文字难度：★★☆
I have volunteered in several different 1)facets in several different cultures, and therefore have experienced many of the best and worst aspects of such endeavors.
I have experienced the indescribable heartbreak of losing a child (not my own) for whom I tried my utmost to save; the extreme frustration of being told that I can not help if I’m not with an “official organization”; the 2)dodginess of being in a very unstable, even 3)volatile and 4)hostile, environment due to political unrest; being forcibly put under 5)house arrest under the watchful eye of a soldier with an 6)AK-47; arguing and pleading with the UN for food, supplies and medicine for survivors of an earthquake and being told to come back after the weekend since it was a Friday.
At the same time, I have felt the 7)highs of finishing a project that you know will help someone who otherwise would not have been helped. Seeing the smile on the face of a fisherman, who, having lost everything due to natural disaster, has been given his livelihood back in the form of a new fishing boat. Raising enough money (a relative 8)pittance in western measures) to be able to build a school for very needy children in the mountains devastated by earthquakes. Helping hand out 9)rations of food to refugees in tent camps and seeing little boys and girls carry their weight in food back to their families.
The people I met through my efforts was perhaps the most uplifting aspect of all. How people from around the world came to help those who needed it the most, often at great sacrifice to themselves. Volunteers who gave up jobs, money, possessions, even relationships just so they could stay longer and help as much as they could. Living in tents with survivors who have lost everything and everyone, yet still offer you the only piece of chicken as you are their guest. As a good friend put it: “We were all part of something that was bigger than any single one of us.” I will be friends with many of the people I volunteered along side with for the rest of my life, as the bond you forge with people in such circumstances can not be broken. I couldn’t be more proud to have them as my friends.
In all, I can’t imagine ever being the person I was before I volunteered. Having your eyes opened to the inequalities of the world may be a blessing and a 10)curse at the same time, but I wouldn’t go back to the ignorance I 11)fostered for anything in the world. All I really want to say is that it is absolutely within our power to help others who are less fortunate in life. Those, who by sheer misfortune, were born into a life of poverty, disaster, AIDS, and political instability. That by offering a small amount of time and effort, we can positively effect others 12)exponentially. And I promise you, we will be much, much richer for having done so.
Please, volunteer.
我在几个拥有不同文化背景的国家做过不同领域的志愿者,因此在这些过程中也得以见识到至善和至恶的方方面面。
我经历过:那种失去一个曾经全力救助的小孩(不是我亲生的)时无法描述的伤痛;那种当被告知如果不是来自“官方组织”则不能插手帮助时的极度挫败感;冒险置身于政局动荡甚至混乱而危险的环境中做志愿者;被强行软禁并处于手持AK-47的士兵的监视之下;为了地震幸存者的食品、物资和药物而求助于联合国时,却被告知要在周末过后再来求助,只因当天是星期五。
与此同时,我也因为以下这些而激动兴奋:完成了一个项目,你知道它会让原本非常无助的人得到帮助;看到因自然灾害变得一无所有的渔民得到一艘新渔船,又可继续营生时展露的笑颜;为遭受地震打击的山区学生筹集到足够的钱(以西方的标准看来那只是很少的钱)去重建学校;帮助分发食物给帐篷中的难民,并且看到小男孩、小女孩们靠着自己的力气把食物扛回家。
而最鼓舞人心的莫过于那些我在志愿者服务中相遇相识的人。来自世界各地的志愿者去帮助那些最需要帮助的人,往往作出了巨大的个人牺牲。他们放弃工作、金钱、财产、甚至感情,只为了尽可能地待更长时间,尽可能地给予更多的帮助。与失去所有东西和亲人的幸存者同住在帐篷中,那些人仍因为你是他们的客人而把唯一的一块鸡肉留给你,正如一好友所言:“作为整体的一部分,我们比我们其中的任何一个个体都要强大。”我与许多一起参与志愿者工作的人将永远是朋友,只因在这些情况下你与他人所形成的关系是牢不可破的。我为拥有这些朋友而感到无比自豪。
总之,我甚至无法想象之前未当志愿者时的自己。看到世界的这么多不平等是一种福气,同时也是一种痛苦,但我不会回到对世界上任何事情都视若无睹的过去。我想说的是,我们完全有能力去帮助那些生活不太幸运的人——那些完全由于不幸而生活在贫困、灾难、艾滋病以及动荡政局中的人。只需付出一点点时间和精力,我们就可以使他人得到极大的帮助。而且,我向你保证,由此我们将会变得更加富有。
去当志愿者吧!
