Caring, as they say, is a reflex. You start to live fully when you learn to help the needy. This life lesson enlightens two young German volunteers who sought to better understand their selves by reaching out to others, particularly, the maltreated children in Batang Pinangga.

Lena Keitzman, 20, and Paul Benjamin Noah, 21, became expatriate personnel of Batang Pinangga shortly after volunteering for the Weltwaerts (German for “world-ward”; pronounced as “velverts”) Program of the German Development Service (DED). It is a government-funded volunteer program that sends professional development workers to live in a specific community especially in developing countries whose main goals include alleviating poverty and learning what life is like on the other side of the globe. And since then, they have both been in heartfelt service.

For the two of them, the first few weeks were quite a haze despite being brought to seminars prior to their stay in the Philippines.

“I was already on the farm during the first day. All these natural resources and the river, I loved it,” Paul said.

“Of course, it was all new so we had an orientation of what usually goes on in here. I also had to memorize the names of all the kids since I forget a lot. And from there, everything soon became a habit,” Lena said.

“There are also times when you miss your family or you’re a bit lonely because you don’t understand all the people. But they really try to let you feel like you’re part of the family. They talk to me in English whenever they can and they even teach me Bisaya. They come to you and they are really open. I really like it here,” Lena added.

Aside from the beautiful description of the place, Lena shared that she chose to volunteer in Batang Pinangga because of the children. She had reservations at first but then said that the experience turned out to be very nice and easy.

“They told us that there will be street children from the big city and that they are also abused and neglected at the same time. But one thing that surprised me the most is that these kids are funny, friendly and polite. Sometimes, you just can’t see the sad story behind their faces,” Lena shared. “In Germany, I think it is more difficult to work with children because they are so reserved and much more impolite. It was one of the big surprises when we came here,” she added.

The Batang Pinangga experience was indeed a good time for both of them. Aside from the memorable experience the two young volunteers gained, they also have new discoveries in life.

“There aren’t as much as problems in Germany compared here in the Philippines. So basically, people here have less of everything and I want to help them,” Paul said.

“You also become younger here. The very, very simple things like singing out loud just because you’re happy. It’s being enthusiastic about life that I want to bring with me when I get back to Germany,” Lena added.

“Also it’s all that love that the kids need and you give it to them. The experience is just so amazing,” Paul ended. (Paul and Lena were volunteers from September 2008 to August 2009. Back home Lena is pursuing university/college studies, while Paul catches up with his little brother.) Article written by Maria Shiela Pacinio and Katreena Bisnar, UP-Cebu Mass Com Students.