My Nonprofit Reviews

I volunteered with A Broader View for two months with the Women’s Empowerment Program in Cusco. I chose to volunteer with this nonprofit after completing my social work degree where I focused my studies and work with domestic violence and with refugees and immigrants (where I was able to practice my Spanish a lot). During my program, I ended spending time with the women and kids at the center in order to provide them with extra emotion support and friendship. I spent a lot of time talking with the older and middle aged women, dancing with the younger girls, reading, joking around, having interesting conversations, cooking, and loads of other things! I had the joy of getting very close to several of them and equally so the joy of being able to call them my friends.
I remember one day going into one of the girl's rooms finding her tearful, with a book in her bed. I asked her if she was feeling sad to which she replied, “yes”. She did not want to talk about why specifically she was sad, but I asked her if she would like to read the book to which she also replied “yes”, and we read the book all day. I taught her new words and encouraged her reading, even when it took her 45 minutes to finish the entire page. From this, I was able to watch her spirits and confidence rise and she has been practicing her reading every day since.
I spent a total of three days on a tour to Puno and spent the night on the floating islands. Puno was amazing because it encapsulated culture, landscapes, and great hike all in one trip, and, on top of that, I made several wonderful friends! While at Puno I took a boat ride on Lake Titicaca which was far vaster than any lake I had ever been on. During our boat ride, we made stops at the floating island including the Uros island. I found the Uros island completely captivating because the materials which were on the island were unlike anything I typically see in the States.