Maybe I am behind on TV shows, but since we currently have cable in our new apartment, I have been watching People & Arts which features Oprah’s Big Wish. Now, I am not a big fan of reality shows in general because I feel like they are just silly and there are too many and really, can people not be creative and write good shows anymore? But this show, well it is WAY different, it is so emotional and amazing and I think there should be more shows like it on TV. Why? Because you have people who are dedicating their life to helping others and they are doing it because they like to give back, not because there is some prize at the end of the road (even though technically there is a prize, they aren’t aware of it). They dreams they make come true may be things that not everyone can do without dropping Oprah’s name, but they really show how important it is to give back. They show that there is someone who is always worse off than you are and that sometimes just the littlest action can mean the world to someone. Every time I watch Oprah’s Big Wish, I get tears in my eyes to see how these people help others and it makes me want to quit my job and dedicate my life to helping others. The truth is, I would love to work for a non-profit. I think it would be so amazing. Since moving to Chile, I think part of the emptiness and that lost feeling I previously talked about is because I haven’t gotten involved in a volunteer activity. I have recently found one that I would really enjoy doing, but as it requires a constant commitment and truth-be-told, I am over-committed from now until June, I am forcing myself to wait until after the wedding to get involved. I know that after the wedding planning is over, I will feel quite bored and useless and it will be perfect to use my free time to help others.
Oprah’s Big Wish also makes me think of one of my best friends, B., who is someone that is dedicating her life to helping others. In fact, she just graduated in 2008 and for the past year has been working for FREE in a volunteer program with Catholic Charities in Atlanta. She works with refugee families as a case worker and she is going to be doing the Peace Corps in about a year or so. B. is just like Oprah’s Big Wish, she makes me want to dedicate my life to helping the less fortunate in this world. I can just see her moving to some third-world country just to help educate its habitants and she would be happier than a kid with candy, when most of us would perhaps dread not having an actual toilet or running water. She is SO cool. There really just aren’t words to describe how amazing I think she is for having dedicated her life to others.
And if you haven’t see Oprah’s Big Wish yet, you should definitely check it out and then you should get involved in your community too!
P.S. I’m interest to know what sort of volunteer work my fellow expat bloggers are doing???
Monday, April 20, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
what volunteer activity did you find? i'm interested in working in poor communities...a food pantry or maybe an education program or even being a "big sister" but i am having a hard time finding organizations. I know it costs about 400 lukas to build a home for techo para chile and was thinking i'd like to get a group of people together to raise the money for a house and then to spend a weekend building it. let me know if interested.
At different points I have gotten involved in Fundacion Rescate Patrimonio and their work with disadvantaged communities, creating a program for high school students to help feed the homeless and orphanages. I think some of the disability organizations take volunteers, techo para chile not only builds homes but also you can sign up to go work in the campamentos with children or adults, there are literacy programs you can volunteer with. Yes, they are harder to find then in the US, but can be very rewarding. Good luck!
Post a Comment