Dad took part in a work camp as volunteer several years ago. He was 20 years old and new to the world, like a virgin. Visiting a beautiful country as Turkey, meeting other 15 volunteers from around the world and working for a rural community in central Turkey became an experience that changed his life.
They helped building a school in a village surrounded by pine trees and with very hard access to paved road. Their responsibilities were easy: go down to the river, get sand, make cement, put bricks and raise walls for eight hours a day.
He discovered Turkish hospitality. Every half an hour, there was a child or an adult with a set of sweet tea glasses for them. Every afternoon participants of the work camp were invited to a different house in the village for dinner, sharing customs and culture. Everyone enjoyed swimming in the clean river and walking with the turtles in the wild forest.
The 15 of them were students from all continents. They only shared the need to travel around and to help in developing countries. What was before only Dad's crazy idea, became the shared rational need of all of them to be there. Suddenly dad found himself surrounded by other people who decided to spend their summers building a wall and experiencing a cultural shock with villagers. He remembers endless talks about this issue that shaped the way he is living the rest of his life. He is still in contact with some of them.
In this work camp, participants discovered the need to do something for the environment and the need to pay attention to others. A favorite quote was
"the time will come when you see we're all one" (Beatles). They found out that we are all one. They found out what solidarity means, a way to give back what was received. There are other people in the same planet who have nothing and it was simply fair to redistribute.
It is great to see that every day more people feel the compelling need to do voluntary work for the others and devote their efforts to others' wellness.
Labels: community work, Turkey, work camp
