I recently arrived back home after spending two weeks in Cambodia volunteering with RAW Impact Org, a non-government organisation which focuses on raising awareness worldwide for those struggling in Cambodia. Not only did I pick up power tools for the first time in my life, but I successfully used them. On top of that, I am also proud to say I learnt that 'cladding ' is not actually a mathematical term, but the technique of applying one material over another for multiple reasons; to prevent weathering, create a layer of insulation or merely for aesthetic purposes - in our case it was mostly the latter and heck yes did it look good!
To say I have one highlight from the entire trip would be a lie. There are many and if given the opportunity, I could quite easily write about these past two weeks for pages and pages. However, as I reflect back on the trip itself, there are three moments that stood out for me.
We arrived in Phnom Penh on Thursday morning and began our first day of work the following day. After roughly a thirty minute drive with a ten minute interval on the ferry we stepped foot on
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By the end of it all I had felt like my heart had been ripped out, beaten and knocked around and then put back in. I didn 't want to say or do much. I just felt numb. It was terrifying to learn all these things that had happened not so long ago and some of which are still happening today. How human beings can be so cruel to other human beings will never make sense to me. Cultural Day was extremely difficult and terrifying and trying to fathom exactly what had happened hurt a lot. That said, acknowledging these events that happened and still happen allowed me to recognise the repercussions in Cambodia today, which consequently made me fall in love with the people and the place that extra bit more, inspiring me to make the most of my time there and make a difference, big or small, in any way I
The most stressful and challenging situation was during my volunteering in the Rehab unit at the hospital. I was assigned to help a student therapist in assisting a patient in walking. The Patient was overweight and it usually takes more than two people when assisting the patient in walking but the therapist and the patient felt confidant enough that she would be able to walk without much help. When the therapist and I began to assist her in standing the patients knees buckled under her and she fell and began screaming in pain. The combined strength of the therapist and I were not enough to help get up and the only thing we were able to do was straighten out her legs and comfort her until more help came. I felt really bad what happen but
I have volunteered at the Salvation Army and have had some wonderful experiences there. For the past years I have been involved in helping children with their homework and I have read books to them. It feels really good when you see the children face expression when they finally get something it is a really good experience. The YMCA is another place I have volunteered, during my volunteering moments at the YMCA I felt like I helped the community so much. During the YMCA we had a chance to volunteer with the children’s hospital to take pictures around the community and write about what it affects us on. This was a great experience because it gave me a chance to speak up not only for me but for other people that probably think the same.
As joyous and merry as I was that day, things that year would turn for the worse. Paranoia was widespread after the bombing, because of this fear the government decided “it would be best” to place every Japanese American in Camps to ensure the safety of the country, disregarding our rights. So many things had been stripped away, our money, our house, just being in that camp slowly destroyed the bond I had with my family. It had only been a few weeks and I already felt a divided forming between all of us. What was once a crazy, chaotic, yet comfy scene in the mess hall had turned into running off to sit with others in other blocks, realizing my mother was much too weak and feeble to make the trip to and from the mess hall, and just simply understanding that something as simple as eating together was an activity that was practically impossible to get back. Just imagine years of this disconnect and how much it tears a family apart, that’s the exact thing went through and I suffered a great amount of heartache and pain watching as my family slowly drifts
An experience I will always remember was when I went to Blackpool with my football team. It was early April 2009, my football team had enlisted in a tournament in Blackpool and we were eager to go.
Millions were killed and lost everything, including money, family, and dignity. However, it has taught many lessons. We can study it today to make sure nothing like it ever happens again.
The first time I started volunteering was last year and it changed my perspective towards a lot of things; from the way of looking at people to how my mind works. The impact it's had on my life has been immense and life changing. From there, I constantly tried getting myself involved in giving a hand and at the same time, to widen my knowledge.
Over the years I have been very involved in my community and school. Being a part of something helps to define who you are as a person and the principles and values you hold as important. A personal experience that helps to show my talents and skills can be illustrated by my trip to Italy last April with the MHS Language Department.
Some of these facts were a shock to me and changed my view a little, but some are so profound they make you think twice. The biggest impact from all my research was the real life accounts of those who survived through it. Many of this information is hard to read, but I felt that it was a subject that I would like to learn more about. Doing this paper enlightened me and brought many things to my attention. My hope with this paper is to do the same for those who read it.
The reader is able to feel empathy and started to think if these tragedies happened to their family. This event showed the reader how teenagers were expected to work which induced empathy showed the harsh reality of Cambodia during
The tone of this story was very sad but also calm and relieved. Especially for the families and all they had to do to go through all the harsh things they had to do in the concentration camps. Most of the families split apart forever and some of the people in the
There are some misconceptions on the issues of charity and solidarity when volunteers work with individuals who are less fortunate. In his informative piece, “Rethinking Volunteerism in America” Gavin Leonard addresses the key differences between charity and solidarity and how it is often intertwined in the minds of volunteers. Charity involves individuals providing help to others without having the proper knowledge of the person’s needs and wants. These volunteers assume that their service is helpful. Individuals who make charitable contributions often make short term commitments instead of implementing a long term goal. In addition, Leonard believes that volunteers who have a charity mindset are solely trying to come out their own guilt
...from researching and writing about the events I felt I was transported to this time and place and I can really feel for the people of this country. Even when we read history books we are able to just take in the event as a historical time. It is easy to just read out numbers of slaughtered and oppressed like statistics but looking closer we must see that in the thousands who suffered and died there were brothers and sisters, moms and dads and little children. This unnecessary suffering was for greed and lust for power. This is a sad story that keeps repeating itself time and time again.
Volunteering enables an individual to make a positive impact on his or her community, while empowering the individual to better his or her life. This summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer at many diverse locations. From the hospital to the local library, I truly value my experience and treasure everything it has thought me. Volunteering lets us experience and learn things that we otherwise would not have learned; volunteering opens doors for us that we may not have been able to open before. Volunteering provides us with guidance and tolerance which we may use in the future to aid us in our decisions. At first glance, volunteering may seem to only benefit those who are helped, but on a deeper level, one can realize that volunteering benefits the volunteer as much as, if not more than, those who are helped. Not only does volunteering make a difference in one’s community, but it also helps the volunteer become a smarter, happier, friendlier and more caring individual.
A common misconception about volunteering is that it only helps the cause. Often times that aspect is the only part that is highlighted when the topic of donating time comes up. There is a different side of volunteering though. Many volunteers donate their time to help better the community they live in and the people that live in it. When they choose to do this they not only help others but they are also helping better themselves. Volunteering benefits a person by building connections with peers, improving family life, expanding career skills, overcoming self doubt, having lasting life impressions, and creating new opportunities.
A reflection of my volunteering experience can be summarized in two words: Life-changing. It is hard to explain the feelings that occur when you involve yourself in selfless acts for your community, such as volunteering. There is a feeling in your heart that you cannot ignore, maybe it is the happiness you feel or the overflow of emotions in helping others. In other words, it is a feeling in which you want to share with others. Maybe with a friend, maybe a classmate, maybe a family member, or maybe even a stranger. Either way, spreading how life-changing volunteering can be is a great start to making a positive change in your community by simply by involving others.