I chose this program because I felt like it wasn't a voluntourism gimmick. I felt like at least here, I'd feel like I was helping someone. It felt like they had a real cause that they were fighting for.
There are a lot of problems in the world. It gets daunting to choose which one to help. But I believe that education is the solution to all our problems. To have a whole generation of uneducated children that will grow up to be the adults that run the country is unacceptable to me.
I organized everything on my own. But it wasn't that difficult. Besides contacting them and getting accepted into their program, all I had to do was book my flight to Lebanon.
You just have to apply through their website. Wait to be contacted. Someone will interview you. Once you get accepted someone from SB will assist with anything you need. You will get picked up at the airport and dropped off at the end of the program.
Bring a towel and an open mind. It's not easy work, but it's the kind of work where at the end of the program you can see the difference you made.
Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Not everything will always be the way you expect it to be. But that could be said for anything.
Keeping an open mind is the most important thing you can do.
I was teaching the women and the youth at the center. My day looked like this:
I wake up at 7:45 am and head down to the center (it is in the same building if you're based in Beirut). My first class (youth) starts at 8:30 so I spend 30 minutes waking up and looking at my lesson plan for the day. I finish my class at 9:15 and take my 15-minute break for breakfast.
My next class isn't until the afternoon so I spend that time either lesson planning or preparing things for my classes or helping around (there's a lot to be done and a lot of people that could use an extra hand). Sometimes I stand outside the children's classes and just watch other volunteers teach.
After lunch, it's usually time for my second class. The classes are 45 mins each.
After the second youth class, I usually have about an hour to prepare for my Women's class, which is an hour-long.
My women's class ends at 5 which is when the shift ends. Time to go home :)
Honestly, the thing I was worried about the most was living with so many strangers and then working with them as well. What I didn't realize was that these strangers become akin to family.
As for working and living with the same people, with time, you learn to cope. Some people go for runs in the park. Others ask for quiet time in their rooms. Some people make friends outside of SB. Others buy a guitar. Everyone finds their own coping mechanism.