“To volunteer is to see life from a different perspective. It is about meeting another self of yours, a self that is alive for others”
Volunteering is an act of bravery. It gives the person the chance to discover a life that is bigger than the luxurious things we usually aim for. Sometimes life is about giving your time to help others and also make a change. We often hear about people who decided to volunteer with AIESEC to go abroad, help others and contribute in making a change. However, have you ever wondered what their reasons were and how they could be similar to yours?
1 – Challenge your limits
Humans are often imprisoned in the bubble of their own fears, afraid of trying new adventures and seeking new things.
“To travel is to Discover yourself”
When you go on a volunteering internship, you’ll have the chance to know that you are indeed capable of doing wonders, and those things that you once thought you were incapable of will turn out to be possible.
“I have lived in a camp with more than 40 Refugees for more than 6 weeks. The amount of horrifying stories that I have heard and the pain that I have witnessed in the eyes of these people made me want to be stronger. If they had lived all of that and survived, why can’t I?
Atef, a volunteer in Italy
2 – Unleash the human within you
Volunteering will make you feel valuable. As humans, we are not born to hide ourselves away from the things that matter but to open our eyes and our arms for what is happening around us.
A volunteering experience abroad will not only give you the chance to travel to a new place and have fun but will also challenge your limits and push you beyond the barriers that you have set for yourself and shape you into a Global Citizen who is Solution Oriented, Self Aware and able to Empowers Others.
3 – Discover the world as you see it
It is undeniable that what the media is showing us is not the complete truth, and the only way to know for sure what is happening is by traveling and talking to people.
After going abroad, you’ll have the chance to see things from your own perspective. That specific nation that you have read so much about will somehow seem different from a closer standpoint.
4 – Say no to language barriers:
You can simply stay in your country and help so many people and do so many things, but you can also travel abroad and Spice up your adventure a little bit. Imagine living in a place where no one understands you and you barely understand anyone. How challenging would that be?
You’ll have the chance to discover that no language is more powerful than the language of the heart, and that no matter how hard it is, you’ll fill in your conversations with a nodding smile, because at the end that is what humanity is about.
5 – Contribute to changing the world:
“One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.”
– Gordon Hinckle
“Changing the world”. This 3-word statement has been around for as long as we can remember. Everyone has their own plan to change the world, some may choose the bad ways while others opt for good ones. You may think that spending a day at an elderly house may not change the world, but indeed it may . That person that you have helped once will make sure to do the same thing for others , that is how you’ll be able to indirectly impact a lot of people without even knowing it .
“Big changes has once started as small actions”
When you go into our opportunities portal opportunties.aiesec.org you will find thousands of projects around the world . Whether you’ll choose to teach Refugees a new language , Help elders or work with disabled people , you’ll somehow introduce yourself to a high level of self reflection about humanity and about yourself .
