Andresito and I working on his liberal arts homework.
-August 16, 2018 -
Today was a productive day, some volunteers and I went to speak with the local university “Universidad Amazonica” to see if there was any local students that would like to volunteer with the NGO. I proposed to take this initiative as an NGO, with the purpose to create more longevity in the projects that are started by foreign volunteers. I saw that there has been great projects proposed and carried on in the past, however there was no follow up once they left the NGO, that it is when my suggestion came in and was happy to receive support on this idea.
In the morning when we presented this idea to the university’s principle, she was very excited, she expressed that this iniciativa could definitely benefit the students getting some hands on learning from its own community. She told us that we could come back in the night time to talk to the students as it is a night school. We learned that most of the students work during the day time so they arranged the classes to suit the needs of the young people in Riberalta. After meeting with the principle, I went back home and asked Ludi, the NGO coordinator, if she could come with me, and also I prepared some sign up sheets for the students who were interested in volunteering. Around 7 pm we headed back to the university, classes supposedly begin at 7pm, however we waited some time for them to arrive. This was far different from what I’m used to seeing back in the U.S., where we see students that arrive even before the professors. I must admit I sort of enjoyed the informality, it created a more slow paced environment, I even felt more comfortable presenting. Ludi, helped giving a small background history on the NGO. I also prepared a small script on my experience as a volunteer so far and explaining how beneficial would be to have a local peer volunteer working alongside with me. After our presentations I handed the sign up sheet, and was happy to see that it was a success. We received various responses and even people that wanted to follow up with us to pair up. It made me feel very optimistic and happy to see that this was something that it was in everyone’s interest.
Finally, we headed home, where I started working on a spreadsheet with the possible volunteers information that way the NGO could use this to recruit community members when needed. Usually presenting is a very intimidating thing for me, however being confident in my idea and having had the chance to implemented felt really great.
Coming out of a successful talk with the local University’s Principle.
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