Monday, June 21, 2010

Greetings from Santiago, Chile!

By Alexa Mieses


The tangerine sun paints streaks of pink in the sky as it sets behind the snow-covered mountains. I am staring out of my window in Santiago, Chile as I write this post! This summer (this winter, if you're Chilean), I am interning with an organization called VE Global (VE). VE is a non-profit organization that works to protect at-risk children in Santiago. VE not only trains and places volunteers for free, but works with eight diverse institutions which include hogares (orphanges), community centers and schools. Additionally, VE also implements various educational programs for the children.

I am lucky enough to see two sides of VE. I spend half of my week in the office, working alongside VE's directors to complete needs analysis work and compose reports for the board of directors, and I spend the other half of my week volunteering as a teacher's assistant at a school for children with special needs called Colegio Anakena. I've only been here for about three weeks and I already feel at home!

Check out another recent blog post on the VE website. More to come from Santiago-- stay tuned!