Testimonials From Volunteer Summer 2008
"This summer was not "enjoyable" in the conventional sense of the word. If it was an enjoyable summer, it would have been the sort that my friends had in Israel where they toured and stayed in hotels. Having actually lived in Uganda gave me an experience that was far deeper than any other summer program on which I could have gone. To be totally submerged in a different life than any available to me in America helped me learn about myself, my country and society, as well as Uganda and the developing world as a whole."
VS Uganda participant
"This summer in India has been a tremendous learning experience... Through our readings over the summer we were taught the philosophical bases of development work and the different ethics and frameworks applied to them. In our meetings with various social workers and educators, we saw how these theories actually played out on the ground. The two together created an incredibly meaningful and comprehensive view on the problems of the developing world and what can and is being done to alleviate them. Meeting Jeyaraj and the other members of RIDE was an inspiration and a revelation."
VS India participant
"Volunteer Summer was the best summer I've had because it challenged my way of looking at other Jews, the world, and myself. It empowered me to have respectful, but challenging dialogue with all kinds of people with all different opinions. I never knew how strong I was physically, intellectually, and spiritually until this summer when I pushed myself to haul cement buckets, discuss Rambam's philosophies, and say the schehecheyanu under the stars...all in one day."
VS Honduras participant
"The [first domestic] retreat helped me talk through some of the issues that I saw over the summer and helped me figure out what to do about them. I liked being able to talk about these issues with people from other country groups."
VS Nicaragua participant
"The fact that we were all back together [for the Fall Retreat] made the weekend meaningful and productive for me. It allowed us all to reflect on our summers and think more about what we're doing domestically… The weekend certainly made me rethink my impact domestically."
VS Ghana participant
