One of
the main things that I have learned after 20 months as a Peace Corps Volunteer
is that you need to celebrate every success, no matter how small. The change
volunteers are trying to initiate will not happen overnight; there is a reason
we are here for 2 years. This July I was
fortunate enough to see a different type of volunteer work in action. An organization named VOSH, Volunteer
Optometric Services to Humanity, sent a group of nearly 40 volunteers to
Paraguay to hold a free 5 ½ day optometrist clinic for the local Paraguayans.
Each
and every one of the people that showed up was amazing. I do not mean to say that they were perfect,
altruistic people (but when have I pretended to be that, we all know I’m a jerk). The majority were students there to learn and
possibly get ahead for the coming years and good for them! No matter what
brought each of them down to Paraguay the results remain the same; they helped
around 2,500 Paraguayans. They went
above and beyond the 8 – 5 hours of the clinic and did their best to absorb as
much Paraguayan culture as possible. They befriended the locals working at the
clinic and brought gifts to help share their culture with the Paraguayans. In all honesty, I was jealous. The gratification
of their work was instantaneous; they did not have to wait 17 months to finally
see someone using their compost pile. I
know that for me, I felt that I accomplished more in those 5 ½ days than my
entire first year in country*. The volunteers all came down with a specific
skill set and provided amazing, life changing medical support to thousands of
Paraguayans.
I was
astounded by the open-minded natures the volunteers and their willingness to
embrace Paraguay. After the first day of
the clinic I sat talking with some of them and realized that they did not see
what was happening at the clinic the same way that I did. They saw ungrateful, borderline rude
Paraguayans, with little to no fashion sense, getting in and out of the clinic
as quickly as possible. I saw terrified
Paraguayans, surrounded by people speaking in a language they did not
understand and dressed in their absolute best clothing, not noticing if it
matched. I have absolutely come to love
Paraguay and the realization that they gave such a terrible first impression
horrified me. I began to explain some of
Paraguay’s history to the volunteers and then taught them a few key phrases in
Guarani, the indigenous language, to help them get the Paraguayans to relax and
open up. When the Paraguayans saw the
VOSH volunteers attempting to speak in Guarani, no matter how short the phrase,
their entire demeanor changed. They lit
up and turned on the charm that is so unmistakably Paraguayan.
The women pulled me aside, informing me they
had many sons and grandsons for me and my friends to choose from. I was quickly notified which volunteers were
prettier than me and constantly asked if the two giant camera men with blue
eyes were single. Some of these
statements seem rude or socially inappropriate to us as Americans and Canadians
(assuming one of my new Canadian friends reads this), but in Paraguay it is
normal. The people here are blunt and do
not hesitate to tell you how they feel – a trait that I have come to respect.
I am extremely glad that I was able
to help these amazing volunteers during their work in Paraguay. They changed lives in ways that are outside
of the scope of my service; in terms of magnitude of people and value added to
society. I feel that as a Peace Corps Volunteer I was able to give back something
with no real monetary value but that stands as one of the main goals of
volunteers; I gave insight into the culture of Paraguayans. Not everyone has 27 months of their lives
where they can drop everything and move to a different country to try and make
a difference; but these volunteers took 10 days out of their lives and I am
amazed at the difference they made.
Since the VOSH volunteers left I
have been trying to readjust to life in my community as the only ‘norte’. I have worked on my world map and huddled up
with some mate next to my host family’s wood burning stove. I have also begun
visiting families and taking pictures with their new glasses. I want to do my part to show the VOSH
volunteers the impact that they had in Paraguay. Every single Paraguayan I have
asked has smiled their standard Paraguayan grin and shown me to the nicest part
of their yard to take the picture. Some
have gone into their homes to change, or asked if I can wait while they bathe. Paraguayans are thankful for the work that
VOSH has done. Since there is a language
barrier here is the way they wanted to show their appreciation:
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| Na Eugenia (My contact who also worked at the clinic) |
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| Don Marcelo |
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| Na Victoria |
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| Na Julia |
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| Na Artemia |
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| Na Isabel |
I would also like to thank each
volunteer that came down, as well as all of the people that worked to help make
this trip possible. You changed lives.
It has been almost a month since you were here and I am still stopped in
the streets and on buses so I can talk to people about the amazing volunteers
that took the time from their everyday lives to make a difference. I am so
thankful that I was able to play a small part in this event. You helped make me proud of my Peace Corps
Service. I hope everyone is enjoying summer
in the Northern Hemisphere, I’m trying to think sunny thoughts during my final
winter in Paraguay!
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| Young Maria Eugenia, she was not pleased that she didn't need glasses! |
*Side Note: I know that my first year was spent building
relationships and learning language that allowed me to be effective at the
clinic. Year One in Peace Corps is about
integrating and trying to learn what your community needs. You are absolutely working but it often times
does not feel like it.
