a humble walk
Seeing Through the Partner's Lens
By Dr. Theresa Glaser
A CRS volunteer recounts a compelling experience in The Gambia with these opening words: "I saw through the eyes of sensitivity today. A CRS partner was my teacher, representing poignantly what it meant to honor the dignity of people."
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Human Encounter With Hurt, Healing and Hope
By Gerard Lambert
This article extends the invitation of accompaniment to the readers of a humble walk. Through the experiences of volunteers serving overseas for a year or longer, readers are offered a human encounter with hurt, healing and hope.
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Tears in Tanzania Signal Hope Amidst HIV
By Lauren Pelascini
"I was introduced to HIV this month. I held the hand of a woman, skin and bones, too frail to hold her head up. She had energy only to let her tears fall to her cheeks. But, they were tears of hope."
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Never Far, Death is Our Constant Companion
By Joseph Weber
A visit to a cemetery in Lusaka, Zambia, a rainy Monday morning reminded this CRS volunteer that death is crowded and familiar in a country where one in five people is HIV-positive.
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How Should One Respond to Poverty?
By Donna Coen
A volunteer in Madagascar grapples with how to respond to the poor she sees on the streets and all around her. She wants the poor counted, not ignored.
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Malaria, Water and Language: Issues that Matter to a Volunteer
By Lauren Pelascini
A volunteer in Tanzania gets malaria, lives without running water for days, and experiences constant language misunderstandings. And, "incredible revelations have emerged. I have come to be with the people of Africa. Live it and breathe it, and not try to change it."
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Volunteer Sees Microfinance Project Successes
By Mary Oldham
The CRS volunteer in Uganda witnesses the positive impact that microfinance projects can have on people's lives. "People are saving … and making changes in their own lives."
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What Happened Before We Got Here?
By Pia and Anselm Varni
This volunteer couple in Malawi reflected on the services they provided people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. Then they asked, "What was done before we arrived?" and "What will people do after we leave?"
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The Promise of a New School Year
By Patricia Glogowski
A teacher of 35 years, this volunteer in The Gambia, continues to take pride in readying a classroom for the new school year, transforming an uninspiring space into a classroom that 50-plus seven-year-olds would be excited to enter the next day.
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When a Visitor Becomes a Community Member, Everything Changes
By Jade Brown
A volunteer in Cameroon sees the compelling transformation in people that one can only know by making a community a home, rather than by only passing through as a visitor.
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From a Nairobi Slum To a Future of Promise
By Jeannine Cinco
A walk through a desperate Nairobi, Kenya slum is the setting for the insights that this volunteer receives as she learns that, by supporting girls' education, healing and hope can prevail.
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Sharing Their Stories in the United States
Learn about the exciting work of volunteers who have returned to the United States to share their overseas experiences in churches, in schools, on Capitol Hill and in other settings.
