The whirlwind of our summer volunteer sessions has come to a close. I can’t believe it is over. I also can’t believe how much was accomplished! So much love has been shown, so many people have been served. We've seen a lot of personal growth and a lot of changing the world.
Lon Young, our ending India Volunteer Director said,
Perhaps our last volunteer of the summer, Dominique Dumas, sums up the overall take home message of this summer best by saying “Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make good things happen, you will fill the world full of hope; you will fill yourself with hope.”
All of these changes have caused us to reflect on the achievements of this past summer. It has been very enlightening o see each coordinator's perspective.
"This summer in education we have been able to succeed in several ways. However, I feel that the most important way that we were able to succeed was having the volunteers connect with the students. Through one-on-one work in English, reading, and conversation, volunteers were able to give the students the support they need. Volunteers are so important for the development of the students' English, and I have seen the students grow so much because of the volunteers giving their all when they came to education."
–Emily Hashey, Education Coordinator
Brooklyn Young, our ending medical coordinator, said this,
"RSO’s medical team had a busy and productive summer. We have served countless patients in the leprosy colonies and have provided numerous services for them, including medicine, assistive devices, physical therapy, and addiction treatment.
The good work that was done is largely due to the time and resources donated by our selfless volunteers. We are grateful for their generosity and are eagerly looking forward to the opportunities awaiting our volunteers and staff in the months to come."
Lon Young, our ending India Volunteer Director said,
"Claartje America, the construction rotation coordinator, flew back home to the Netherlands last Saturday. Although we miss her very much, work in the Chettipunniyam colony is continuing strong. The construction on the latrines has progressed significantly, and the volunteers and Indian workers have built the latrine walls nearly to their final height. Thanks to the hard work of the volunteers, we have been able to work steadily on completing the latrines. The last 3 weeks have consisted mostly of carrying sand for the laborers to make cement and plaster for the walls of the latrines. Over the last few days, the volunteers have been carrying sand to a machine that separates the larger pebbles from the finer sand, then carrying the finer sand back to each latrine to be mixed into plaster for the latrine walls. Although we were carrying sand on our heads almost the entire time, and were very sore by the time we finished the day, it was great to see so much get accomplished on the project.
One of the volunteers, Jordan Harline, said, 'I love socializing with the members of the colony as we work and getting to know them. It’s so great to meet the people that we’re serving in the colony.'"
Perhaps our last volunteer of the summer, Dominique Dumas, sums up the overall take home message of this summer best by saying “Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make good things happen, you will fill the world full of hope; you will fill yourself with hope.”
- Tuesday, September 30, 2014
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