Thank you for my India Trips of a Lifetime

Thank you all at Global Volunteers so very much. I had a wonderful time serving in Chennai again this year. I have Stephen and Sheeba and the Hosts to thank for my experience. Stephen is a most remarkable, patient, generous, kind and wise man. He and Sheeba care very deeply for the children and all the people who host the volunteers and help them to do their work. I am again so impressed. I think of Stephen and Sheeba and Stephen's whole family as my "Indian" family!

I was so sad to say good-bye to his parents and neighbors and relatives. We have become so close.I also am grateful to Stephen and Sr. Rose for making a dream come true: together they worked for three months to locate a little boy I met last year at Assisi....Augustine. Stephen helped me make arrangements so that I could go see him and play with him again. Holding him has been my biggest wish of the past year and I feel that now I have established a connection with his family that we can stay in touch.

There were so many wonderful moments; children who have hearts as big as the country itself....love to play and sing and be held....they even loved just touching my arms and smelling my hair. From lives that could be about sadness - these are remarkable, resilient children.They have so much to teach about true meaning in life. I am grateful to them for the lessons I learned. You get out of the experience - what you put into it. For me, personally, I go, give, and get back 100-fold.

~Joelle Imholte

Congratulations: China and Cook Islands Partners

On behalf of the school English teachers who have had the honor of attending the training program of the Global Volunteers, I sincerely send the congratulations upon the 25th anniversary of Global Volunteers! We are grateful to all the volunteers as well as the country manager for the greatest effort they have put to advance the mutual understanding of the Chinese and American people.

After the training, our teachers not only made progress on their conversational English, but also learned the importance of showing love to their students. As the host in Kunming, I hope that the Global Volunteers program takes roots and bears fruits not only in the big cities but also in the rural and ethnic places where people badly need help both spiritually and academically.

~Chris, Li Baokun from Kunming teachers' training center/China

It is with much pleasure and thanksgiving , that I take this very special opportunity, on behalf of CIANGO and the people of the Cook Islands, to congratulate and wish the Global Volunteers the very best for a very Happy and Joyous 25th/Silver Anniversary on the 27th of January. May God richly bless the Global Volunteers, with another 25 years or Golden Anniversary, serving in the Cook Islands!

Kia manuia with much love,
Mrs. Vereara Maeva Taripo, President of CIANGO

Volunteer Grateful for Service Opportunities

Dear Global Volunteers,
I so appreciate your updates, for I am a devoted volunteer and supporter of Global Volunteers! My late husband and I first went with a team to Rota, Spain in 1998 - then had planned to go Italy but had to cancel because of health problems for him. He died in June, 2007 and I felt I needed to be away for that first Christmas. That is how I went to Chennai, India - with a remarkable team - there were 8 of us. We still keep in close contact and one team member visited me in July. She is returning to Chennai in January 2009 and will be there for the baptism of the baby son of our team leaders, Stephen and Sheeba - so I am crocheting a shawl for her to take - that perhaps can be used at the christening. It is a project of love!

I have signed up to go to Hanoi in May of 2009. Like many - I have a limited income and budget very carefully, but this is a neccessity. Vietnam has special meaning for me as my husband and I volunteered at our neighborhood high school - a class taught by a friend who works with students coming in from different parts of the world - with limited English. I share your concern about the present economy - and also feel the programs of Global Volunteers are more important than ever. So I'm cutting corners on expenses in every way possible to look ahead to my next service program - maybe Christmas 2009.
- Aleatha Scholer, devoted volunteer

Finishing Up our Work in Hanoi

Millennium Development Goals

Achieved by this Team:
720 hours of classroom instruction by

14 volunteers, six hours/day

140 hours of preparation time

One high school;Two universities

4,100 students impacted

These excerpts from our team journal provide a brief glimpse into unique volunteer opportunities in Hanoi, Vietnam. We're all very grateful to be able to serve in this way, at this time, in this city. If you've ever considered visiting Vietnam, please contact Global Volunteers to learn how you can provide a truly needed service at the high school and university levels. Who knows? You may end up teaching a future leader of this developing country!

Thursday, Dec. 4

This being my second trip with Global Volunteers, after one month I’ve become a true “Hanoian.”
The pandemonium that is the streets and daily life of Vietnam is actually a controlled chaos, and finely tuned orchestra. From our vantage point above the street, we watched as the various performers played their parts…sometimes solo, sometimes in group, with the occasional cymbal crash….all without a conductor. In the school, we’re teachers….not in the sense of the tenured nine-month professionals back home, but as the old-time storytellers, passing down wisdom and knowledge to the next generation. We’re grandparents and uncles and aunts teaching what cannot be found in books….our life experiences.

Sometimes I get frustrated with the excitement and noise which follows the children from the streets through the gates and into the classroom, but I keep in mind that my main objective is to help out, and our grass-roots diplomacy provides lessons and memories that will last all their lives. - Leo Pyzynski

Friday, Dec. 5

(With apologies to Dr. Seuss): Our trip is done; Our trip was fun; Let’s hope to do another one!

Leo and Ruthanne approached their morning with a rambunctious gang of first-graders with some trepidation. With mixed feelings, we spent the last morning with the smaller first-grade class, which was fine for all. The children colored and sang songs. Leo and Ruthanne joined with them in a rousing rendition of the Hokey Pokey. We’ll miss them. After dinner, the 6th graders threw a surprise “party” for Leo and Ruthanne, complete with confetti, beautiful gifts (framed pictures and edible goodies) and undeserved adulation. Very special. Finally, our “Last Supper” as a team we began two weeks ago as individuals and now we truly have become a team. We are all very sorry to say good bye. Really “au revoir,” certainly not “adieu.” Ciao,
-Ruth DeWolfe