Empowering 300 children in Chile

For some of us, October stirs up images of leaves falling, hay rides and pumpkin picking, along with memories of getting in costume, trick-or-treating and over-indulging on candy. Here in Chile, though, trees are in bloom, and the sun is shining! As the days warm up, people are shaking off months of winter weather. No longer restricted by cold and rain to a life indoors, the kids at our partner organizations can finally run around outside with our volunteers for a game of fútbol, tag or hopscotch. They can venture out to a nearby park, swing on the swings, or have a calm picnic. Yet exploring the outdoors isn’t the only activity we’re working on right now. 

Thanks to our new partnership with American Tower Chile, volunteer art workshops now boast bigger and better opportunities as the kids prepare their final Festival artwork and performances.

To celebrate artwork that children and volunteers create together during ongoing art workshops, VE hosts an art festival twice a year, providing a supportive space to build children’s confidence and show off their creativity. The festival includes everything from paintings, poems, dance, and singing.
Seeing all of the kids' artwork this year was amazing!  With Festival falling on October 30th this year, the program team decided there could be no better theme than Halloween! Stocked up with black and orange tempera paint, googly eyes, glitter and all sorts of Halloween-related craft materials, our volunteers motivated and inspired the kids to create awesome Halloween-themed artwork.  Whether by drawing, dancing, painting or singing, Festival is always a great time for kids to express themselves through art. VE volunteers and staff had a blast at this years Festival, too.  After much choreography and practice, they used Michael Jackson’s Thriller to kick off the event in order to get the kids psyched about getting up on stage too.

Links:

• See more on our website!

This month, we welcomed in a new class of volunteers! They are a wonderful group of individuals from all over the world, and we are already impressed with the insight and enthusiasm they’ve shown throughout their 10-day orientation.

At VE, we typically begin orientation by asking new volunteers why they, personally, have chosen to come to volunteer with VE in Chile. We thought you’d like to see why:

I came to volunteer with VE in Chile to do something meaningful. – Kelly Gunkel, USA

I came to Chile to volunteer because I was able to combine my passion to volunteer with spending time with my family in Santiago. – Valentina Miranda, Chile/Australia

I came to volunteer with VE in Chile because I wanted to use my skills and resources to help children at social risk.  I also wanted to practice speaking Spanish. – Samantha Schindelheim, USA

I came to volunteer with VE because I wanted to work with volunteers from all over the world, and because I think it's great that I have this opportunity to give some of my time and talents to do this work. – Jacolien Kisteman, the Netherlands

I came to volunteer with VE in Chile because I wanted to give back and be a positive influence in the lives of children at social risk. – Hunter Stephan, USA

I came to volunteer with VE because I was ready for new experiences like working with children, living in a new culture, learning a new language and getting to know new people. – Anna Lisa Jakobi, Germany

I moved with my husband to Chile six months ago and wanted to work on an educational program as it is my true vocation. I found VE Global and thought it was the perfect opportunity to help and start on my teaching path! I can't wait to start working with the kids. – Violeta Parilla, Venezuela

I came to Chile to help and teach children at social risk because I want to show them that all their dreams can come true and they don’t have to worry about the future. There are people out there caring for them! – Sanya Bischoff, Germany

Our new volunteers have added a special burst of energy to VE. We’re thrilled to have them here and can’t wait to see all the wonderful things they accomplish as part of our VE community!

Links:

• Want to know more about VE Global? Visit our website!
• Read Jacolien's blog about her first impressions of VE.