VICS: Volunteer International
Christian Service
by Lucy Klein-Gebbnick Spiritan Missionary News
We come as
teachers, nurses, doctors, mechanics, carpenters, computer
programmers - to name some of our qualifications. Some of us are
retired couples. We hear about VICS in different ways - by word of
mouth, through an advertisement, in our parish.
What motivates us? The desire to be of service to others, to share
our skills, to broaden our knowledge of the world by living in a
culture totally unlike the Canadian one; the challenge and adventure
of risking another way of life. For many of us, there is an
indefinable feeling that this is something we have to do.
Learning
We all know there will be physical adjustments, but these are
probably the least of our difficulties. Contrary to our imaginings,
the accommodation is usually good, the food adequate. As for bugs,
insects and continuous heat - we soon learn to live with them.
We have to come to terms with the fact that malnutrition, poor
housing and injustice are not going to disappear because of the work
we do as volunteers. If we are to be agents of change, we must learn
to be flexible, to let go of our own agendas, and respond to the real
needs of the people we serve. We have to be willing to embrace the
fact that we are temporary, and that doing a wonderful job does not
make us indispensable. We go to learn what the people need. We teach
them how to achieve it, but don't do it for them.
A final hurdle for us volunteers is to accept that we will never be
one of the poor themselves. No matter how much we empathize, identify
with and understand, we will always be somewhat apart from them. By
the mere fact of being foreigners, we are of the privileged class.
Changing
But we do change over the two years. We may start out thinking we
have the answers; we soon learn that there are only new questions.
Can we learn to respect what is "traditional"? Can we
accept that technology, effective as it is, may not be the key to
solving every problem? Can we walk in partnership, or do we always
want to stride ahead?
If we can, the rewards are great. We learn to use our own resources
and come to rely on our sense of humour. We develop a tremendous
inner strength to survive and we make the most of very little. We get
a glimpse of what it is to be poor.
VICS is small. It emphasizes the person rather than the project.
Perhaps that is why it has come to play such an important part in our
lives. We stay in touch and share what we have received. The bridges
we build are bridges of hope - linking us to each other and to those
with whom we were privileged to spend at least two years of our lives.
You come to realize what are the necessities
and what are not, what are the real priorities. You learn so much
about values. You begin to look at things from a world perspective
not just from a consumer's view.
Gerry Merkx
Addison, Ontario
Who are successful volunteers? People who
are open, flexible, who don't take themselves too seriously, who
don't feel they're going out to get the job done. People who can
absorb a great deal. People who don't have a "mission."
Someone who has a mission, who feels he or she has something to
accomplish usually runs into trouble. In Canada we come from a
"can do" society: "What's the problem? Let's fix
it." But that's not what we're called to do at all. If
volunteers are adaptable and sensitive they size things up and get on
with what they have to do, without getting too worked up with delays
and frustrations.
Dermot Doran CSSp, Toronto
VICS gave me the inspiration and
encouragement to continue to work for social justice. Before I went
overseas I was unable to see or understand the injustices in my own
society. After returning home I could not ignore these injustices. I
began to understand that while all poor people suffer, women and
children suffer more.
Colleen Cameron
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Arriving in a mission territory we may
stumble off the plane loaded down with enough shampoo to wash the
heads of all humanity, but the most important thing we bring is our
ability to grow in relationships with others. The most valuable gift
we bring back is the story of our encounter with a people whose way
of life we have shared. While in this world of ours fences are being
erected with increased speed and efficiency and reinforced with
firmer concrete, people groan for the gift we have been offered:
shared community.
Kathy Murtha
Toronto
Is it possible to share my African
experience with those back home? How can you describe the total ugly
face of poverty - the smells, the visual ugliness, the craftiness
even very good and decent people need just to survive and raise their
families? Also how do you share with westerners the good side of
poverty, which keeps these people hopeful, God-fearing and full of
soul and spirit - qualities that many in the western world have lost?
Because of their daily struggles they have kept their souls.
Joan O'Shea
Saskatchewan
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Welcome
to the site of the TransCanada Province of the Spiritans. We are a
Roman Catholic Religious Congregation of over three thousand members,
founded in 1703. Our missions are spread worldwide. While we may be
found involved in many diverse ministries, we have dedicated
ourselves to working with the poor and in those situations where the
Church has difficulty in finding ministers. We hope you enjoy your
visit to our site and that while browsing you will keep us in your
prayers. May God bless you.
