2018-11-22

Tess McArthur-Dowty Since Voluntario Global

Written by
Rate this item
(0 votes)
Tess taking photos at a protest in Buenos Aires Tess taking photos at a protest in Buenos Aires

Our recent Communications Coordinator Tess McArthur-Dowty shares her insights into how volunteering in communications helped her professionally. 

How was your experience of coming home after your time at Voluntario Global?

I actually haven't gone home yet! My role as a Communications Volunteer turned into a job - and I became the Communications Coordinator for Voluntario Global!

 

How do you think your experience at Voluntario Global has been useful in your work or studies since leaving Buenos Aires?

For me it directly resulted in a job and an opportunity to live longer in Buenos Aires. I imagine though when (or if!) I actually do go home it will also prove very helpful in my life back there. I am interested in a career in the media industry and Voluntario Global allowed me to gain invaluable experience across many areas of media, whilst also giving me a lot of creative freedom to follow my passions and interests. It's also just always incredible life experience to get to meet so many people from all over the world and broaden your cultural understanding.

 

Who would you recommend your project to?

Anyone who wants to work in the media and communications or NGO industry. University students or recent graduates looking to travel and get experience. Anyone wanting to get to know Buenos Aires beyond the main tourist attractions.

Read 4864 times

Related items

10 years remembering Armin: A local hero in a world of international heroes

 In 2008, almost 10 years after my first visit to Latin America having just qualified as a Spanish teacher, I arrived in a cold, grey Buenos Aires. The plan was to spend 2 months volunteering with a relatively new volunteering charity called Voluntario Global. Back in 2008, Valeria Gracia and Armin Díaz, the original founders of the organisation, had set up a grass roots organisation that worked, principally, out of two community centres in impoverished barrios of the Argentine capital. What was unique about Voluntario Global, and remains true today, is that it looked to bring together the energy and enthusiasm of international volunteers with the local members of the poor communities of Buenos Aires who believed that change in their lives, and those of their neighbourhoods at large, was possible through international co-operation and partnership.

Crèche Argentine (English version)

 

            The crèche is not just a place where your children are welcomed and cared for, it is an institution with a deep history and wonderful human values. Indeed, founded by women many years ago, it was a way for them to combine the useful with the pleasant, but above all it was a matter of necessity. Unable to look after children and earn money, they had to find a solution to both problems. So, by building their own crèche, they were able to keep an eye on the children but also develop a business. The beginnings were not easy, sometimes having to bring food from home to feed the children they were looking after because of the little money they had. But with ambition and courage they succeeded and now allow other women like them to do the same thing by getting a job as a teacher, cook or cleaner in the crèche and also to be able to drop off their children. Most of the women working in this institution are, in fact, accompanied by their respective children, sometimes even in the same class.

Voluntario Global Ambassador Arthur Vandeputte

Volunteering Project: I worked at an English school. Outside of the city center in Buenos Aires (Pablo Nogues)

June 2022

Volunteering at the early childhood development center: Jack's experience

On our way to El Alfarero, a small preschool on the southern border between Buenos Aires Ciudad and Buenos Aires Province, the two sides of industrial development exist in close proximity and stark contrast.

Neil's Tips: Argentina and the dollar

Coming to Argentina the first time, I had no idea how complicated the exchange rates and access to cash would be, if you don’t want to lose money!

Argentina: A Dream Fulfilled

Argentina. A land of many ecosystems and one of the largest countries in South America. As a young adult, I dreamt of visiting Argentina, especially after reading Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara’s, “The Motorcycle Diaries,” and seeing the movie thereafter. Although the story and book focused on Che Guevara’s life, images of the Argentine landscape could not escape my mind. So, I decided to learn more about Argentina’s ecosystems and communities in various parts of the country via my studies.

BA GUIDE: How to feel more at home in the city

Getting to a new city can often be overwhelming, especially one as big as Buenos Aires! There were lots of things I did when I first got to the city to settle in, and some things that my friends did that I didn’t. From my own experience, and having spoken to them, I’ve compiled a guide of how to feel comfortable in the wonderful cosmopolitan metropolis that is the city of Buenos Aires.

How to Help When Things Seem a Bit Hopeless

In a time full of uncertainty, it can be hard not to feel despair as the news cycle makes the state of the world seem ever more desperate and beyond repair. This can be made worse by social media, which exposes us to (often unverified news) on a constant loop, making it very difficult to feel anything but anxious and powerless. Unfortunately these feelings, understandable as they are, stop us from taking action. The more dread we feel, the more paralysed we become and the less likely we are to mobilise. And whilst any one individual is unlikely to effect great change, there’s a whole lot that we can do together! That’s why volunteering can be a great way to get involved with a community, and break this cycle of feeling powerless. But sometimes it can be hard to know where to start, so I’ll share a few tips with you that have helped me:
Login to post comments