There is a famous quote from Mahatma Gandhi: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Working for the most vulnerable members of our community without getting paid is the best way to find out who we really are and what we want to do. Volunteering not only consists in helping others, but also helping ourselves to become the best version of us to contribute to our families and communities.

Throughout my life, I have participated in several volunteer activities, such as river clean-ups, reforestation, dog and cat sterilization campaigns, distribution of food and toys for children in poverty organized by my parish, St. Augustine of Hippo, etc.

I'd like to take this opportunity to share with you one of the most memorable and impactful volunteer experiences I've had, as it taught me very important life lessons.

At the end of 2019, I was presented with the wonderful opportunity to participate in a volunteer activity of the NGO World Vision Peru that was supporting and helping throughout the year to improve the education of children from the poorest communities in the region of Huancavelica, Peru. The volunteering activity consisted of translating from Spanish to English the letters from the children in which they had to write the things they learned throughout the year and to whom they felt grateful.

During this activity, I could not help but shed tears and thank God for everything I had and have: a family, food, clothes, and a place to sleep.

In their letters, many children thanked their parents for continuing to support them in their studies, both financially and emotionally. In places where education is a privilege for the few, young children have to be grateful and feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend school. This is a sad and heartbreaking reality. Education is a fundamental right and not at all a privilege for the few.

Other children thanked their parents for working very hard to provide for them. Most of the parents of these children are farmers and have to work every day from early in the morning until late in the evening to support their children. The effort their parents make is really meaningful to the children.

Some children thanked their parents for feeding them well. Many children in the Huancavelica region do not eat three meals a day, and those that do only get small portions of not very nutritious food. This is why the number of cases of malnutrition and anemia in children in this region is alarming. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática - INEI), Huancavelica has the highest levels of chronic child malnutrition in Peru (31.5%). For these children to have three meals a day or some food other than what they usually eat is a source of joy and great gratitude.

In other letters, I was able to observe the gratitude of some children towards their animals, including cows and hens, for providing them with milk, cheese, and eggs, either to consume or to sell. The respect and gratitude that these children have for their animals is incredible, since they live with them and know the great variety of products that can be obtained thanks to the animals. The children also know the great effort involved in raising them.

In each of the 500 letters from these children that I translated, I was able to learn something new, as each one of them contained very sincere and inspiring messages. These children taught me that I am too fortunate and that I should be grateful for everything I have and that happens to me, no matter how simple and insignificant it may seem. I am thankful to be alive, healthy, to have a family, to have had the opportunity to study, to be able to eat every day, to be able to write these articles in which I share my experiences. We must be very grateful for the things we have, for those pleasant moments and also for those bad ones because they allow us to grow and live, and living also implies pain and suffering.

Another great lesson that these children taught me is the great gratitude we should have for the animals we consume or from which we obtain a product. They are also living beings just like us and are sacrificed for our benefit. These animals deserve to be treated with respect, must be raised in appropriate conditions, and must never be subjected to acts of cruelty.

The children of the poorest communities in Huancavelica taught me valuable lessons, for which I am truly grateful to them. I also feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in this volunteer program that allowed me to see other realities and perspectives and to develop values.

Volunteering always leaves us with great life lessons and helps us develop several values such as solidarity, understanding, and empathy. That's what I love most about volunteering. So if you want to see other realities, learn life lessons, develop values and have a wonderful time at the same time, don't hesitate to participate in volunteer programs.