Testimonials

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Beautiful city, amazing projects, great apartment, entertaining company.  Within my first two weeks here, I had the chance to check out the numerous programs Emerging Voices has to offer: teaching in Soacha, the military Hogar St Mauricio, helping blind children, abuelitas, feeding the homeless.  The decision was tough, but I decided to teach part time in Soacha and part time at the military.  Soacha is a town about an hour and a half away from the apartment.  But the long ride is worth it.  The children are so sweet and thrilled to see us volunteer.  When we arrive, my second-grade class is absolutely adorable.  They tackled numbers, the colors of the rainbow, shapes, the body without any problem.  My fourth-grade class never wants the lessons to end.  Teaching at the military is very different but just as wonderful.  The men are so eager to learn and excited to speak as much English as they can.  My favorite experience with them so far has been rap day.  Each soldier created their own rhyme about themselves and then performed it rapped to a special panel of judges.  It was extremely entertaining and some of the raps were very impressive.  Bogotá is a gorgeous city with lots to offer.  Whether you like to climb Monserrate, shop in the markets, walk through parc national, or dance the night away, Bogotá will keep you busy.  I had originally only signed up for 6 weeks here at Emerging Voices, but once I hit the week 4 mark, I knew I had to extend my stay for at least another month.  I’ve very much enjoyed my time here and would strongly recommend this project to anyone. 

Coming to Colombia was not very difficult for me.  After hearing many sketchy stories, I had to come visit myself to see what the country was really all about.  I can say is that those stories are just stories and by no means should stop anyone from visiting this safe and beautiful country.  One thing is that Colombians are some of the warmest and friendly people you will ever meet.  They are so thankful for volunteers to travel all the way from your home and helping them.  The program that I volunteered in was in a very impoverished city called Soacha.  There I painted a whole primary school over the course of a few weeks.  After making friends with the children, I started to teach English classes, which I never thought I would be doing, since I had no previous teaching experience.  My only regret is not to have stayed longer than my two-month duration as there is so much work needed to be done.  The culture is so fun.  You will want to stay here for ages. 

Colombia is a county of diversity, both with the nature and the people.  With Caribbean coast, undulating ridges and Amazonas, Colombia definitely will be the top choice for those who have beautiful hearts as well as wanderlust.  I volunteered for 6 months with Emerging Voices: a foundation operating different programs in Colombia such as feeding the homeless, teaching childcare, and elderly care.  The project I did was teaching in Soacha, a small town southwest of Bogotá for both the summer program and the regular program.  In the summer program, you can do a lot of activities like dancing, cooking, etc.  I taught them Chinese and was completely impressed by how smart those kids are.  Every day you walk into the school, you will always be welcomed by sweet kisses on your cheek from those kids.  Every little effort you make here, in Soacha, can be added up to huge impacts.  All the classrooms here were built from scratch, with bricks.  The English greetings you’ll get from the kids were actually started from the first hello taught by the volunteers before.  Besides volunteering, the valuable experience you get is living in an apartment with all the other volunteers from different backgrounds and from around the world.  This is a good way to enhance your understanding about culture, ethics and respect.  Just like traveling as a backpacker, you meet various people.  You share your stories.  And here, volunteering with Emerging Voices, you will enjoy all of those lovely moments but with other travelers as your family members. 

It is hard to put into words how awesome the last 18 days have been for me.  I walked into a home full of love, laughter, hugs, and beautiful people. Not a bad start!  I have enjoyed every project, for different reasons, but the grandmas stole my heart.  How inspiring they are!  Then, there is you, Monica.  Thanks for being you.  Thanks for your endless energy, kind heart, and inspiration to make a difference.  But most of all, thank you for quickly becoming a valuable friend along with all the other volunteers, I was lucky to share this experience with.  How can so many amazing people end up in the one place.  I am going home a different person to the one that left.