Revival Programme-How to Apply

TESTIMONIALS

Pre-Revival 2008
	Chris Alford (England): “I feel fortunate and gratified to have had the opportunity to work with Responde. It is a determined, innovative and inspiring organization, and I believe that it has a lot to offer to the volunteers that have the opportunity to work there”.
Lillith Reed (United States): “I left Responde with a sense of hope for the rural situation in Argentina. Although it is easy to forget these villages and their people, there are some people, like those of Responde, that continue to fight for their survival and prosperity”.
Grace Rumford (United States): “Responde was a great opportunity for me to gain a greater comprehension of what it means to work in a NGO, and in another language. I was fascinated by Responde’s work and how they see the problems of poverty and isolation in the interior of the country”.
	Jessica Lehner (Estados Unidos): “For me, working at Responde has been a very different but interesting and wonderful experience. The atmosphere here is very relaxed and friendly”.

Revival 2009
	Fanny Cormoreche (France): “I went to Torrent for a month and it is my favourite memory of my stay in Argentina. At the beginning, it wasn’t easy because we had to be patient so that the people would trust us and talk to us. But after a few weeks with them, we were able to learn how they live, what their traditions are, and what is lacking in the village… This experience was amazing, and now we want to help these people so that they can improve their lives, so that they can also choose their future, and we especially want to help the little ones who want to learn everything we can teach them.
When I had to leave, the people saw me as another villager, and I felt that I was leaving my hometown !”

Safiyah Cajee (France): “I was in Torrent for a month. And now I feel that I learned a lot from that experience. I shared in the life of the villagers, and that made me realize how things really were: what the people lacked, what they wanted, and how they felt… Living with them was the only way to know what project could be developed to improve their lives. I had to be patient. I had to learn to get to know the people and the village.
But once I managed to do it, I felt like a real part of this village. I got to know the people, I established relationships, and all this gave me the will and the force to want to continue with them. They thanked us many times for coming so far to help them. But I sincerely feel that we also have many reasons to thank them.”

Sarah Fichet (France): “Andalhuala, so much to discover: I had never thought of this phrase as describing the reality of the village. But today, three months after my arrival in the little village, it seems I still don’t know all the mysteries and wonders of the place.
	However, Andalhuala will remain for me: - A small village lost in the foothills of the Andes; - A land that still preserves the footsteps of the Indians; - A beautiful place to admire the subset in the valley; - A landscape of cacti, walnut trees, and carobs; Very humble and respectful people; - A more simple and sane way of life; - A peaceful place to think about the meaning of life; - An incredible experience for learning about yourself; - Caring and loyal friends; - And above all, a memory that will last forever…”

Jeremie Sicsic (France): “It doesn’t matter what time of day or when in the year you go to Andalhuala for the first time, you always instinctively feel the beauty, tranquillity and cultural wealth of the town, lost between the hills of the Calchaqui valleys and still tied to its indigenous past. At night, under a sky full of stars, or during the day walking the ceramics, the walnut trees, the adobe houses, and observing a landscape that never loses its preciousness, I feel unendingly full of serenity and freedom. Although I don’t think I’m completely familiar with all of the villagers, I can feel a deep respect for the locals, whose curiosity prevails over their timidity and their obedience to ancestral customs.
What a joy to see the youth come to the cultural center everyday, where they can take advantage of an opening to the World around them! Surely, I will never be able to forget Andalhuala, its people, its food, all that I have learned and discovered here, and above all the things that make this villages fundamentally original and unique in the world.”

	Julie Monborgne (France): “I was the first volunteer to stay so long in San Francisco and the truth is that at the beginning it was very new for the inhabitants as well as for me. Of course there was a time of adaptation but they always received me with warmth and hospitality. Ialso liked being a part of this caring community: to participate in the events, to give a hand in the village’s projects, and to organize meetings and discussions. It’s a unique experience on a professional level (you can put to test your leadership skills) as well as on a personal level (you realize what’s important in life and how you construct happiness). To be alone in the town let me take even more advantage of my experience and deepen my relationships with the inhabitants, so that now I can say I have a family in San Francisco.
I lived many first experiences in my little village: the first time I fed a calf, the first time I had a chick in my hand, the first time I was invited to a fifteenth birthday party, the first real Argentine barbeques, the first mates and so much more. The cultural Exchange was total and it seems to me that I will never again be able to do something similar.”

Aline del Marmol (Belgium): “How could I forget Saladero Mariano Cabal. In this village I found people who quickly accepted me as a member of their families. Every day I have the thought of going back to spend a few weeks since I really miss so many people I came to truly care about. Alter a few days I felt at home. Because I have lived so long in a capital (Brussels), the people of Saladero made me realize about the values of care and solidarity that are so hard to find in cities but which still exist. The experience that I lived there, and above all the people with whom I stayed, will be in my heart forever. This testimonial is precisely for them, so that they can know that they are marvellous people, that I love them dearly and so that the never lose heart or the values they have”.


	Sarah Canciani (France): “I will always have Saladero M. Cabal in my heart because of the friendliness of the people and the beauty of the village, as well as because of all I learned during this wonderful month in the paradise of tranquility. The villagers opened their hearts and quickly accepted me as a member of their family. I’ll never forget the lunches with my Argentine family on Sundays, the times we spent together with the villagers, drinking mate and talking about out countries. I’ll also never forget the motivation and the will the villagers have to work and organize their projects with real solidarity.
We did many things in this village with a very good working group, we organized a fair, and above all we helped bring out a desire to be entrepreneurs of the future. Thank you Responde for giving me this unique opportunity in the village of Saladero Mariano Cabal”.

Hubert Dedrie (France): “I work with Ramiro in the program ‘E-Jacinta’, Responde’s virtual store. My job is to get donations to sell them in our store, to get funds to promote the best possible actions by Responde. E-Jacinta allows Responde to get funds to expand its actions. In this program we have the support of Mercado Libre, the Latin American equivalent of E-Bay, which lets us sell our products in a virtual account without charge. Because it is a fairly new project, we had to find donors and clients. Now, our store has various products, like theater tickets, Spa vouchers, some books (of stories as well as recipes) and it works pretty well. We’re also working on promoting the store, the promotion of our special products (like tickets to the famous “Phantom of the Opera”), and talking about the store with Responde’s partners thanks to some offers. My daily work consists of answering clients and taking care of the delivery of products to consumers.
My work at Responde doesn’t just let me get to know the workings of an NGO, which seems indispensable for Argentine social development, but also makes me want to be useful and put my work at the service of others as Responde’s team does”.

	Ons Bouali (Tunisia): “I worked in the heart of the Tourism and Wings programs in the Responde office in Buenos Aires, but I traveled several times to the village of Carmensa, Mendoza. I have to say that, during my 6 months, the most powerful moments of my stay were in Carmensa. I participated in the opening of a Responde Center and of a museum to trace the history of the village.
I met unforgettably warm and friendly people. To see the hope in the eyes of the people, their will to move forward despite the difficulties they face, let me see the world in another way”.

	Melanie Lujan (France): “Carmensa will remain for me as an incredible experience to learn about oneself, with some loyal and warm friends and above all, a memory for ever. There were tough moments because I was in a very different environment and I felt really lonely at the very beginning. However, I was lucky to meet many kind people and to have right now a real family…that I already miss! They helped me through many tough moments, they cared for me and little by little they became my family”