COVID-19 has forced volunteers to leave their placements in developing countries and to rush back home. But it didn't stop them! Many continue to take action remotely and remain committed to supporting vulnerable communities worldwide. Discover their stories!
MEET YAEL FRIEDMAN FROM AGAHOZO-SHALOM YOUTH VILLAGE (ASYV)
“I am in close with communication with staff and kids from the village on a regular basis. It’s really rewarding to be able to continue to contribute to the work of the village. I am working on projects to strengthen the visitors program and to increase visits in the coming year. Since our kids left the village, I’ve been in touch with as many of them as possible, as often as possible, through Facebook and WhatsApp. I check in on their well-being, making sure they have food, shelter and basic necessities. I am in communication with my family mamma and other staff to ensure that kids in need are receiving support. I help them practice English and offer assistance in any other way that I can.”
MEET MEIRON AVIDAN FROM GABRIEL PROJECT MUMBAI, through JDC ENTWINE GLOBAL JEWISH SERVICE CORPS FELLOWSHIP
“Before I left India, I had just started working on my big project of the year which was to create lesson plans for the entire school curriculum – English, math, and science. As part of my role with the volunteers engagement program, I introduced lesson plan structures for the volunteers to use, to make their classroom activities bullet-pointed and easier to follow. My manager suggested implementing this for the curriculum where the textbooks are often quite difficult to follow. It is often the case that children learn by memory and just copy information from the textbook without getting the most out of their education. Luckily, I’m still able to work on this from the UK. All of the textbooks are online and I’ve created a Google Drive where I send all of the information back to my manager.”
“While I had to leave my placement four and a half month early, I felt like I made the most of my six months there. I threw myself at every opportunity, learned more than I could have hoped for and truly believe it was the most rewarding 6 months of my life.”
