Experience Is The Best Teacher

Volunteering gave her life an additional purpose. For Au, teaching kids is and has always been a very heartwarming experience.

Meet Au, a pharmacist, a wife to her husband Dan, and a sister to her 3 siblings. Most of her time is spent at work, but she also does some creative writing in her spare time. Growing up, she was not exposed to the idea of volunteering until she stumbled on iVolunteer.

She first learned about the organization through “Karinderia Ni Mang Urot”, a Soup Kitchen feeding the hungry in Quezon City every weekend. She then encountered it again in the Go Volunteer Expo held at Glorietta in March 2016.

Enthused with the idea of helping more, she signed up to various activities. She took part in a film showing and fundraising for the benefit of Tulong sa Kapwa Kapatid Foundation (2KK), a nonprofit aimed at educating and empowering underprivileged children. She also joined an ecological tour for kids at the La Mesa Eco Park.

While she enjoyed every activity she participated in, what she treasures most is being a voluntutor for HeCares and Museo Pambata. It is there that she feels the joy of being a big sister once again teaching little kids; a feeling she deeply misses since all her brothers are now grown-ups.

Volunteering gave her life an additional purpose. For Au, teaching kids is and has always been a very heartwarming experience. It’s bittersweet hearing kids tell stories about their families and their dreams of finishing their studies given enough money for schooling. But at the end of each day, she still feels very fulfilled knowing that she has contributed in these kids’ further learning.

Au also gained a lot of new friends through her various volunteering activities. She became part of a group of very friendly and enthusiastic people who also share the same passion for helping others.

The love for volunteering may not be an innate calling but can start after one’s first try. Au is a testament that experiencing first hand will open your eyes and heart to the joy of helping others through volunteerism.

by Carlo Jamer, iVolunteer Philippines