During the first days, my partners and I prepared the community for the arrival of the materials that we expected to arrive over the weekend. We gave charlas on the health benefits of fogones, and we created a schedule chart showing which day we would build a fogón for each family over the next five weeks. However, that weekend the materials did not arrive. Nor did they arrive the following week, nor the week after that. I briefly lost faith in what I was doing. I was far from home, having accepted many donations to support this fogón project, and I worried I would never be able to present tangible results.

Then I remembered my training about the AMIGOS program's three pillars: youth leadership, multicultural understanding, and community development. As I accepted the fact the community development project might never materialize, I turned to the remaining two pillars for inspiration. I began pouring my energy into leading various projects with the local youth group, and becoming part of our community's culture. I participated in everything from planting onions with my host dad on his chakra to cooking Paraguayan food with the women and girls of my town. My partners and I held many meetings with the town's youth and we organized twice-weekly soccer games where we sold refreshments. Funds raised were designated for future development projects and to help pay for transportation when community members needed to go to the city for medical care.

A project I had started in the beginning of my stay, making friendship bracelets with teens and children, turned into a mini-enterprise through which the youth group was able to raise significant funds. More than that, community members of all ages became took an interest and became involved in making and selling the bracelets. It was the most beautiful thing to see even my host dad and the school principal wearing bracelets. It was a simple symbol of how the community members, and we American volunteers, had all become woven together.

During our final week in Paraguay, the fogón materials finally arrived, and our initial preparation and planning fell into place. We completed five stoves in five days, working dawn to dusk, a feat that was possible only because of the help we received from community members. We also planted 50 tiny trees. The time we spent interacting with community members in the previous weeks had strengthened their interest in the success of the fogón project. We knew the last five stoves would be built and the remaining trees would be planted after we left, making this a truly sustainable and community-based project.

The amount of interest and respect that my partners and I showed for the people and the culture of our community allowed us to have the fullest possible AMIGOS experience. I believe we had a lasting impact on our community, though nothing could possibly equal the positive impact our community had on me. I learned the value of planning and preparation, but most importantly, the value of patience and human bonds.

Article contributed by Amy Afonso

Explore more Volunteer Abroad Opportunities »

backdoorjobs.com
Your Home for Short-Term
Job Adventures & More!