Volunteering for Aguayuda

We would like to share with you a short essay by Jack Levenson, a founding Board of Director of Aguayuda, about his volunteer experience with Aguayuda.

“I spent one week at the end of June 2010 combining my passion to help with my energy to discover. It was my first time volunteering onsite with Aguayuda and I had my doubts as to how much could be accomplished in my 5 ½ days in La Guajira, Colombia. I had been told that I would be busy but I didn’t know that meant I’d be able to witness the completion of 3 projects, work in 6 communities, collaborate with community members, local governments, multiple indigenous populations, schools, and other non-profit organizations.

After each full day, no matter how dusty we were or how many miles we had covered on back “roads”, Aguayuda’s leaders’ Sabrina and Simón, made it a point to cap each day off with a walk along the beach and a tall glass of fresh "jugo de Maracuya" (a type of passion fruit juice you just can’t find in the US). That to me was the balance of Aguayuda – a tremendous amount of diverse, hard work but always staying connected to what is special and important to life and to each community. Aguayuda’s network was vast and covered hundreds of miles but each community touched was different and had a unique issue with something special to offer. Everywhere we went children played and often helped as community members worked hand with their environment to create a sustainable future.

We did so much, but one of my favorite moments was in Ramonero as the sun was setting. We had made fixes to and cleaned a water storage tank, and were waiting for the cement to dry on structural changes made to a water basin for the community’s goats and pigs. I had a Frisbee with me and for about a half an hour I played Frisbee with the girls and boys and even a few older community members. It was obvious that this was the first time they had ever played Frisbee. We all smiled and laughed with the pride that we had done something good that day.

Thank you Aguayuda for giving me the opportunity to more than exceed my goals. My passion and energy combined in ways I never would have guessed. I look forward to volunteering for Aguayuda as often as I can in the future.”

Best regards,