Erin in Ecuador

A 23-year-old member of the Springfield, Massachusetts’s community, Erin Duffy, is currently volunteering with United Planet to provide invaluable support to a community in Ecuador, while immersing deeply in Ecuadorian life and culture.

Erin Duffy left the United States in April 2006 in order to spend a year to work in an elementary school in Tonsupa, Ecuador. She teaches English and cultural fisica (physical education). For grades 2-7, there are a total of three teachers, each in charge of a pair of grades in one classroom. The walls of the school are made of bamboo with dirt floors and an outhouse for a bathroom. Before her trip, Erin was fortunate to gather four large boxes full of donations, which she recently distributed to her students.

Here is what Erin thinks about her experience in Ecuador with United Planet:

“This is absolutely a once in a lifetime experience. I really wanted to do something for someone in the world who wasn’t born into the same fortunate circumstances as we were. Nobody asks to be born into poverty. As much as we like to think we are giving something to the people here, we are receiving so much more. We have been welcomed with open arms and are absolutely enjoying every minute.”

What has she learned so far? First of all, Erin improved her Spanish right away! Working with so many children, she has also learned to be much more patient. In Ecuador, people live at a different pace than in the United States... Her host father says "time is not running," and that is certainly the case according to Erin. Erin has learned so much about the culture and the people of Ecuador as well as the intricacies of how to teach English as a foreign language in Spanish. Most of all, she has learned that a little bit of kindness can go a long way.

Erin had to face the challenging cultural differences, especially related to the language. This experience is important to her because she is gaining more perspective on her own life every day, while being able to give something to the people here. She was greeted with smiles everywhere she went. “There’s so much more to life and happiness than I ever could have imagined before this trip."

Rebecca in Ghana

A 19-year-old member of the Edina, Minnesota community, Rebecca Holloway-Nahum, is currently volunteering with United Planet to provide invaluable support to a community in Ghana, while immersing deeply in Ghanaian life and culture.

Rebecca Holloway-Nahum left the United States in August 2006 in order to spend six months as a nurse in a small health clinic in Wiamoase, Ghana (a village northwest of Kumasi). She works three days a week in the clinic and has created a project with her roommate to fund and paint a malnutrition ward three other days of the week.
Here is what Rebecca thinks about her experience in Ghana with United Planet:

“I think one of the most important things about volunteering anywhere whether it be the third world, or a thriving metropolis is that you cannot change the course of the world, but you can do immense amounts of good for others, but more importantly for yourself. Even though I came into this trip thinking I was doing it to change the course of existence of other people, I have come to realize that this trip is more about me. Making myself the best person I can be. I think that’s not only the first, but also the most critical, in making the world a better place.

When I was sitting in a trotro on the way to Kumasi one evening, I had an epiphany that I had changed so much, and hadn't even realized it. Here I was in the third world sitting on fatal and dirty public transportation. The best part is that I felt comfortable. If I can feel comfortable, at home, and at peace there I can do it anywhere. I realized that this experience has given me the ability to place my security within myself, not on things that surround me”

She learned during her mission that talking makes a difference in the world and that allowing yourself to be on the same level as people that would normally not be has great rewards. It is not necessarily the places you go or the things you see, but the people you meet that makes the journey worthwhile.