Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Returnees Shares Stories: Life Changing Experience through Community Service

Life Changing Experience through Community Service
 
It was about 6 years ago; when I was only 11 a giant earthquake and Tsunami devastated Aceh and killed thousands people. Not long after the tremendous hazard, I remembered thousand volunteers from different organizations around the world came to Aceh and helped our people. They did it voluntarily, sacrificed their own time to help people which they had never known before. They taught me that it doesn’t matter where do you come from and what language do you speak, if you can use your ability to help others, so do it! It motivated me to do the same thing when I grew up; I want to be a useful person.
Then the time goes by so quickly, suddenly I am in the United States of America, country which contributed so much in re-building Aceh after the Tsunami. I feel honored that I had a chance to do what I always expected when I was 11, through the great opportunity as an exchange students, I could do volunteering activity and helped my community with my ability. What I like the most from my volunteer experience is I grow as a person every time I do community service. I don’t need awards or compliment for what I did, but when I saw the smile and appreciation from people I helped, I felt complete as a person, that this tiny power can touch other people’s heart and raised their happiness. Even though sometimes I had to deal with people who weren’t so satisfied with my work, I always thought that I couldn’t please every people’s expectation; all I could do was doing my best. 


I did a lot of stuffs during my exchange year: such as peer tutoring after school, worked in the district library every Saturday, organized blood donation in my host city, Qur’an Tutoring during Ramadhan, worked with Student Council to raise the fund for earthquake victims in Haiti, spend my winter to campaign about animal shelter, and volunteered by selling Christmas stuff for Relay for Life (American Cancer Society).
My favorite was when I volunteered in the library; I got a new experience that really involved my creative side: I did scrap book and told story for little kids. Well, pretty much I used that brilliant opportunity to have a presentation about Indonesia and taught those little kids some Indonesian traditional dances. I was really surprised when one of them wanted to host me. “Come to my house, I’ll host you!”. Haha… That was so funny how a 5 year old girl acted like she wanted to kidnap you.
Through volunteering I started to gain more confidence. Instead of being nervous or scared, I saw this as an experience to meet new people and learn new things. Many people said, "How can you enjoy it so much if you receive no money at the end of the week? Where is the gratification". But the truth of the matter is the feeling of helping someone do what needs to be accomplished is gratification in itself. I can’t find a lot of community service in Indonesia, so I want to gain volunteering experience as much as I can.
United States of America becomes a great nation because of community service; because every people in that country have willingness to help others. When I get back to Indonesia, I want to tell my family and friends that community service was so much fun and I’ve learned a lot from it. Even more significant is the value and importance of community service in our society. Without community service in our society many people would not know the meaning, usefulness, or importance of charity. Serving in our community takes away from the problems that exist in our society and in the world as a whole. I will encourage my family and friends to do community service and make a big change.
As I helped some people in the past and I sit back and think about them occasionally, I begin to feel that because of my concern and caring personality I helped these people to have one less burden resting on their shoulders. Although I did not receive any material objects in return, I gained the wonderful feeling of knowing someone's day would be brighter and better because of me.

Shima Trisna
Chapter Malang
Hosted in Colorado

June.10th.2010
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