We asked our volunteers the following question: Do the values of the community that you have surrounded yourself with, broaden your perspective of your own problems?
Community; a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.
It is to be believed that community provides protection and a sense of hope, especially during tough times and throughout impoverished neighbourhoods. People assisting others because they come from a similar background, or stay in the same place, they tend to share the same unfortunate circumstances. There is a strong feeling amongst the community if they do not help one another, no one will. Any sort of government assistance or influence is merely a pipe dream.
Whatever community or neighbourhood you experience can only broaden your perspective on your problems. Experiences good or bad, can only help achieve a better understanding of problems, whether your own or the problems within the community. The neighbourhoods that Voluntario Global are assisting are in dire circumstances, but the sense of community is unimaginable. The community kitchen in the Barracas neighbourhood feeds over 500 people per day, with a hot meal. The food is prepared by a group of women every single day, and they work tirelessly so that they can provide meals to the community. Many of these women are wives, mothers, aunts and grandmothers and they live in the very same community under the same poor conditions. The sense of community that is felt in the kitchen, would make anyone appreciate the work they do. They prep and prepare all the food, for anyone in the community who needs a warm meal. This is their reality, but they still have a sense of responsibility to assist the community.
In many places around the world, the sense of community is merely a concept, and isn’t practiced the way it was many years ago. This seems to be a more common case in more affluent countries, or merely affluent areas within the country. There is a well known saying that there is always someone worse off than yourself, and travelling to these communities you get a real sense of that. Although, the people in these communities I am sure share this perspective. They don’t let others down, they don’t show the children their pain, they simply work and do their duty for the community they live in. Exceptional people with exceptional spirit and love living in dire circumstances.