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Community Shared Values: Compassion

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What are Community Values? What are Community Values? Allison Ugosoli

We asked our volunteers the following question: If  you were the founder of an NGO, what would be the main value that you would encourage your volunteers to follow?

Compassion: sympathetic pity or concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.

Shared values play an important role in an NGO or any charitable organization. It is with shared values that an organization is able to grow, and sustain themselves in the long run. The beautiful thing about volunteering is that you tend to meet like minded individuals that share similar values with one another. A shared value or goal should be the secret ingredient to any successful venture, personally or professionally. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, simple as that. Volunteers reach out to organizations locally or abroad to assist and gain experience. Areas that require assistance are predominantly neighbourhoods where living conditions are poor and unemployment is high or on the rise. Compassion for the people who call these areas home is required, being able to assist and also connect personally with the locals is a very important trait. This may be helping out in community kitchens, or teaching young children english or general studies.

Compassion is the most important trait within humanity. Being able to connect with another person who may be facing uncertain circumstances and having the ability to sympathize also allows you to feel the need to help or assist in any way you can. Within Argentina you can feel the underlying issues that present themselves, from uncertain economic stability to the problem with employment. One thing that is evident is that the people these constant issues are affecting are strong minded and relentless in their pursuit for a better reality. The positivity they share with their children, and their loved ones are almost shows a different perspective, but they have hope and this allows beautiful interactions, especially with volunteers.

Without shared values, there becomes differences of the goal that the organization is trying to achieve. Whatever the end product or solution may be, it is pivotal that the organization and the people involved have shared sense of compassion. Organizations seek impoverished areas to assist and try and build up through community action. Using a source of assistance to these communities through volunteerships is an important method to build the reach of the organization and the power the organization can have at making an impact and difference to people's lives. I strongly believe that without a shared value of compassion, any organization may find themselves in for a short lifespan.

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This was a week with a lot of news!


On Monday we had two introductory meetings:


Johannes, now nicknamed "Yoyo", came from Germany and started his volunteering in Comunidad Milpa for a couple of months and this was his first week adapting to a new country and a different language.


Also Emma, Dominic, and now PJ from the USA who are in Argentina for an exchange abroad from their university are joining us. During this semester they will be studying and having their intercultural experience from the service learning subject teaching English, in the community kitchen and in the early childhood center.


Soon we will give you more news about their learning and feelings about the different projects. We hope you all have a great experience!

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