Volunteering And Service Organizations example essay topic

A volunteer organization provides special services to a select group of individuals, usually at minimal or no cost to the individual. There are several volunteer and service organizations that require the use of a foreign language. A few of the many are the Peace Corps, The Flying Doctors, World Teach, and VISTA. All of these services are located in various parts of the world, particularly Spanish speaking countries. These organizations are very dependent on the fluency of foreign languages; otherwise they would not be able to aid in the development of a better society.

The Peace Corps was officially established on March 1, 1961. A large part of being a Peace Corps Volunteer is responding to the needs of the community. Education Volunteers work with local teachers to help develop educational materials that are relevant to the community, making what is learned in the classroom more easily understood and more easily applied. Without the knowledge of a foreign language, this would be difficult to achieve. They teach subjects like health awareness and environmental protection as they relate to the needs of the people. If a village needs a school or a library, Volunteers often help make it happen, from constructing the building to finding books for people to read.

Not only do they need to be able speak the language, but they must also understand the language. Los Medicos Vol adores (The Flying Doctors) is a diverse group of medical professionals and volunteers dedicated to improving the health and well being of the people of Mexico by providing free health care and education to rural villages. Many of the professions in this organization include optometrist, dentists, physicians, pilots, general volunteers and most importantly, the Spanish interpreters. Because the not all of the volunteers know Spanish sufficiently, the interpreters serve an important purpose. The doctors rely on the Spanish interpreters to guide them through the every day occurrences that they endure. World Teach is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, which provides opportunities for individuals to make a meaningful contribution to international education.

By living and working as volunteer teachers in developing countries they make a huge impact on their students lives. The volunteer teachers are scattered throughout Asia, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe, where almost no English is spoken. It is imperative for the teachers to be able to easily translate both languages for the children. Students in these foreign countries can learn to speak English, while the teacher becomes more fluent in the language. Since 1965, over 120,000 Americans have performed national service as VISTA Volunteers.

VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) places individuals with community-based agencies to help find long-term solutions to the problems caused by urban and rural poverty. The idea of creating a national service program was developed soon after the Peace Corps was created. VISTA's goal was to eliminate "poverty in the midst of plenty" by opening to everyone the opportunity to work and the opportunity to live in decency and dignity. Many of the places that the VISTA volunteers facilitate consist mainly of Spanish speakers, so it's extremely vital for them to be familiar with the language. Although Volunteering and Service Organizations are non-profitable, they are very self-satisfying. The volunteers have the joy of knowing that they have impacted another life in a better way.

Whether they are teaching them, curing them, or giving them a better environment to live in, these organizations are proud of their accomplishments. One important factor when volunteering is that many of the groups go to poverty-stricken places where the people do not speak English. It is crucial for any organization to obtain volunteers that are fluent in the native language. Coincidentally, many of these places are Spanish-speaking countries.