Successful Los Angeles-based Miu took a two-week trip to Nepal to volunteer with Kids of Kathmandu, working in remote and hard-to-access places to distribute solar lights to schools and contribute time rebuilding a school that was affected by the 2015 earthquake.

About her experience, Gene says: "It taught me never to assume what other people are going through or how they feel. A lot of volunteers I worked with felt sorry for the local Nepalese because they lacked material goods or education. However, I think that many of the locals were proud and had come to terms with their situation, so I didn't think feeling sorry for them was right."I learned from them to be thankful for everything I do have rather than be unhappy about what I don't have, like they demonstrated.

Gene's example shows that even a brief volunteer experience can deliver small-scale impact and provide lifelong takeaways.

On the impact of volunteering abroad: "The Nepalese were some of the most kind and giving people I have ever met and would go above and beyond to make me and the other foreigners feel welcome. I also learned that it doesn't matter where I am in the world, what is most important to me is connecting to people and, in doing so, I feel at home."

Another voluntter Tasha Prados said:

"I worked in a small, rural community eight hours south of Lima to increase access to potable water and sanitation and conduct health and hygiene education," says Tasha when recalling her volunteer work abroad. "One of my projects was an integrated household sanitation project in a small, marginalized community. We built the town's first sewage system and toilets, improved cookstoves (for women cooking on open fires), and replaced the water reservoir. We reduced trash burning by 90 percent and reduced cooking on open fires by 71 percent. Community members reported a 30 percent increase in drinking treated water. Availability of soap and towels at hand washing stations increased by 800 percent."

My Peace Corps service fundamentally shaped who I am and how I approach the world. I’m not afraid to venture into the unknown.

Tasha also had a wide range of volunteer experience overseas before she joined the Peace Corps following her college graduation. After a trip to Morocco in 2009, she realized she wanted to expand her original academic focus beyond Latin America. She began taking classes on Muslim civilization, South Asia and Africa, and studying Arabic. In the summer of 2010, she was able to secure a position as a Program Officer with the Live & Learn Environmental Education in the Republic of the Maldives and worked on an innovative gardening project designed to empower women, increase food security, and promote democracy.

She also took short trips over her spring breaks to, for example, build houses in Honduras with Global Villages, which is the international arm of Habitat for Humanity. She even volunteered at a local soup kitchen while she studied abroad in Madrid in 2009, showcasing how you can get involved in the community and give back, even while you're on a semester abroad program.

On the impact of volunteering abroad: "I know that everyone has an important story to tell and that communication requires understanding the other party’s culture and values. I also recognize that failure is part of the road to success, and that creativity, innovation, and grit can go a long way to resolving problems. It also laid the foundation for my career in communications."

Source