During my 23 years associated with Global Volunteers I have had the pleasure of befriending many wonderful people. I have learned and witnessed the common thread of humanity—the desire by all to provide for their families and the hope and optimism for a better life for their children.

I believe what makes GV unique is our philosophy of service. First, we only go to where we are invited. We partner with the community and work on projects of their choice. Our only requirement is that it serves the community and that they provide an equal number of community volunteers. Local people are in charge.

This allows us the opportunity to work together with our new found friends on a common goal and share our life experiences. We learn of their day to day struggles and share with them “life in America”—the good and the bad.

We depart proud of our contributions but realizing that we have received so much more than we have given.