My Nonprofit Reviews

I served a trip to Thailand in 2014 and now in 2015 returned to Nepal. As an alum leader this time, I had new experiences and responsibility. From the beginning of the year, I knew as an alum leader I was held up to a standard as a leader. This new responsibility helped me focus and direct my attention to my team and I felt more involved. Nepal was a new and wonderful experience. With the recent earthquake, there were many things that I saw that changed my views on everyday life. Many people had lost their homes and family members to the earthquake and were out of hope in their life. The children in the village were loving and accepting to everyone that helped. The love you feel for the children and your team after every trip is unreal, you love them as you would love your family. In Thailand, I spent most of my construction time painting and washing floors. As much as painting and cleaning floors is important and the work still needs to get done, I decided before I went to Nepal that I would spend my time doing hard, intense labor. When it was time for the handwork, I made sure that I was willing and happy to help out. The work was hard and very tiring but the overall experience was great. As much as I was tired, I decided long before that I was going to work as hard as I could. At the end of the trip, I felt like I impacted the team and the overall projects with my work. If I have any advice to give to future Youthlinc participants it would be to work as hard as you can. What you end up getting out the trip is so much better than just sitting around. Your sense of accomplishment and that you helped contribute to something boosts your confidence and overall happiness on the trip.

My entire family has always been involved with youthlinc and my sister had previously gone on a trip to Guatemala two years before I was selected to go on my service trip. My sister came home and loved her experience so much I knew I would want to have the same experience as her. Once I was old enough I applied right away and luckily was able to be selected to go on the Thailand July team. All of out meeting throughout the year helped build the excitement to the upcoming trip. Having our 80 hours of service was stressful but well worth it in the end and helped you realize that you don't need to go to an international country to make a difference. Finally we were able to leave on our trip and it reached far beyond my expectations. Everything there was wonderful and I loved every aspect of it. The people and the kids and the whole culture was amazing and I fell in love with the beautiful country.

More Feedback