“Being part of the same path of transformation” (Alejandra Ramírez)

Alejandra Ramírez Rivera is a Colombian social communicator and journalist, who arrived in Argentina at the beginning of 2012 to study for a Master’s in Latin American Studies at the Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Soon after arriving here, she decided to look for a volunteer position that would allow her to serve the community in the same way as she did in her home city, Cauca, Colombia.

Thus, she joined the team of volunteers in the area of Communications and shares today a short testimonial about her volunteering experience with HPHA.

“It is without a doubt that my volunteering is related to the life that I was leading in my country, in Colombia, and where I come from, the province of Cauca, where I became witness of brave survivals in the face of inequality and violence expressed in thousand ways.  That country of my affections, a country of dreams, pain and hope, was definitely that which from the beginning formed within me a spirit of service, tied to the conviction that remaining passive in the face of reality would always make me part of the problem rather than the solution.

I was reminded of that same reality when I arrived in Argentina, when I recognized myself in the faces of the people that, like in my country, encounter reality without simulation. This is what led me to search a volunteer position, which eventually connected me to HPHA.

As social communicator and journalist, I served various solidarity projects with vulnerable communities in my country. Essentially, I believe that my decision came from a human commitment, and the conviction that there lack hands to transform the reality. In HPHA, I found individuals to share this commitment, in addition to a sensitive dialogue and a valuable hope that transcends welfare, as a result of the empowerment of the families, in order that they be the protagonists of the transformation of the present conditions of their homes. Throughout 2012, I worked as volunteer in the area of Communications, and served as contributor with journalistic background in the area of testimonial records and photographic support, for which I stayed in constant contact with the beneficiary families of the housing projects. In addition, I authored texts that contributed to the diffusion of the mission of the organization. Now that I look back on it, I feel that it was more about what I learned and gained than what I could offer, especially with what I was able to share with members of the beneficiary families, who opened the doors of their homes to me so that I could relate to their lives and dreams of the future.

I believe that this was the most valuable aspect of my volunteering since it allowed me as a professional, and particularly as a person, to become closer to the reality of these neighborhoods in the suburban belt around Buenos Aires, where the courage and the strength of anonymous heroes and heroines highlights many stories of survival. This will always be an unforgettable experience for me.

I am convinced that to know what life is about, it is vital to learn about it from the roots, from situations, where you persisted and emerged with hope. And, without a doubt, I believe that my volunteering experience enabled me to encounter this. I feel that much of the value of this experience is based on the fact that, regardless of where you are, your goodwill will be welcome and is needed by those that are as much part of you as those from your homeland.

To be volunteer, to recognize oneself in others and not become closer through differences but through the acceptance that comes with being part of the same path of transformation that is what makes it all worth it.”

Just like Alejandra, you can also join our projects.

Click here and find out about how you can join.