Making a difference in children's lives, while traveling abroad!

In the summer of 2015, I was fortunate enough to travel abroad to Spain with my mother and sister. Although they wanted to make the trip, they weren’t totally sold on my idea of volunteering on their vacation. However, by the end of our holiday I had changed their minds!

We spent 3 weeks in Valencia, Spain where we volunteered with children at risk of social exclusion. Being a kindergarten teacher myself, I knew this was a program where we could make a real difference.

We spent our first week helping to coordinate a summer camp, plan activities and excursions, and organized our schedule for each day. I was pleasantly surprised that our ideas were taken seriously and implemented into the agenda! During the next two weeks, we helped the kiddos with their homework, assisted with English-speaking skills, played games, and even made a trip to the local pool where we were able to teach some swimming lessons (another passion my family and I shared)!

Because our volunteering hours were Monday-Friday, we were able to travel to different parts of Spain on the weekends and afternoons. Some of our trips included: Barcelona, Madrid, Ibiza, and Seville. Our trip coordinator gave us a tour of the city the first day we arrived, and advised us of the best ways to travel. This was extremely helpful and eased any previous anxieties. The accommodations were spacious, centrally located, and safe! We made several friends along the way with other volunteers and enjoyed every part of our adventure.

Overall I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking to make an impact on children’s lives, while traveling abroad. The relationships we built there will be cherished for a lifetime. I cannot wait for our next trip!