The 23^rd of January of this year may have felt like any other day for you. And it probably was like any other day, if it was not for it's special name tag - World Freedom Day. Being originally celebrated in Taiwan and South Korea as a memorial day, marking the return of some 22,000 ex-communist war prisoners of the Korean War in the 1950s to Taiwan, people all around the world still remember the 23^rd of January as the starting point for the establishment of a World League for Freedom and Democracy that back in the days had the intention to fight the expansion of communism worldwide. No matter how connected we personally feel to this historic event and the circumstances at that time, we all have the chance to pay tribute to this day and take the opportunity to hold in for a minute and reflect on what freedom means to us and the people around us.

The reality is that freedom is an ambiguous word that continues to be contested.  It is not unlikely that the question of what freedom really means, will leave us with more questions than answers - like any other important question in life. However, considering the fact that still only few people regard themselves to be truly free, we should pick up the debate on freedom over and over again. Freedom as it is generally perceived in today's society tends to have a political and economic connotation. People may consider themselves as free when living in a jurisdiction that is not underlying any military or economic occupation. Moreover, criteria such as personal safety and absolute freedom of speech express true political freedom. However, the existence of these expressions of freedom is highly challenged around the globe by suppressing states and governments. In financial terms, the general opinion in today's widespread capitalism is that money equals freedom. From a capitalist point of view, only those who have access to rich financial resources can enjoy what freedom really means. All others depend on selling their labor power in order to grant them access to a restricted amount of opportunities. However, how much of all these superfluous goods and services that surround us should we actually desire to possess? Isn't most of what we desire just covering up some kind of emptiness in our lives instead of filling it with experience that seems to be so much more rewarding for our true happiness and well-being?

Beyond all the political, economic and social influences that tend to narrow our perception of freedom, it is our mind that determines if we actually feel free and how much we desire a certain state of freedom. Not each and every one on this planet may have the privilege to enjoy a system that allows them to act freely – the voice of people is still getting suppressed by political systems worldwide; governments still take economic decisions at the expense of vast majorities of the population; people remain in poverty without any promise for change - however, each and every one of us has the potential to act for freedom, for ourselves and for others. Any of these acts for freedom will be motivated from within ourselves and ultimately rely on our state of mind and how we decide to feed it. By unplugging from controversial messages we consume and the social conventions that limit our actions, we will be able to focus on what truly matters to us and constructively direct all our power and energy in a direction that we consider to be right.

This may all sound very extreme but in fact it is not. Like most things we would consider good, freedom would not come as an extremity but as something moderate. Freedom will not only give us the choice but ultimately also the right to do what we believe is right, even sometimes at the expense of our own wants. Combining our privileges of some degree of economic, political and financial freedom with our freedom of mind, we have the power to help the less privileged people to follow their desire for freedom that exists in their minds and achieve more freedom in any perspective. Freedom is manifold and there are a hundred ways to go and promote more freedom worldwide. It starts with giving hope and creating perspectives for others that desire the kind of freedom we may already have. Freedom should not be a desire, it should be reality!

Bringing love into a volunteering experience

Cafés and restaurants promote special offers. Stores and shops start decorating in colours like red and pink. Heart cut-outs appear in windows, heart-shaped cookies and cakes fill the shelves in your local panaderías, and even the supermarket around the corner puts up a display with cards. You can see and feel it everywhere: love is in the air in Buenos Aires and Valentines Day cannot be far.

El Día de los Enamorados (Valentine's Day) is celebrated in Argentina like it is in the rest of the world: couples exchange cute little gifts such as chocolate and flowers, they go out for a nice dinner and celebrate their love, their relationship and their affection to one another. However, when Valentine's Day is over many couples go back to their daily routine and stop working on their relationship. Daily life often lacks original and creative ways to spend your time together as a couple and show your affection beyond the occasional gift or flowers.

Still, over the years at Voluntario Global we have seen that there are other ways to celebrate your bond as a couple and develop your relationship. Volunteering and travelling as a couple will be a life-changing experience that you will remember fondly for many years to come. Volunteering itself is a rewarding experience but doing it with a loved one makes it even more special. You share a joint purpose and dedicate your time and skills to a cause that both of you believe in. You will also have the chance to combine your interests and knowledge and to get to know each other in a new way. You don't only share your love with each other but open your heart to a community and let them be part of it. 

Just last month Voluntario Global welcomed newlyweds Ronan and Claire O´Sullivan to the community. The two volunteers helped out in a soup kitchen with a connected kindergarten in Barracas, a neighbourhood just a 20 minutes bus ride from the centre of Buenos Aires and situated close to the well-known ‘La Boca’ neighbourhood. Claire volunteered in the kitchen and Ronan helped building a play area for the children outside. Their decision to volunteer as a couple is a great example of taking your love to another culture and sharing it with the local people. Instead of spending their honeymoon in a beach resort, Ronan and Claire dedicated their holidays to getting to know a new culture, giving back to local communities and share their love with the people in need.

Another inspiring story came to us through Isabel and Henry, who brought their toddler Nina to Buenos Aires to volunteer in a kindergarten. Dedicating themselves for a good cause as a whole family showed us a special way of sharing love, which was not only reflected by them giving love to the people in need but by them also receiving sympathy and love from the locals, especially towards their daughter Nina. Altruism and charity begin at home – Isabel and Henry live this out. True role models from again another generation were Dianne and Paul Cross, an elderly British couple (both in their fifties) that went abroad to celebrate their wedding anniversary in a unique way. Dianne and Paul volunteered in a soup kitchen in the neighborhood La Boca where they dedicated their time and energy to providing food to those in need.

For them this was not only an opportunity to give back but also allowed them to deepen their relationship by sharing an experience that let them appreciate how lucky they are even more. Three generations of love, three relationships, one purpose. Volunteering as a couple is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will not only benefit the project and the local community but also provide the opportunity to develop your relationship. For the people in need they are inspiring role models that combine their shared values, interests and skills to truly make a difference.  

When I came to Argentina to volunteer, they asked me how I think I would deal with the 'culture shock'. At first I didn't really understand that concept, and the term 'Culture Shock" sounded a bit scary to me, like some kind of disease. Now I understand it a bit better. There really are some cultural differences between Argentina and Europe (where I come from). However I actually didn't find them 'shocking', but rather found them liberating and mind-opening. Its good to see that things can be done diffently. On the other hand I also met volunteers who had some problems with the differences when they came here. I think taking an open perspective, coming with an intention of learning new things and the will to adapt to different circumstances (instead of trying to make things work as you are used to at home) helps a lot in making the best of volunteering. In this article I want to focus on two culture-shock-aspects: uncertainty (changing circumstances) and a different rhythm of working.

One of the things I learned while volunteering in Argentina is being flexible, to "go with the flow", instead of sticking to stone-hard expectations. Things aren't as structured as in Europe, each day might bear a surprise. For some volunteers this is irritating in the beginning, but when you just take it as it comes, this uncertainty is actually a great aspect of volunteering. In fact, when you decide to leave home sweet home and travel to a country far away, a bit of uncertainty is what you want, right?

Last (european) summer I contacted Voluntario Global for volunteering in a NGO for sustainable development. My plan was to work 2 month in an organic garden and 2 month in their Communications Department, but things turned out different. When I met up for the first time with the Boss of the Grassroots-NGO, Chacras, she told me that the Organic Garden in the psychiatric hospital didn't exist anymore, instead they set up a new garden in the outskirts of the city. The NGO did not really have work for me in the communications department (and also my spanish would have been too poor for that task...). Instead I learned that they have a lot more projects, which are in ecological construction and help in a cultural center in the psychatric hospital. I was excited about the eco-construction project instantly. I was also excited about the work in the cultural center, but this excitement was mixed with a bit of nervousness, since I never worked with psychiatric patients ever before but I decided to give it a try, "Vamos a ver!" ("Lets see!").

The eco-construction turned out great, the argentinian co-workers were amazingly friendly and, as the site is located a bit outside of the city, going there 2 days a week was a perfect holiday from noisy Buenos Aires. The work in the cultural center of the psychatric hospital (Hospital Jose T. Borda) turned out even greater, the first time I entered the place I was overwhelmed by the warmhearted welcome the "locos" ('crazy') gave me. Now after three month going there feels like visiting friends (and not like 'work' at all). Also the Center itself is amazing, its filled with great art by patients and international artists. Every 4 weeks they hold a festival with theatre, music and movies. So in the end, giving the new volunteering-opportunities a try, instead of rejecting them, and beeing disappointed about not beeing able to do the exact work I signed up for, was the best choice. I recommend to not come with too fixed expectations, instead try the opportunities that come along!

Another thing you will experience working as a volunteer, which may be irritating at first is a lot of waiting. I met some volunteers who really could not deal with that and got quite nervous. They kept asking; when can we work, what can we do? Instead of recognising the value of the waiting time; the chance to socialise, drink Mate and relax. Of course you don´t want to sit around all day (and you wont!), but as a volunteer you have to learn to take it easy sometimes! "Tranquilo!" ("Slowly") Conversation is a essential part of working here. In 'western' countries we make a rather strict division between work and leisure. We rush to get things done, take a quick lunch break, maybe take 10 minutes more to have a coffee and a cigarette and then rush back to work. Hurry, hurry, hurry! Volunteer-work here is different! Work is supposed to be a social event. When you have lunch you take your time, after lunch you drink Mate with your fellows, talk, tell jokes, drink more Mate. A break usually doesn't take less then one hour. That doesn't mean people are lazy, things get done, they just might take a little bit longer and if you have a good time while working, who cares if it takes a bit longer? Once you understand that (or maybe you already did and came here for that reason) you may find that working that way is a lot more healthy than the 'work-as-hard-as-you-can' way we follow so often in Europe and the US. Moreover this gives you the best opportunity to practice your spanish and learn about the argentinian culture, so you don't have to think of it as 'lost time'.

So the 'Culture Shock' is what you make of it! Just be ready to let go of some old habits and learn new ones and you will find the argentinian culture very enjoyable!

There is a new project you can be part of. It is a Summer Camp for 30 young children aged 6 to 15 years old at Colonia Villa de Mayo, a suburb in the north-west of Buenos Aires.Being usually working at the Voluntario Global Communication office, where we do a lot of M arketing research, write and discuss articles and manage Voluntario Global’s social media and blog, it’s hard to get in touch with the people that benefit from the different projects. This volunteer experience, however, encourages you to  directly interact with the people we support.

 To get to Villa de Mayo you have to take the subte, then the train and walk for 25 minutes to the Camp. It took almost two hours to get there. At the end of the commute we reached the community center to be very warmly welcomed by a crew of five employees. The atmosphere at the institution was very friendly, as were the members of staff. The people were very open-minded, it seems they have the ability to make everyone feel good. With people like them it’s  a piece of cake to get integrated.

One by one the kids arrived at the house, the official start of the summer camp was at 14:30. All the people gathered in the biggest room of the house. After the greeting they were divided into several groups according to the different activities they could do. There was one room where the children did handicrafts, another room with several computers (just the older kids were allowed to use it), and an open yard where the kids can play tennis and basketball and have fun in a big swimming pool,  that seemed to be the most fun things to do for many of them. In every little playground there is a responsible woman in change. They look after the kids and help them in case they need assistance. The women who work in the institution are very nice and always listened to the wishes of the children. Volunteers are always needed because there are many children to take care of and it’s almost impossible for the women working there to give everyone the attention they need. Moreover, volunteers can help in different ways and do the things they like most. So it is up to the volunteer capacities if he or she is more into outdoor activities like tennis or basketball, or inside activities like board games or handicraft. At the end it is impossible not to feel as though you are having an impact on their life. The first volunteer on this project was more than happy, being able to help the crew and spending a hot day near the splashes of a swimming pool full of happy kids. Even not talking perfect Spanish he manages to get along with everyone. It’s not necessary to say that the kids had an amazing time during his time at the summer camp.

Unfortunately is it not possible for one volunteer to look after all the children at the same time so more volunteers are hardly needed. This volunteer experience is a life time opportunity to get quality time with kids, see their changes and be an influence in their lives.

On November 30, Voluntario Global held its annual meeting of organizations to celebrate the end of the year with those who have supported us in building ties of commitment and work. During the meeting we shared experiences about various projects that have occurred throughout the year. This time we were accompanied by: Lorena, Liliana, Stella, Claudia and Monica from kindergarten projects, along with our continued volunteer, Bernadette. Mabel and Christian were there representing Christian youth group. Silvia from the English School, was accompanied by two former students who are now teachers and are enrolled in "Armin's Dream" scholarship. Rocío, shared her experience in a monthly discussion about education. Jasmine and Sofia, help tutor English at a community center in La Boca neighborhood. One of the main topics was the scholarship in honor of Armin, a founder of Voluntario Global. This campaign seeks to develop the training of future grantees, giving them the opportunity to participate in international conferences or a volunteer experience abroad with the aim of generating an impact on both their lives and in their communities. As of now, Voluntario Global team released a list of possible projects in Latin America. Another issue discussed was the creation of space for Voluntario Global internal communication in order to promote sharing and exchange between different projects. Thus, each coordinator, teacher or project assistant will have the opportunity to share the experience of their daily work strengthening the links that help them grow and stay strong. In 2013 with a total of 200 volunteers, Voluntario Global continues to create ties for growth and reflection dedicated to education, health and solidarity. This was mentioned by Mikkel Mondrup, a volunteer from Denmark, who said ¨I think it was good to see a different side of Argentina (and the world in general) that tourists do not normally see. At first it was a little difficult, but now having worked and played with the kids and seeing them happy made me feel great, especially, when I was able to familiarize myself with them¨. On the other side of this, Lucile Bernard from France, had a more professional experience at a responsible tourism travel agency, said: ¨I really liked having a professional experience and learned how to be a professional on the job¨. From all this, we hope to start this new year with those who accompanied Voluntario Global in recent years and those who continue to contribute to our network. We look forward to continuing sharing experiences and new ways with everyone.