Volunteering with Light and Leadership Initiative by Crystal Rosario

I had been craving grassroots work and that was exactly what I found volunteering with Light and Leadership (www.lightandleadership.org). Working directly with the women and children of Huaycan was a challenging and rewarding experience that I will always be grateful for. I was able to pursue my passion of working directly with adult women to improve their health and well-being via various workshops and offerings. It was so exciting for me to help launch the women's program and really see it grow. But most of all, having women from the community thanking me profusely for our help and asking hungrily when our next workshops would be was the most rewarding aspect of my volunteer experience.

Working with the children of Huaycan was also an unforgettable experience. These kids would show up after school and on weekends for our language and arts classes, eager to learn and engage with us. Knowing that we were doing something that could help put them on par with their more affluent peers in Lima and help improve the opportunities they would find as they matured was so motivating, and the love they shared with us in their big hugs and smiling faces was just a bonus to let us know our work really meant something.

Light and Leadership was supportive of my needs as a volunteer and my ideas for our programs. Living in the volunteer house created a close knit community among the volunteers as well as our surrogate Peruvian family. I was able to have an authentic Peruvian experience while interacting with other volunteers from around the world, pretty much the best volunteer living situation one could ask for! In just the few months since Light and Leadership opened their doors they have grown exponentially, and I am proud to be part of the LLI family.


 - Crystal Rosario
    (26-Oct-2009)


Crystal Rosario volunteered with LLI from June - Aug 2009