“This volunteer job totally changed my life and my vision of kids with special needs,” said Nelson Martinez, a volunteer from Columbia. “This job has been amazing. I really enjoy working with the kids to help them, and to see how they are happy because of me.”
Nelson is an international volunteer working at the Transition Centre, an educational facility operated by Ranch Ehrlo Society.
Like many volunteers, past and present, Nelson was connected to the agency through the International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP). The program provides international people with the opportunity to volunteer for a brief period of time while gaining knowledge, skills, and employable experience.
Nelson was studying music in Columbia when he made the decision to take a leave from school and volunteer internationally. He arrived in Canada on Sept. 24, 2013, and began his placement in Michelle Kubiak’s classroom at the Transition Centre on Oct. 1st.
In his volunteer role, Nelson works with children who have developmental disabilities. He is specifically paired with a young boy who requires one-on-one care throughout the day. Prior to volunteering at the Ranch, Nelson had no experience working with children with special needs.
“It’s been a fast learning curve for him but it’s been amazing to see how fast he’s gained the skills and the knowledge to work with these kids,” said classroom teacher Michelle Kubiak. “Nelson, like all the international volunteers we’ve had, is just so open to learning – it’s amazing.”
“It’s very interesting,” Nelson said of the experience. “I have learned a lot from these kids and they have learned a lot from me.”
“All of these children have a story,” he continued. “You get really attached to these kids; you create real relationships with them and they show you that they appreciate what you are doing for them.”
Nelson said the volunteer program at Ranch Ehrlo has been a life-changing experience and has encouraged him to forgo his career as a musician and to pursue a career in social work.
“I think I have found something that I really love to do,” he said. “What I want for my future is totally different now.”
In addition to connecting to the children, Nelson said the volunteer program has afforded him the opportunity to teach others and to learn from them in exchange.
“This has been an opportunity to share my culture and to learn about yours because all of us have a perception of places or people that sometimes are not true. This is a way to make our world smaller and to make us all understand each other.”
Nelson will volunteer at the Transition Centre until June, when he makes his way home.
“Leaving this place and the kids will be hard because I’m so attached, I really love these kids,” he said.
“This job teaches you how to give love, and right now, in this world, that’s something that we are missing.”
Ranch Ehrlo procures international volunteers through IVEP, the Mennonite Central Committee, and through the social work/religious education program at the YMCA University in Kassel, Germany.
Volunteers are not necessarily placed at the Transition Centre, and may work in several areas of the agency.
To learn more about volunteer opportunities at Ranch Ehrlo visit https://ehrlo.com/about-us/volunteer/.
