Stopping to recognize humanitarian efforts can highlight how, despite ongoing poverty, positive progress is being made. One such example is WeCare, a nonprofit organization based in Italy. It focuses on volunteering projects in South America and Africa, supporting children, families and communities facing extreme poverty.

The nongovernmental organization (NGO) crafts trips that are brilliantly organized, fun, heartwarming and extremely beneficial to the local areas it operates in. When not operating abroad, WeCare continues organizing various charity endeavors, working mainly in Rome and Milan to provide food packs and mental health support to up to 200 families in need.

Ongoing Projects

WeCare currently operates in Ecuador, Rwanda, Cameroon, Argentina and Peru. In each of these countries, the volunteering projects are based in remote destinations with low quality of life and where help is most needed. Groups range from 30 to 80 volunteers and focus largely on building schools, houses and recreational centers for children and families.

For example, its recurring project in Rwanda takes place in Kibaya, one of the most impoverished rural districts of the country. Volunteers work on supporting the only school in the area and improving its infrastructure, facilities and canteen. The projects are very successful and often dozens of houses, playgrounds and classrooms can be built in only a few weeks.

It’s inspiring to see how so much change and improvement can be brought to a community, especially in relation to the well-being of children. This can be seen through WeCare’s large Instagram platform, where it regularly shares videos of the progress made, testifying to the incredible help it carries out.

Influencing a Younger Generation

An important part of WeCare’s identity is that volunteers undergo a team-building experience connected to a religious and spiritual reflection of themselves, learning how to give and become better people as a whole. What is most incredible about this initiative is its impact on younger volunteers. WeCare welcomes volunteers above 40 years old, but it mainly works with teenagers and young adults.

It challenges volunteers, forcing them to cooperate and forge a team bond outside their comfort zones. The result is that these teenagers witness a journey that not only supports vulnerable communities in need but creates long-lasting change by forging them into supportive, reflective and kind human beings.

Impact

WeCare has become a reference point for many families and individuals in countries and regions where it operates. Since its inception, the organization has supported more than 1,350 families. It has also welcomed more than 700 volunteers, giving people the opportunity to contribute to the global fight against poverty and make a meaningful difference in vulnerable communities in Africa and South America.

– Grace Sammartini

Grace is based in Rome, Italy and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons