Mandy Messer, TUMO

Name: Mandy Messergyg-logo-teal-transparent1
School: Michigan State University
Type of Work: Education, Technology
Region: Middle East, Asia
Length of stay: 6 months – 1 year

 

 

Tell us about the organization you work for and what you do for them.
I worked for an amazing educational program in Yerevan, Armenia, called TUMO, www.tumo.org. The mission of the program is to teach animation, web design, video production and video game production to high school students, by way of a game-like environment. I wrote the curriculum and several activities for the web design discipline. Here’s some more information on my experience in the workplace in Armenia in these two blog posts: “Using Your Talents”, “HTTP”.

How can you forget a great smile and wave such as this from your host grandma?!

Share a favorite memory.
Oh gosh, there are so many. I’ll start with my host family: 2 hour long conversations with my host mom every morning, always ending her stories with the same line that I learned so well “Vorovhetev, mer presidente lav e chi!” Meaning: “That’s because our president is no good!”. Late night conversations with my host sister when we went to bed. Hugs, cakes, delicious food, birthday parties, vodka, bonding in the middle of the night when we can’t sleep, celebrations, watching the Genocide commemoration parade on TV with them as the whole country took moments of silence, learning the language, laughing, joking, bonding, everything. I miss them.

What have you learned from your experience? How has it affected your long-term goals?
It gave me tremendous perspective on the work that I do here in the United States and how technology can make an impact. Working at TUMO and living in Armenia inverted my world. Social dynamics that were strong in the US were weak in Armenia and vice versa. The eagerness of a young person there blew my mind. How they wanted to learn everything about the English language, asking so many questions, embracing any exposure to the world and other cultures as possible, while retaining respect and appreciation for staying true to the Armenian culture, their family and their life. Overall, it opened my eyes and expanded my world. Since then, I’ve moved to a city that is more global-travel-friendly and adjusted my career so that I can continue to travel. With the long-term goal of structuring my career so that I can work internationally for months at a time. I was inspired, challenged and rewarded beyond anything I’ve ever done prior to this experience. This is the fabulous program that made my experience happen: Birthright Armenia

in Give Your Gap / Stories  by 01 Jul 2014 0 comments

Gapper Video Profile: Maggie, Magic Hospital – Beijing

On our visit with Magic Hospital in Beijing, China, GiveYourGap was able to sit down with Maggie, a part-time volunteer form South Carolina, to talk with her about her volunteering abroad experience.

Full interview transcript

GYG: So first, can you introduce yourself for us?
Maggie:Hi my name is Maggie Hicks. I’m from Colombia, South Carolina, I’m 25 years old, and I’m currently living in Beijing China volunteering for Magic Hospital.
GYG: What is Magic Hospital? What do they do?
Maggie: Magic Hospital is a quality of life organization. So we work in partnership with hospitals, migrant schools, and orphanages around Beijing to help improve the programs that they already have in place. So we bring in volunteers who can help with art or music or just to bring a new level of engagement to organizations that work with children. We also do different individual programs like outdoorsy days or gift-giving where we go into these organizations and do a special type of event.
GYG: What do you do specifically for Magic Hospital? What are some of your daily tasks?
Maggie: I’m the volunteer communications coordinator. I have a full-time job, but I also work as a volunteer with Magic Hospital to do the website, work with local publications, spread the word about different fundraising events that we’re having, basically just get the word out about what Magic Hospital does. So daily stuff that I do is I post pictures of our most recent events, I edit our website, or I’ll answer questions that a local publication might have about what we do and our volunteer opportunities.
GYG: How did you find Magic Hospital?
Maggie: I originally moved to Beijing to teach, and then have since found another job. I found Magic Hospital just through searching. I wanted to do something that would supplement the skills that I already had and was learning through work and where I could help an organization grow and use the skills that I was learning through my professional job. So I found Magic Hospital just through Google and through word of mouth. I’ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of different people from everywhere around the world in Beijing.
GYG: What can other people do volunteering at Magic Hospital?
Maggie: We have two different ways to volunteer at Magic Hospital. One is the core team that does more the administrative work. We help coordinate the different programs and do fundraising, communications. We also have volunteers who work within the specific programs in our partner institution. So they go into the migrant schools or the hospitals and actually play out the programs that we help coordinate and work with children and teach them, or do art with them, or play with them.
GYG: How do you like living in Beijing? What’s the experience like to volunteer here?
Maggie: Living in Beijing has been a great experience. It’s been three years and I get to meet people from everywhere who are doing really really interesting things. As everyone knows, China is growing, and there are amazing opportunities if you do choose to come here. There is someone who is working on everything, so no matter what your interested in, someone is here who is doing something innovative in that space. I think that’s what I’ve enjoyed the most.
GYG: Why should people come to volunteer at Magic Hospital?
Maggie: I think the real reason people would want to come to volunteer for Magic Hospital is because you really do get to see the difference you get to make. We are a small organization but we have strong partnerships with the groups that we work with. When you go into these schools, the little bit that we are able to do has a big impact. I think that you’re not going to get lost in the scope of Magic Hospital. You’re really going to get to see what your skills and your energy can do to make a positive change.

Thanks Maggie!! It was so great to see someone dedicating their little free time volunteering, even while working abroad. Best of luck! Check out our full feature on Magic Hospital.

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in Give Your Gap / Stories  by 05 Dec 2012 1 comments

Janice Smith, Ramakrishna Vivekanada Girls’ Blind and Deaf Orphanage School

Name: Janice Smith
 Type of Work: Education, Arts, Language
Region: Asia
Length of stay: 1-2 months

Tell us about the organization you work for and what you do for them.
I was the first foreign volunteer to stay and live with the girls in 2009. I taught and and other cultural activities.

Share a favorite memory.
The never ending love the girls had to offer. I learned so much about life and self discover.

What have you learned from your experience? How has it affected your long-term goals?
Material items are not essential to live a happy and meaningful life. I learned so much about their language and culture that positively effects me today on a daily basis.

What was the most challenging part of your job?
Not being able to speak the language, adapting to their food and hot humid climate.

Do you have any advice for prospective gappers?
Travel with an extremely open heart and try as many new things as possible, except from street food venders :)

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in 1-2 Months / Arts / Asia / Education / Featured Gappers / Features / Give Your Gap / Language / Stories  by 24 May 2012 0 comments

PT Foundation – Kuala Lampur, Malaysia

The city of Kuala Lumpur is a modern, vibrant, and exciting place. While it is easy to get caught-up in the glamour and fun of the metropolis, as we did during our first few days there, our visit to the PT Foundation gave a us a glimpse of the real life of the city. Not everyone can enjoy the luxuries of the city and the dedicated staff at the PT Foundation work tirelessly to provide the services that marginalized communities need and deserve.

GiveYourGap got to sit down with the coordinator of the Positive Living Programme, a center for people living with HIV.

The PT Foundation is an organization dedicated to helping prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and enhancing the lives of those living with the disease. They offer free and confidential HIV/AIDS testing along have different programs that help address the needs of the five at-risk groups: those living with HIV, drug-users, sex-workers, transgenders, and MSMs. We were lucky enough to be able to visit their offices, where they offer counseling and support groups for MSM individuals, and the Sex Worker resource center.

The PT Foundation organized a campaign of international celebrities to bring awareness to the needs of the AIDS-affected community.

As soon as we entered in to the PT Foundation offices, located in a low-income area of Kuala Lumpur, we were immediately welcomed and could feel the supportive environment of the office. They have a small but hard-working staff that comes from all walks of life. All of them offer their individual skills to help the foundation. Their offices are filled with inspirational posters, pamphlets and resources offering advice, and comfortable counseling rooms. Besides the staff there were a number of volunteers, both local and international, who give their time to keep the programs running.

A short distance away from the office centers is the Sex Worker resource center. Here they run a drop-in center offering many programs to help sex workers in the area. The center serves as a safe shelter for these women to stay away from the streets during the day. They also provide them with condoms, sexual health education, HIV/AIDS prevention training and resources. The shelter also provides a safe place for the children of these workers. While the PT Foundation does not promote sex work, they understand that ignoring the needs of the workers will not make it stop… it will merely become more and more unsafe for the women working. In addition to providing a safe environment and health tips, the program also offers support to women wishing to leave sex work and be trained to enter another profession. They also work hard to reduce the stigma that sex workers face so that they might be treated better by society.

The PT Foundation gave us a tour of the safe shelter they provide for sex-workers.

The women we met at the center were all strong and hard-working; a diverse group of mothers and transgender people all benefiting from the resources PT was offering. Those who were active sex workers were able to get off the street during the day to enjoy some rest and clean conditions. Others had transitioned into working for the center instead of on the streets. Both employees and clients benefited immensely from the center.

Volunteers played a big part in helping out in most of the centers. At the office there is always extra work that the volunteers can help with, especially if they come in with ideas about what skills they can contribute. In the other programs they can have more time working with people helping out in the centers. We met a wide range of volunteers coming from many different backgrounds and countries. All of them were passionate and inspired by the work both they and the PT Foundation were doing.

A volunteer at the Positive Living Programme arranging handouts.

We left the PT Foundation feeling excited about the work they were doing and hopeful for the future of the communities they served. Our time in Malaysia was much more enjoyable knowing there were people out there as dedicated and driven as those of the PT Foundation.

To see more, check out our Gapper Video Profile with PT volunteer Asma.

in Give Your Gap / Stories  by 24 Apr 2012 1 comments