By Chantelle Davis, an Augustinian Volunteer in Peru Walking home from my service site one afternoon, a woman called to me from behind, “Señorita Chantelle!” As a young woman living in Perú, actually being called by name by someone on the street that knows you is a welcome change from constantly being whistled at by people that don’t. I turned around with a smile and saw a woman, Señora Roxana, carrying her youngest child. She is the mother of a patient I am wor... [More]

By Caitlyn Gerarci, an Augustinian Volunteer in South Africa   One major thing that has surprised me about South Africa is the extreme division that is apparent in most elements of life here. Before arriving in January, I had heard that South Africa was the land of extremes, but I never could have anticipated what that would mean and how it would shake me. Visibly, it means luxurious homesteads and impoverished stone shacks, separated only by a road or a barbed wire fence. A line is drawn... [More]

By Britt DeLine, Augustinian Volunteer in Peru Hey guys! We live in Peru!" Chantelle Davis yelling from the bathroom one morning, like it had just sunk in for her and therefore, for all of us. We moved to Peru. We're not here for a week long service trip to get this awesome spiritual, do good, save the world high. We're here to live with the people of Chulucanas. We're here to experience how the third world lives; we're here to live their everyday struggles, face our own struggles, and l... [More]

By Lacie Ann Michaelso (An Augustinian Volunteer in Peru)      Poco a poco.” This is a mantra that I hear so often, I feel as though it’s actually tattooed on my forehead and people are simply reading it. It means, “Little by little.” It has been my experience thus far to take things in a slow Peruvian stride, poco a poco. This includes language, finding my way around the city, or trying to remember the number of Spanish names that I’ve never he... [More]

On Thursday, January 17, 2013, two men and four women gathered in the Augustinian house in Ocean City, NJ for a few days of retreat, reflection and relaxation before heading for a years service in the missions. On Monday morning they began their long journey. Two men and one women boarded a South African Airways plane at JFK and began the very long trip to South Africa. Three women journeyed to Newark Airport to board a UNTIED Airlines flight to Lima. As they settle in and begin to experience th... [More]

By Janine Morett, An Augustinian Volunteer in South Africa For the last 11 months, I have experienced the word “community” in several different ways but every time I experience it, I think of the words “love” and “ubuntu”. Ubuntu is an African word (and way of life) that means a person is a person through another person. Everyone is interconnected and therefore, forms one massive community that is full of love, acceptance, and solidarity. Every individua... [More]

Wednesday, December 12, 2012, on a UNITED Airlines flights from Lima,Peru through Houston and then on to Newark, NJ, the Augustinian Volunteers who have served for almost a year in Peru returned to the United States. Several hours earlier a South African Airways flight, having crossed the African continent and the Atlantic Ocean, landed in JFK airport in New York, carrying the Augustinian Volunteers who had served in our missions in South Africa. For these young men and women their year of ser... [More]

By Dan Gallagher (An Augustinian Volunteer in Peru) Since the first day of orientation, my Augustinian Volunteer experience has been filled with community, and it has only grown with my time here in Chulucanas.  Whether it is within my Augustinian Volunteer community, in my English classrooms with my students and fellow teachers, or in the greater community of Chulucanas, I have experienced community in so many different ways.  Through every story that has been told, hand that is ... [More]

By Kellie Kozel (An Augustinian Volunter in South Africa) A couple of weeks ago we admitted a woman to the AIDS Respite Unit where I work who recently dropped a pot of boiling hot porridge onto her foot, severely burning and bruising her whole right foot. As a result she has a huge bandage wrapped around the third-degree burns and walks very slowly with a walker and a limp. Also since winter has arrived here, she has taken to wearing an array of multi-colored wool knit hats to keep warm. Now on... [More]

By Janine Moretti – An Augustinian Volunteer in South Africa When I was growing up, my mom was a preschool teacher and had a million of creative ideas for teaching and interacting with children.  So when she heard that I was going to be working with toddlers, she was thrilled and ready to send me materials and great ideas.  One of the things she sent me was 8 little containers of Play Dough in all different colors.  The first time I brought them to 1000 Hills was quite th... [More]