My Nonprofit Reviews

5 Stars? That isn't enough to describe Cross Cultural Solutions, how much it has impacted me as a volunteer and how much it has opened my mind. I had the opportunity to volunteer in an orphanage in Morocco and several different placements when I was in Peru. Volunteering in an orphanage has something I always wanted to do but was not sure how to do it. It was something I had always kept in the back of my head. I am involved in several volunteer organizations here in Toronto, but nothing has changed my outlook in life as much as seeing first hand, just how huge this world is. I currently work as a Program Instructor for Adults with Mental Health. My first time working in the field after graduating from a Social Work degree, and it made me a stronger person. Or so I thought. After a couple of months in the social services field, I enrolled with Cross Cultural Solutions and specifically asked to work with children with special needs in the orphanage. I was stunned. We always here about those less fortunate than us, but it is different than actually SEEING it in front of you. The most incredible thing is, the children at the orphanage were the happiest children I have ever seen. Their hugs. Their smiles. Their laughter. Their playfulness. Never had I ever seen such genuinity! My one week in Morocco inspired me to volunteer once again with Cross Cultural Solutions and I signed up immediately when I returned to Toronto for Ayacucho Peru. I had picked Ayacucho Peru after pulling the name out of a hat while still in Morocco. I figured, there is absolutely no way I can ever go wrong with CCS as my remarkable experience had truly changed my life. IN JUST ONE WEEK. The CCS staff in New York and the CCS staff in Toronto, as well as the CCS staff in Morocco were incredibly supportive from the moment I enrolled. I was never greeted with impatientness, or vague promises of what needs to be done. Every time I had a question, it was answered immediately. Almost too immediately. Also, my questions were answered more than what I expected. How could I go wrong with CCS? The most wonderful thing as well is, as soon as I enrolled, I felt like we were all family. We were all over the world, different time zones, different job positions, yet the CCS staff always took the time to be there for me. I had never been to Morocco, and I have never volunteered in Morocco. I can't speak Arabic or French - so my anxieties and fears were always on the surface. They were eased immediately once I knew that all I had to do was "ask". The program in Ayacucho Peru was undescribable, but I will try to explain as colofully as I can. I thought that after my experience in Morocco, Ayacucho would be a cinch. It was only 4 months after my week in Morocco. I was dead wrong. I was not emotionally prepared for Ayacucho, and there were times during my week in Ayacucho where I just needed to be alone and to recollect my thoughts. Re-evaluate the whole essence of being an international volunteer. I went to Ayacucho without the true inkling of what it means to be "hungry". What it means to live in "poverty". Here in Toronto, I can say, "I'm hungry" but I don't really know what that means. My hunger lasts until I find something to eat, and that's not hard to find. Seeing UNICEF visit one of the government daycares in Peru was when all my pent up emotions exploded and I spent the entire evening in tears. To me, UNICEF was the little Halloween box that we took around for trick or treating. Not a huge truck with nurses to come and weigh the children. I was embarassed by my lack of understanding of the world. How much I lived in a box. How dare I complain about the littlest things when these children had next to nothing? How dare I be petty and small minded about things that don't matter? How dare I be ungrateful for fresh water? Even the poor in Toronto have hot water! There were several days in Peru where we didn't have hot water in the homebase. I learned to live with it, and it was a very liberating experience. When I came back from my week in Ayacucho, I was ready to enroll once again for another CCS program. I have watched myself grow through my experiences with a journal and a blog, and I never once censored myself. I think it is very important for everyone to one day just volunteer abroad. CCS gives the opportunity for just a week, for those who can't committ to longer periods of time. And I can vouch for it that, although it may not seem like a lot, it is enough. I have enrolled in 2 more Insight Abroad programs with Ghana (March 2010) and with Costa Rica (April 2010) and I can't wait to live through these experiences. Obviously, Ghana will not be the same as Peru and as Morocco, anymore than Costa Rica will be the same as Ghana. None of my programs will ever be the same. I definitely will not be the same. That is the beauty of international volunteering. The only thing that remains steadfast is my utmost loyalty and devotion to Cross Cultural Solutions.

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