I have been thinking about the time I’ve spent down here in Latin America volunteering over the past five months, and I understand it isn´t a sacrifice everyone can make. Those who have children or grandparents they need to care for, a job whose security cannot be jeopardized, or too much debt to consider leaving in the first place, remind us volunteers that our purpose is larger than just delivering aid to the communities in which we work in. 
The fact that everybody cannot just get up and go is a major reason that the biggest mistake volunteers can make is NOT BLOGGING! Blogging allows volunteers the opportunity to share the nuances of the cultures they are experiencing, as well as the stories and trials of a particular family in that community. Through the Kiva Fellows Blog, myself and the other fellows have the awesome opportunity to highlight our favorite stories from the field.
But if your organization doesn´t offer you a blogging tool, why not make a blog of your own? Here are a few of my favorite reasons why:
- You are lucky to have this experience! Show how grateful you are by doing justice to the communities you are working with. Share their untold stories on your blog. Share their trials and ways to help from both home and abroad. Include calls to action in every touching post because that is when people are moved most to do something.
- It can be used as your travel diary. Include those quirky stories and taxi drivers´ names that you would never remember four months from now. This day and age, we practically all type faster than we write. Most blog hosting sites allow you to privatize a post you consider personal. Go ahead and write what´s on your mind, and if you don´t want to share it with the world, keep it hidden.
- If you take time with research and your writing style, a future employer may be very impressed by your dedication and thought. It’s no secret that employers search for people´s Facebook profiles for incriminating evidence. So why not maintain a blog – one that would make future employers honored to hire you and help further you career – that instead shows you off to the world?
As I have transitioned from my first Kiva Fellows placement in Peru to my current one in Bolivia, I have met numerous volunteers with countless untold stories. As they share them with me over a drink, within minutes I am begging them to start a blog. If not just for themselves, for their friends, family, and extended community. It is something I think every volunteer should do. Trust me, what you are doing is interesting and others want (and deserve!) to be a part of your experiences!
Latest posts by suzypm
- Redemption for Our Hearts, for Haiti - January 28th, 2010
- 33 Tips from Kiva Fellows in Latin America - December 2nd, 2009
- Amazon Burning: Blog Action Day 2009 - October 15th, 2009
- So You Spin the Globe... - October 2nd, 2009
- When Boredom Attacks - September 25th, 2009
- Ignorance is Bliss - September 18th, 2009
- The Harder Days - August 28th, 2009
- For the Best Fruit, You Gotta Go Out on a Limb - August 14th, 2009
- Where We Pull Apart, We Bind Together - August 3rd, 2009
I couldn’t agree with this more! I may not always feel like I have the most poigniont thing to say, but blogging pulls people in from everywhere around the world, and lets them read about real life in another world.
Personally as well, it really gave me an opportunity to share what I was doing with people I cared about and not feel so far away from home. It also avoids the “so how was it?” question that’s never easy to sum up.