a daily basis because we struggle with tunnel vision and think about what we are getting out of this experience. I am guilty of that of course and will go back and forth with this conviction for the next year and 9 months. Yes! I am counting down because two years from now I will be back home, so I have less than 2 years here in country.

For the agency we bring knowledge of programs that assist with the goals of capacity building and sustainability.  We also bring materialistic things such as updated manuals, and possibly a fundraising source for the organization.  We bring the new fresh perspective on the practices of the organization.  For me it is refreshing to see the organization is very organized from a western perspective.  The ladies at my agency want to learn the new dances or cultural dances.  The houseparent’s and social workers are curious to my marital status. In the community you find yourself a language tutor to help integrate into this new community as well as enhance your language skills.  This small payment for the tutor services helps as income for another family.  The bike that you purchase in the Centro helps the small family that sells.  This all helps the local economy because it is not money that is being paid out by the Host country government but rather the U.S. government.  Thus having a volunteer is a big deal for many communities.  For some host families who are more affluent and don’t want to accept a volunteers rent payment ($5000.00 pesos), they may choose to donate that funds to an NGO, thus our presents helps more than we can imagine. In my area I am given enough money to live modestly as natives do and am grateful for this opportunity.