Our latest volunteer interview!
Name: Lea Jung
Nationality: German
Age: 25

- How did you find out about La Esperanza? 
I was searching for volunteer organizations online and came across La Esperanza on volunteersouthamerica.net. After doing some research I found only positive recommendations so I decided to apply.

- How long are you staying here?
I am staying for 2 months in total.

- What is your current volunteer role with La Esperanza?
Most of the time, I am tutoring first grade students of the school “Nueva Esperanza”, one of the poorest schools in this area.

- What has been your best experience working as a volunteer at La Esperanza so far?
One day I was tutoring a boy who had a very hard time calculating math problems. He could hardly concentrate and did not appear very motivated to me. However, when he saw me the next day he immediately ran to me and hugged me and asked if I can tutor him again this day. After working with children in Europe I was really surprised how thankful children are here for your help and how excited they can be about learning new things. They do not take anything for granted.

- What has been your worst experience working as a volunteer at La Esperanza so far?
One of the worst experiences I had occurred while the teacher distributed food to the class. One boy did not stand in line with the other children so I asked him if he was hungry. He told me that he is but that he does not have a plate. I told him that I am sure this is not a problem so I brought him to the teacher who then said you cannot eat if you don’t have a plate. There was no consideration that two children could share one plate or that he could eat when another child is finished.

- What do you like most about Nicaragua?
It is a great place to travel. There are many beautiful islands and nature reserves that you can visit on the weekends and even inside of Granada there are always a lot of things to do and see.  

- What do you like less about Nicaragua ?
In comparison to other Latin American countries like Chile I have the impression that white people are often treated very differently here. We have some kind of special status which can be either positive or negative and which makes it harder for us to integrate. However, it is always up to you to what you make of your time here in order to learn the language and get to know the Nicaraguan culture. 

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