Report From Romania

It is hard to believe I only have two days left at the clinic. I found out today that there will be only one person on the next team, someone who hasn't been here before. There were supposed to be 2 people and sounds like one person had to cancel at the last minute. It actually crossed my mind to see if I could stay for another week but I think I need to get home for multiple reasons, like making money so I can come back. Apparently the team after this next one has 2 people, then Nov. has 6 people, then 2 people in Dec. and after that I don't know. I am worried about these small teams, especially with new babies and others who need attention.

I've started writing in the childrens' journals that we leave for the upcoming volunteers. It is always fun to read back, especially to entries I wrote when I was last here in February. Some children have made good progress and for others it is very slow. I was pleased to see Cristi Daniel who has Down's syndrome becoming more active and then I realized he is 4 years old and probably not even at 1 year developmentally. Still, as long as they are doing better that is the most important thing.
Read more about Volunteer Evan on her blog!

Update from Italy

We would like to express our most sincere thanks to all our Italy volunteers! Thanks to you, we helped thousands of both young and adult students learn English since our program began in 1995.

In the last twelve months, we have served in the following communities: Cisternino, Francavilla Fontana, Via Roma and Monopoli. We have taught conversational English to students from elementary through high school, and we also conducted lessons for teachers and other adult community members.

Altogether during the last twelve months, 62 volunteers taught approximately 2,000 students and provided 6,200 hours of English teaching instruction! All of this work has contributed towards the United Nations Millennium Development Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education.

Our recent Italy Team Leader Pam Cromer reported to me: “There are not enough words to say how wonderful the teaching experience is in Cisternino. The teachers are delighted to have our participation and go out of their way to accommodate us in any way they can. The students literally cheer when the volunteers walk in the room...one could not ask for a better welcome. The volunteers stay at a nice hotel with spectacular views from the balconies of each room. The staff at the hotel are very helpful and make you feel right at home. Needless to say, it is the perfect place to volunteer!”

Keep coming back and please refer your friends!
Sincerely, Dorota Wierzbicka
Global Volunteers Associate Director for Europe and Latin America