Valerie in Saint Lucia

My story

Five months on the other side of the world. That might just be the most nerve-racking thing I’ve ever done. Sometimes it’s good to step out of your comfort zone and get to know a new culture, new people and a whole new environment. So that’s what I did. My final-year internship in Saint Lucia began with a very long journey. I can’t make it sound any better than it was, but in the end it was definitely worth it. When we arrived there were only 4 of us: the two ‘Dutchies’, Joel (our internship supervisor) and Evan (management). The next day two volunteers joined us, and more and more kept arriving until we had a lively, busy house full of different people.

We wanted to make sure we left something nice behind when we left, so we set up a fundraiser.

Because Janneke and I were staying the longest, we were put in charge of the pre-school. What
lovely, sweet, fun little children they were! Every day we came by to do sport and play with them. We did football and basketball, for example, but we also gave them swimming lessons. The longer we were there, the stronger our bond with the children became and the more open and fun they got. Even if I was having an off day, seeing those happy little faces when we arrived at the school made my day all over again. “Aunty Valerie” they would shout. Of course they knew they got to play when we came by. These children truly stole my heart.

After all, I saw those children almost every day for half a year, and you really see them grow.

I also helped with various sports at Marchand Combined School. Here we organised after-school activities. Each time a different volunteer ran a session of his or her sport, and the others and I helped out. About halfway through my internship the swimming project started. This was an eight-week programme in which children were selected to take open water swimming lessons. I ran these lessons together with three other interns.

It was wonderful to see how well the children progressed. It was sometimes hard, though, to see that some children didn’t have any swimwear and had to swim in torn underwear. Luckily there were lots of lovely people in the volunteer house who you could always talk things through with. Of course everyone experienced all sorts of things every day, and it was always good to share that with each other. Everyone was always really close, and I’ve made friends for life there.

We always did lots of fun things, like going out together and all the excursions you definitely have to do when you’re in Saint Lucia. Such as climbing the Piton, the Sulphur Springs and the waterfalls! Fun things were always organised in the house for the evenings too. And the iconic leaving parties! That was one thing I did find hard, saying goodbye to the friends I had made. Most people stayed for four to eight weeks and then went home again. Luckily most of the volunteers live near England, so I’ll definitely be seeing them again.

As the end of my adventure came into sight, Janneke and I decided to set up a fundraiser. We wanted to raise money for the pre-school and the other projects we had worked on together. We wanted to make sure we left something nice behind when we left. We had an amount in mind, and thanks to all the support from friends and family, it ended up almost doubling.

With that money we bought fun sports and play equipment for the pre-school, such as small balls, skipping ropes etc. We also made a donation to the children who had taken part in the swimming project, to make sure they could keep on swimming. And a special present for one of the children who didn’t have any swimming trunks. I couldn’t bring myself to leave it, so we bought him some swimming trunks so he could proudly show off his swimming skills in the sea.

None of my friends or family had expected me to last that long because I was so homesick.

It might sound strange, but when you’re set up for a five-month internship and you’ve only got one left, it feels like you’re almost going home already. I really did find that hard. You’ve built a kind of new life in a new place and got to know lots of people, and you have to leave all of that behind again. Saying goodbye to the pre-school children was especially hard for me.

After all, I saw those children almost every day for half a year, and you really see them grow. I certainly shed a few big tears during the goodbye. Those last big hugs and words from our lovely little friends. I’ll never forget them. I can say that this has been the most wonderful experience of my life, and I’m really grateful for it. One of the volunteers once said: “It’s not a goodbye, it is a see you later.” And I truly believe that!