One of the adorable kids at the orphanage

For several years, United Planet has been proud to partner with a wonderful orphanage in Romania. We have sent hundreds of volunteers, and they report about the generosity, dedication, and joy of the people who work there.

Megan, a volunteer who traveled to Romania this summer, summed up her one month experience in Romania, remarking:

“I have never felt so attached to a single community I have been involved in my life. The people were so welcoming and kind. It is a beautiful country. ”

We’re sad to report that on December 12, 2011, the orphanage suffered a devastating fire, which damaged several buildings.

Fortunately no one was hurt during the fire, which blazed until late hours of the night/early morning.  Melanie, the United Planet Program Director of Romania, reports that everyone is safe, and the living quarters were not damaged.

Local people and staff at the orphanage evacuated everyone immediately. Due to dense fog and bad roads it took the fire truck 1 hour to reach the orphanage.  The community is busy cleaning up and assessing the full extent of the damage.

The fire at the orphanage, around 3am in Romania

They lost a lot of valuable items, and several rooms need to be reconstructed — including the kitchen.

This community provides vital services to many children. They all need our help now more than ever.  We’re happy to be sending several volunteers to the orphanage this winter, and we hope they can be part of a quick and effective clean-up to help the community move on from this difficult time.

Please consider making a donation of any size through our donation site set up specifically to raise money toward helping the orphanage.
Or, text ROMANIA to 85639 on your mobile device.*

We’ll leave you with a heartfelt message we received from another volunteer, Katalina, who traveled to Romania this summer:

Some of the kids in class at the orphanage

“The children there are amazing and so precious and they taught me so much about caring for one another and love. The adults there are extremely kind and they were so hospitable. I, along with other volunteers really enjoyed our stay and it was a wonderful way to emerge cultures and help out the people. They are all amazing they made the stay very comfortable for me and the other volunteers. We always had a lot to do and we always felt needed. I’ll be going back next year and hopefully stay for longer!”

You can see more photos of the fire on this Romanian newspaper site.

Thanks for being part of United Planet! We’ll keep you updated on the progress of rebuilding efforts at the orphanage in Romania.

*$10.00 donation to United Planet Romania Fund. Charges will appear on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your prepaid balance. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. Message and Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to 85639 to STOP. Text HELP to 85639 for HELP. Full Terms: www.mGive.org/T.  Privacy Policy

Jane Hedrick, 22 years old, Volunteer in 2010

Describe your volunteer work experience.

I played with the children and assisted in feeding, changing, and daily hygiene.

In the outpatient area I was able to triage the patients; taking heights, weight, BP, pulse, temp and giving injections.

Tell us how you feel overall about your experience.

This was one of the best experiences of my life. I was a little unsure whether or not I was making the right decision before going, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat, in fact when it was time to come home I didn’t want to leave.

I lived with a host family for the entire 3 months that I was in Peru. They were so welcoming. They had a daughter the same age as me and we became fast friends. They showed me around the city and were very friendly and were always around to talk to and hang out with. They made the trip what it was for me. My “mom” also cooked 3 meals a day for us of traditional Peruvian food which was delicious. I am still in contact with them and am already trying to figure out when I can go back to visit.

The cultural activities were also amazing. Included in the Peru quest is a trip to Machu Picchu, which is an overnight trip. You take the train to Aguas Calientes and spend the night there and then head up to Machu Picchu in the morning where you have a guided tour and then time to explore on your own.

Also included in this trip was a tour of the Sacred Valley, a Cusco City Tour, and a Quechua (The Incan Language) lesson.

I also received Spanish lessons twice a week for the entire duration of my trip. The teachers were amazing. They really knew what they were doing and were so friendly and around just to chat if you wanted to as well.

The Spanish school also organized an event each week so you could meet other volunteers or travelers and hang out. Sometimes it was a movie night, or learning to make traditional drinks, salsa lessons, cooking lessons, or parties for the different holidays.

I also loved my volunteer work. I am a nurse and worked in a clinic for my entire stay. There is an inpatient part of this clinic which houses about 50 children with mental and/or physical disabilities whose parents couldn’t care for them. In this area I helped with the daily care of the children such as bathing, dressing, brushing their teeth, combing their hair, and feeding as well as played with the children. In the outpatient part of the clinic I was able to do more nursing tasks such as take blood pressure, pulse, temperature, height and weight to triage the patients and give injections. I also helped with preparing supplies and filing.

Overall this was an amazing experience. I am so happy that I did it and would love to go back someday. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone.

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.

Nice piece from the UN about value and joy of volunteering.

Enjoy the day! We honor and cherish our volunteers, and all volunteers, all over the world. When you give of yourself, you build a better world — step by step, day by day.

And then there’s this.

Meg had a great time working with children in a Japanese kindergarten.

United Planet Japan opened for volunteers this fall; the first batch of volunteers are just finishing their Quests and reporting back on their experiences.

The country manager, Chie Goto, is a warm and welcoming presence, and we’re so glad to hear that everyone is having a great time.

This from Meg, from Long Island, NY:

“The United Planet in Japan was beyond ideal; it was very organized and sculpted my first experience in Japan to be the best it could be! Japan is everything I expected and much much more. The traditional values that shape the every day lives of the Japanese people is extremely inspiring. The people’s respect for each other and ultimately everything on earth is so admirable.

I love it here and I will absolutely be back.”   -Meg from Long Island, NY

Meg helping out with drawing time!

And this from Taffi, from the UK: ”My experience in Japan has exceeded all expectations. 

Taffi worked in a classroom, helping with algebra and other subjects.

The cultural exchange with the locals – coupled with my Quest – have ensured that memories of my stay here will stay with me for a very long time. Having had similar experiences in different countries and with different organizations, I can say that United Planet`s Japan program offered me a more satisfying experience ” -Taffi (Abdullah) from U.KTaffi worked in a classroom, helping with algebra and other subjects.

And Jai Lin from New York says:

Jai and origami

“This is my 2nd experience volunteering with United Planet and I have thoroughly enjoyed both Quests. I previously went to Mexico for a conservation program for sea turtles and am now assisting the elderly in Japan.

“I was very pleased with the level of support both provided in both Quests. I became very immersed in both places, learned a lot of the languages and experienced the local culture and cuisine of both places which is what I wanted.”

Jai worked with the elderly in Nagoya

“I was not prepared for how different life in Japan was going to be. It is simultaneously a very modern and traditional place. There is an order in which you do everything and customs are strictly observed. I’ve tremendously enjoyed learning about Japanese culture from my host family and staff/seniors at the senior day care center where I volunteer. I wish I could stay for longer because it would take a lifetime to learn all the things I would like to about the people, culture and language. ”

College graduation is a landmark event, calling for celebration. Alison Lynch, a former intern with United Planet and recent graduate of Emerson College in Boston, celebrated the completion of her college years with the trip of a lifetime.

Alison spent the first 5 weeks of her Quest at a women's shelter. The women --some as young as 13 -- learn vital skills such as sewing, and have a safe environment for their children

Alison spent eight weeks in Peru, in July and August of 2011, working in a women’s shelter and an animal rehabilitation center, while also immersing herself in Peruvian culture.

Alison recently stopped into the United Planet office, regaling the Team with several photos of her trip and tales of her travels.

Her first volunteer project was at a women’s shelter. Challenging at times, work at the shelter was ultimately rewarding; she built relationships with many of the girls there over her five-week placement.

The girls were often victims of sexual and domestic abuse, and they had a hard time opening up to Alison at first: “I think because I was so tall and white, they were scared of me. But by the time I left, some of the girls would cry at me to pick them up.” The center teaches the women – some of them mothers as young as thirteen – some vital skills, such as sewing and making crafts.

She especially liked the animal shelter, where she spent three weeks taking care of disabled critters who had been rescued from cruelties such as trafficking and abuse. She and another United Planet volunteer took a liking to many of the animals, and enjoyed the daily routine. “We had a blast cleaning animal cages, feeding animals, giving tours in English, painting, and cleaning trash out of the river,” she explained.  “It was great to be outside all day and I felt that the work we were doing was really making a difference.”

The animal sanctuary cares for endangered and abused animals. Someone removed the tail feathers of this bird, likely for jewelry, and left it unable to fly -- and to survive in the wild.

While in Peru, Alison was also able to refine her Spanish. “I gained such better Spanish skills and it ended up being one of the best things I took away from the trip,” she said in the survey she took upon her return to America.

Other aspects of her time: she describes her host family as warm and loving, and taking great care of her every need; and perhaps the best part of her stay. “I loved my host family so much; they are so so nice.”

During her 8 weeks, Alison enjoying several memorable excursions, including "one of the best days of my life" doing white water rafting and ziplining.

And she enjoyed several great excursions and activities: white water rafting, Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, salsa dance class, cooking class, weaving class, Quechua lesson, ziplining – and more. “I’ll never forget the thrill of white-water rafting, it was one of the best days of my life.”

“I believe when volunteering in a foreign country, nothing is going to go exactly as you have in mind,” she recognized. “I take the challenges as part of the experience. Overall, my volunteer experience was great ; I learned a lot and hopefully made a difference.”

"So so nice," Alison says of her host family in Cusco, Peru

Machu Picchu!