Putting a Real Face to the Statistics

Dominic Lee
New Jersey, USA

It has been about a month since I returned from Santiago, Chile and worked with VE Global and the children and mentors at Fundación Mi Club Domingo Savio. As I slowly grow more accustomed to being back in the United States, the more fortunate I feel to have had the opportunity to volunteer with VE Global.

VE Global turned out to be much more than simply the organization through which I arrived. The people there became my friends, my family, my confidants and much more. The bonds that I formed with the people in the organization are ones that I treasured in Santiago and continue to cherish today.

The same goes for my relationships with those whom I worked with at Domingo Savio. I am lucky to have been a part of the lives of the fifty or so children who attended the after-school center. I grew to admire and care for each one of them, their afflictions became my own and their successes the same. There are many days and instances I reflect upon since I’ve returned, from days at the pool, to trips to the countryside and everything in between.

My stay in Chile, aside from improving my Spanish, changed my view of volunteer work and the world. Through my work, compounded with that of VE Global as a whole, it is evident that each person does and can make a difference. It is too easy to feel overwhelmed by hard numbers like income-distribution gaps, poverty lines and other governmental statistics. In Chile, working with VE Global put a face to those affected by the gaps and showed me the neighborhoods that are a part of the statistics. The emotional attachment that develops between the volunteers and the children with whom we work is enough to prove that we do touch the lives of these children, just as much as they impact us.

As sad as I was to leave Chile, I feel privileged to have worked with such great people. I learned a great deal about appreciation, humility and non-profit work. I cannot thank VE Global enough for affording me the opportunity to have had such an incredible experience, and for providing me with the training and support necessary to do so.