Recently we had the opportunity to practice this mindset while visiting Samoa in the South Pacific.  Taking a look around upon our arrival, we were reminded that this area was hit by a tsunami late in September. We were gobsmacked to see the devastation.  Everything was completely beat up – flattened buildings, boats thrown across the road and debris everywhere. From what we were able to gather, the tsunami hit at about 7:00 a.m. with about 7 minutes warning.

We made the easy decision to turn our quick visit into one where we looked into what we could do to help out. We  were lucky to locate the disaster relief HQ (a school gymnasium).  They were still working through meeting with the impacted residents. They figured it would take a couple of months to simply assess all of the damage. Based on the numbers of people that filled the gym, you would have thought that the tsunami had hit yesterday.  We got hooked up with an administrator, Helen, who gave us the full scoop on what had happened and how we could help.

At times, the two of us are so focused on getting back to South America for some travel and volunteer work that we forget opportunity exists everywhere.

In the midst of planning how to make a difference, don’t forget to look right in front of you, wherever you happen to be.

If the answer to either of these questions is “yes,” join us and share your experiences!

If you’re a frequent reader of this blog, then you know that La Vida Idealist strives to explore all themes related the world of international community service – the good and the bad, the challenging and the rewarding. From confronting gender norms to how to get the most of your tax dollars from afar, mistakes volunteers make to tips on helping locals volunteer abroad, the topics our bloggers dig into is nothing short of varied.

Why have writers from all over Latin America? By including an array of voices that speak to the positive and not-so-positive aspects of community work abroad, we hope to inspire you, to support you, but most importantly, to help you remember that you are not alone in your own journey.

Currently, we are looking to expand our roster of bloggers to include voices from countries we haven’t yet covered. So if you’re already rolling your r’s (or are about to) and have a knack for storytelling, we’d love to hear from you. To learn more and apply, go to: www.idealist.org/lavida/bloggeropp