Volunteering is worth it because it involves caring, loving, and sharing my time with others. This summer, I went to volunteer in a church in Pingtung for a week. The priest who runs it opens an after school program in his church. After I finished volunteering, I felt empowered because I made the kids’ lives better. I learned many lessons about life, but most importantly, I learned the importance of helping others, and being empathetic towards others.

Gratitude is important

After volunteering in the church for seven days, I realized that I should never take things for granted. Most kids who go to this after school program are from poor families. Also, their education background is not as advanced as mine. my friends who I hang out with and I go to international schools, while the kids I worked with that week go to local schools in their neighborhood countryside.

In addition, we noticed that some of the kids wore the same clothes more than once during that week, and some of them even wore the same dressing two days in a row. The most heartbreaking moment was when one of the volunteers told me that he saw a kid wearing torn shoes. Moreover, their diets are not as nutritious as ours, and they have fewer food choices than we do. These made us feel sad for the kids. I compared my life to kids who live in the countryside, and I realized that I should count my blessings and stop complaining about my life because I am luckier than these kids in Pingtung.

Be open-minded

The priest who takes care of the children is very serious. Every time he walked by, all of the volunteers and the kids quit talking. In addition, he set strict rules in the church. For example, he punishes the kids when they forget to bring their summer homework lists by hitting their hands. Also, he has strict arrangements for his church, which means that everything should be in a certain way.

We were shocked the first day by the priest’s strictness. However, after other volunteers and I discussed it several times, we decided to follow the priest’s rules because we believed that his seriousness allows him to maintain his church very well. Also, he is serious because he cares about the kids. He wants the kids to work hard and be their best. Therefore, the other volunteers and I respected his stern personality even though we were scared of him, and I learned that I should keep my mind open. Additionally, I should be willing to respect people with different personalities.

Don’t make promises you’re not sure you can keep

This week was a precious time for the volunteers and the kids, and we were all unwilling to say goodbye to each other, but we eventually needed to.

Some kids asked us if we will come next summer, but we could only say that we were unsure about that. The kids will expect us to come next year if we say we will come, which is a promise that we are unsure we can keep. If we make this promise and it turns out we will not be coming next summer, the kids might be disappointed in us.

Even though we are unsure if we can come to the church again in the future, we promised that we will remember them, and remember our precious time in this week that we kept company with them. We hope the kids remember us as the way we remember them. Thus, I become aware that I should not keep promises to others if I am uncertain whether I can keep them.

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Volunteering in Pingtung has become the most memorable volunteering activity in my life so far. Taking part in the seven-day volunteer service had a lot of ups and downs, with laughter and tears. Although all of my volunteer partners came from different places in Taiwan and different schools, I am very grateful that they participated with me at the same volunteering activity. I am inspired from this time volunteering in Pingtung. I have become more empathetic, and I have become more willing to help others.