Final Blog

What themes did you notice across you experiences?

            During this experience there were a few themes that I noticed. The biggest one was that not all children are the same when it comes to learning, communicating, listening, and understanding. All these things are major roles in the communication process and it’s all taught at different times when these tools are most important in that child’s life. When it comes to learning, children all learn in different ways. Some children on kinesthetic learners, some are visual learners, and some are auditory learners. With there being so many different types of ways to learn, we as volunteers have to adjust our perspective on how to teach different types of learners. This leads me into the second theme that I noticed during this journey, perspective.

 

            Since we all come from different backgrounds and different sides of town doesn’t mean we are different form one another. These children have a different perspective on life then what I had. I have a stay at home mom that runs a daycare facility in our home. My mom was my babysitter, my family always got to go on trips, I had a traditional family, and I was never alone. These kids don’t have everything that I had when I was their age. Some of them don’t have full families, some have never traveled, and some live with other relatives and have blended families, some feel alone. This experience has changed my life by seeing how happy these kids are when they have nothing compared to what I had growing up. I have opened my eyes and seen a different perspective of life that I could have never imagined if it wasn’t for these awesome kids.

 

How will this experience shape your future interpersonal interaction?

 

            This experience has changed me dramatically. I loved going to see those kids and seeing their faces as I walk in the door. I plan to continue to visit them when I can because the satisfaction that I get when seeing those kids and helping them achieve something inspires me to help other in any way I can. With all the relief work still being done for the people of Haiti I plan on visiting there with a family friend to help the children realize that there are people in the world who care about them. When this occurs I know I will use many of the same communication concepts that I used at the Lydia Home and I am sure many more since there will be a accent or language barrier.  I am so blessed to have met these children and to have made at least one child smile each day!