Projects Abroad Internships in Togo

My volunteering experience in Togo was a life-changing one. Back at home I took a bachelor in social work and afterwards a master in international politics. My goal always had been to work and live abroad. At the age of 21 I was fed up with studying to reach that goal and I decided to take a shortcut, I went volunteering in Togo with Projects Abroad. My choice for Projects Abroad can be simply explained by the fact that I desperately wanted to do my volunteering in Togo and there weren’t a lot of organizations providing me with this option. Why Togo? I had never been there before, my father was Togolese and I wanted to put into practice my scholar French knowledge.

My time in the west coast of Africa was simply a-ma-zing. I was surrounded for 3 months with friendly staff, outgoing and likeminded volunteers, new local friends and most importantly the children of my orphanage. One year later I’m still in touch with most of them, but of course nothing compares with sharing experiences in real-time. Unnecessary to say that I’ll be back one day.

As far as the volunteering went, I think I might say I was able to make some changes in the children’s daily life. At least for three months… In how far these changes were structural, is another question. But that’s the point where Projects Abroad steps in, with 24/7 staff who monitor the volunteers closely. It’s their responsibility to make sure that all the worthwhile efforts you were able to accomplish in your placement don’t disappear as soon as your volunteering time ends. In doing so, every volunteer contributes to an ongoing process of helping those in need.

“Don’t just donate, participate”

My day-to-day experiences: http://www.mytripblog.org/pg/blog/jlambrecht

The most difficult part of this program was setting aside my objectives for the summer. As a young American student, I arrived with grandiose ambitions of really "changing things for the better". I often felt frustrated by the impediments to progress, especially for the young girls, but I eventually figured out that spending the summer at the SOS Orphanage had nothing to do with changing anything. I learned a lot about myself, my own values and how I deal with frustrations. The warmth and love that the kids showed me was unparalleled to anything I have ever experienced in the US. Accept the fact that they will teach you and change you more than you can possibly do to them and you will have a very rewarding time in Togo.