TESTIMONIALS

PAULINA MACIAK

FREEK VAN DER STEEN

CHRISTINE COAKLEY

ESSLIN TERRIGHENA

I am really glad that I was able to volunteer in La Lucha. The time spent in this little secluded village with its community showed me more of Guatemala than I've seen while travelling through the country. It is a very different experience to become a part of the community and to be able to share its joys and concerns from inside. From the beginning I felt very welcome among the community and I've experienced a lot of hospitality, being it a cheerful greeting or an invitation for a meal. I do think it is exceptional that a small village at the edge of the jungle receives volunteers from all over the world, that people saw the value of it and make an effort to make the volunteer program work.

I've spent most of the time working with children, teaching English and organizing afternoon activities, which gave me some insight to the Guatemalan education system. Although the children are friendly and open, many things that I was used to during my school years, like individual work, were challenging for them and made my job also a bit more creative. It was rewarding to watch how I gradually became accepted by the children and how they showed me their friendship by little gestures like holding my hand or shouting my name from a distance.

As a volunteer in La Lucha I've received lots of freedom and I quickly learned that it depended only on my own initiative and responsibility whether I was going to utilize this freedome to make things happen. This was definitely a valuable time. Thank you La Lucha and a great thanks to the organizers of the volunteer program in Las Cruces! Maria and Patrick, you are doing a good job!

I volunteered for a month and a half in La Lucha and it has given me great insight regarding Guatemalan lifestyle, culture and problems the country is facing. For this reason alone my experience could already be considered as a rewarding one, though the best part for me was integrating with the people in the tiny village and contributing to the community.

Teaching English in the local primary school creates a connection with the children and gives them new opportunities for the future. When we heard that for the majority of the students there is no transportation available to attend secondary school and continue their education, we initiated a new project to make this happen. The project is now in the process of gathering funds and will hopefully soon impact the future of children in La Lucha! At times we worked hard, but I never forgot to take some time for the children and let myself be affected by their bright energy. We stimulated their minds through puzzle races, geography lessons and theatre workshops and received many warm words and goodbyes by the time we had to leave. The community of La Lucha has taken good care of us and I will carry vivid memories from special events (like Independence Day and Kids' Day) or walks in the nearby jungle. For me, volunteering is not just about participating in a program, but about making a personal impact and exchanging ideas and energy with local communities. The time I spent in Las Cruces definitely is a great example of this, and I know there are some enriching experiences waiting for the next volunteers!

I spent three weeks working in Josefinos, a village close to Las Cruces. I was living and eating with a family and teaching English in the school, as well as giving gender equality workshops to kids. The organisation was very helpful and flexible with setting me up with my work and lodging in the community, allowing me independence to customise my volunteer experience. The community was both overwhelmingly welcoming and grateful, making the work highly enjoyable.

'Volunteer Las Cruces' is different to many organisations and truly serves as a link between people who would like to volunteer and communities that can use help with a variety of projects. The experience is for independent people looking for a unique volunteer experience, off the tourist trail.

What struck me most about Las Cruces was how friendly and excited to meet me everyone at the town hall was. There was genuine curiosity towards foreigners and everyone was eager to show me their culture and their village.

Unfortunately, I was only at Las Cruces for a week, as I had not planned this trip beforehand and ended up meeting Maria mainly out of curiosity. Consequently, I had little opportunity to immerse myself in the community the way I would have liked to, but the people of Las Cruces took me in immeditately as one of them - even though my Spanish, and thus communication, was very limited.

Despite such a brief time, Maria introduced me to the programme run by the Women's Office promoting gender equality and let me help her in workshops. I had an unexpected amount of responsibility straight from the start, giving out instructions to one of the groups and helping them with activities. This was something I have not been accustomed to from volunteering in the past and I was pleasantly surprised. It allowed me to learn firsthand about the women I was working with and understand the challenges they are facing as well as those the programme is facing in its implementation. That way I was able to use my own initiative to discover new things and try different techniques. Also, preparing and executing the workshops was a whole lot of fun - it is great working in an environment in which you all brainstorm together and bounce off each other's ideas.

Overall, I really think the programme makes a difference for the villages in Peten, it's great for learning something about Guatemala's true culture and hospitality and Maria and the crew are a blast!

Here's what some previous volunteers had to say about their experiences!