My volunteer experience still impacts me today. I currently am working part-time with children for an after-school program for the YMCA. ELAP was the first time I had worked for a long period of time with children and it taught me that how to be creative, imaginative, how to manage children and to have patience. I also think about those children I worked with on a daily basis. In fact, some of the pictures I took with the children are on my walls in my bedroom. I hope they are doing well, and I hope that they still think of me. It was definitely a positive, rewarding and memorable experience. I would go through the same experience or a similar one if I was given the opportunity and had time.
Jessica Ibarra - University of Pittsburgh
Buenos Aires, Argentina - Summer ISA + ELAP 2008
The entire ELAP experience in Buenos Aires was life changing for me. To this day, I often reflect on my time spent at the organization. Just living in a foreign country is a challenge. And yet, while daily living there was not always easy for me, I was working with orphans who were staring down life’s most unfair reality with love and humility. This daily contrast of being personally tested, while working with the most challenged, fostered a new wave of reflection and appreciation in my life. Over the four months that I worked there we leaned on each other for support, inspiration and motivation. I miss those kids dearly and keep them in my prayers every day. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants a sincere and life changing volunteer experience in Argentina.
Charles Duncan Street - University of San Francisco
Buenos Aires, Argentina - February Intensive Month + ELAP 2007