Days before deciding on going to Cambodia, I read an article stating that most missions have volunteers as the center of attention with all the pictures and videos, so much so that the cause is lost or forgotten about.
Somehow it got to me. I did many voluntary projects before, most of them focusing on treatment, so we see the patient, do the treatment and off to the next one. Few included a day for children oral awareness. I am not underestimating the hard work needed for the treatment, but I wanted to be more involved, talk to the people, learn about their life… When I saw that this project aims towards children’s oral health promotion, I said this my chance to prove that we are not the center of voluntary work and those kids will be the main focus. We, as volunteers, were in charge of making the program for the kids. This gave me the opportunity to think outside the box and employ my past experiences to have best results and I actually saw these results with every smile from every child.
Do I recommend these voluntary projects? In my opinion if you really want to volunteer you shouldn’t wait for any recommendations! Go for it without any hesitation! People around the world need help, one way or another be the change, better yet start the change!
I look forward to being part of future projects with humble smile foundation!
Noor Hilal
Jordan
