Volunteer Stories » Adam Hayes

I can honestly say that the time I spent in Missionvale was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Although it was difficult to see the poverty that the people of Missionvale live in, this experience was such an eye opener for me personally. On our first day driving to Missionvale the one thing that stood out to me was you look out the window one minute and you see big modern houses, beautiful gardens and fancy restaurants, and the next minute you see these horrible little shacks that the people have to live in and huge piles of rubbish just dumped all over the area because they don’t have any bins to put it in. Seeing all of this poverty made me feel so much more grateful for the life that I have back in Ireland. One of the highlights of my experience in Missionvale was meeting the local people, I had never met a group of people who were so welcoming and caring in all my life. Everyday we were greeted with big hugs and bright smiles from the people of Missionvale. Of course another huge part of this trip was meeting Sr. Ethel, she is such an amazing person. Everyday she would tell us stories about how she ended up in Missionvale. What Sr. Ethel has built in Missionvale is something you won’t see anywhere else in the world. I will remember this life changing experience for the rest of my life and I hope to return to Missionvale again in the near future.

Adam Hayes