Volunteer Spotlight: Quinn

By Candice ConradesExperiences, Volunteer Abroad

“Overall, the experience was awesome. The programme really exceeded my expectations and was everything I had hoped for and more.”

Quinn Conover is a student from the USA who volunteered from March to May 2015 at the Colombia Kids Project. Here he tells a little of experience in Colombia! 

Finding the right organisation
I have travelled before to many countries, but had not participated in any volunteering type work before.  I was searching for cities throughout South America, and Medellin appealed to me because of its beautiful landscape.  After looking online I chose Globalteer as I felt that the programme had a lot to offer and the prices were more than fair.

Volunteering in Colombia
I didn’t know what to expect before coming to Colombia.  However, as soon as I arrived at my homestay I was warmly welcomed by my Colombian family who I lived with for 10 weeks. Living with them really was a great experience and a huge highlight of the trip for me.

 
I spent 10 weeks volunteering with a local foundation for kids coming from broken families. My experience volunteering, without being cliché, was very humbling. These kids keep a positive attitude, and never complain about anything but instead had some of the biggest smiles I have ever seen. They used to tell me, “Thank you for coming into our lives, Uncle!”

These kids have made me realise happiness is not going to come from material things, and it felt that putting a smile on their faces would show them that someone cares in their life.

Overall, the experience was awesome. The programme really exceeded my expectations and was everything I had hoped for and more. I fell in love with the Medellin way of life and people, and am beyond excited to return to Medellin.