UBELONG

This experience ended up being the hardest yet the most impactful volunteering trip I've ever been on. Like I said previously, this was my 4th volunteer trip. I've volunteered in third world countries a few times before this yet this trip I have never felt so connected and helpful as I did on this trip.

I got to literally see the positive impact happen in front of my eyes, I was apart of a strong bond with such a great group of 12 girls. My last day volunteering the girls brought out a huge thank you card and started to read me what they wrote. I instantly broke out into tears, as each girl started too as well.

It ended up being a big hug, farewell and sobbing party but I have never once cried upon leaving a group of kids until this trip. It was a great way to show the relationship we created amongst ourselves.

I was volunteering in New Delhi, India. The population of that state is around 22 million people! One weekend some of the volunteers and I decided to travel to Varanasi, which is around 12-15 hours away. The best way of traveling to different cities is by train. On the way back we literally had to just hop on the train back to New Delhi.

We were on the waiting list but never got a confirmation of our seats, yet had to be back by Monday to volunteer. So Six of us volunteers, literally crammed in a TINY hallway between the bathrooms and the carts.

There was dirt covering the walls, people walking over us, wind blowing in our faces, and I think my whole left side fell asleep since this was a 14 hour ride.. but it was so funny to look back at this experience!

One piece of advice id give someone going on this program is to try everything once. The food, the culture, the work, the whole environment is SO different from back home yet so worth while to become involved and educated on the country and work your doing here.

I have never once said, "I wish I didn't do this, or I wish I never tried that." Everything you experience here teaches you something, no time or decision is ever wasted. Go by the motto - Try everything once, say yes more then saying no. :)

I believe the biggest factor in being a successful company is the staff; motivated, experienced, responsible and passionate people who care about the company and want to make it grow as well as love their job. Furthermore, good leaders who know how to manage employees are important.

I have changed and grown a lot since working for UBELONG. I learned a lot about people, different cultures, communication, marketing, client service, conflict management and leadership. I have grown from different challenges like being part and leading one of the largest and most respected volunteer programs in Peru, building up our Mexico program from the ground, starting to work as a UBELONG Program Officer & Mentor as well as helping plan and joining the Mexico expedition (during an expedition you travel to global hotspots and come face to face with the world's most pressing social and environmental issues). Furthermore, I’m about to head to Asia with a high school team from Vermont to work in our projects in Laos.

UBELONG has a unique team - our employees, partners in the field, hosting communities, the range of individuals and corporations that work with us, an exciting global community. We have recognized professionals, our programs are built on practical knowledge gained through years of international experience. We are flexible, we offer programs across many areas and for different time frames. We are affordable and want to make a positive difference the local communities, volunteers and the world.

I feel proud to be part of the UBELONG Team every day. We support and motivate each other, do great work and grow together every day. However, I felt especially proud to be part of the team when we started the program in Mexico 2014. It was amazing to be part of it and to have seen the program grow over the last two years. Furthermore, another really special moment was the first expedition in Mexico in November 2014 about immigration. We went to different communities around Merida (state of Yucatan) and interviewed people who for example crossed the border to the United States illegally years ago and others who have their children and/or husbands there. We took pictures of each of them and presented the stories and pictures to the public in Merida as well as in 2015 in an exhibition in New York City.

There are lots of stories to tell :) One of the best stories was from a UBELONGer who volunteered at the Center for disabled children In Cusco. He loved his project. One day he asked the kids how old they are, they did answer and also asked him for his age. He said 32, and all the kids started to laugh like crazy and afterwards only called him "abuelito" (grandpa). They had the time of their life, and a simply thing like calling the volunteer "abuelito" made them laugh every day.