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My Year in the Rachel Cuddy |
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I can hardly believe how fast the past year has gone, and
that my gap year volunteering in the I find it
impossible to attempt and sum up an entire year, but I can definitely share
my highlights and what I’ve taken away from the experience. The part that I enjoyed most and
experienced a real sense of achievement from was my teaching. Although at
times it was very much a challenging job, I really felt like I was making a
difference and giving something valuable to my students. Some of my happiest
memories are walking along the corridor to my classroom to begin teaching and
hearing a sudden cry and then a chant of “Profesora
Raquel!” and then a stampede of children would rush towards me with beaming
faces racing to hug me! Those children really knew how to steal your heart!
Though I have to admit there were exhausting times during teaching when they
could also make your blood boil! I made it my personal goal throughout the
year not to give up on them, and to continue to encourage and push them to
the best of my ability. I’m so glad I did, as the reward at the end looking
back on all the progress they had made, was so worth it. Not only did many of
my students become good friends of mine, but I also have a store of happy
memories that I will treasure forever. One of the hardest parts of my year was the end. Goodbyes
are always difficult. Saying goodbye to people who have
become family to you, and whom you may never see again, is so much
harder. The staff at the medical clinic, with whom I had been working with
for 3-4 days a week, had become very close to my partner Jess and me. Santa, the pharmacist, was such a rock for
us throughout our time away and by the end was like a mother to us. It was so
painful to say bye and see her tears! We had the amazing experience of
staying at Santa’s house in Batey 7 (Haitian
village) for a week before we left. Even though we were used to the poverty
and living conditions in the Batey, being there
24/7 for several days was quite an eye-opener! We helped with cooking the
meals and washed the kids in a tin bowl outside before they went to bed. We
had a lot of fun hanging out with our friends jumping and playing in the
river, and watching the stars at night as we laughed and shared stories with
each other. It turned out to be an amazing experience that I shall never forget.
I really feel like Batey 7 is a second home to me,
and I am definitely missing it. At our last day at the clinic a surprise party was organised for us by the staff and our friends from the
village. It was such a memorable day. The girls had made a huge pink cake for
us, and had stuck pieces of paper around the room with really lovely messages
on them, saying thanks and how special we are etc. It was very touching! They
then entertained us with songs, and they had even learnt “Amazing Grace” in
English for us! Again it was moments
like this that really bought home the significance of what I had been doing
for these people and how lucky I was to have had the opportunity to do so. Well, here I am another year older, and I can confidently
say a lot wiser too. I have personally learnt so much from this experience. I
know I have a strength in me that can achieve
anything I put my mind to. I believe that all experiences are good, even the
bad ones, because there are always lessons to be learnt from them. I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs
this past year, but I certainly don’t regret anything. I’ve been inspired,
changed, humbled, challenged, and had my eyes opened to a completely
different world from what I had previously known. I see my year not as an end,
but only a taster of what is to come in the future! Whether I return to the One thing I particularly want to share with you, which
continued to awe me throughout the twelve months, was the Christian warmth
and generosity in the people’s hearts that radiated to everyone around them.
They have such hope and faith, even though they live in such tough conditions
and have so little. I feel this is
such an important lesson, especially to us living here. Hopefully this has given you some insight into my time
away. I think I could write a book with all my experiences, but this will
have to be sufficient for now! I’d like to end by saying a big thanks to
everyone for your help with raising funds so this year could be possible, and
for your continued support and prayers during my time away. I appreciate this
very much. Thank you! |
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