Why I Want To Volunteer

Volunteering grants individuals several opportunities to change the lives of those with less fortune. Donating your time to help others enhance their lives is a truly exceptional experience. It offers a volunteer the opportunity to help those who may not be able to help themselves.

My first volunteering experience opened my eyes to the severity of poverty and starvation among young children and adults around the world. After packing food for four hours with Feed My Starving Children, I felt as though I was making a difference. Afterwards, I felt I had somehow helped the world, in a very small way. I felt a sense of fulfillment. Volunteering now plays an important role in my life that has driven me to learn new things, and further my desire to help those in need.

When I began to research Uganda, I was surprised to find out that it is one of the poorest countries and that about half of the population survive on about a dollar a day. It was also astonishing to find that the average girl stays in school only until the age of nine.

Not only would this trip allow me to directly help others, but it also allows me the opportunity to do something more important: See the smiling faces of those children and adults who we aid. Painting and helping improve their schools and education systems; playing and interacting with the children; and spending two weeks in their environment, are just a few of the tasks that get me excited when thinking about a chance to visit Uganda. Although we would be teaching and helping the children through the program, we would also be students to them. Being guests in their culture, taking part in their customs, and learning their songs and games would allow for a priceless learning opportunity for myself as well as the other Vernon Hills High School students and