Volunteer Stories » Sorcha Mulvihill

I truly can say that the last week I spent in Missionvale was the most life changing, humbling and emotional experience to date. Words can’t even explain what I saw and experienced this week between the rich and poor. From the moment we got on the bus to go to the care centre to when we arrived. The difference in the divide was unreal. Just across the street from missionvale there is a massive state of the art university looking down on the awful poverty in the shanty town. It’s hard to explain or put words on what I experienced. To see how little every person there has compared to ehat we have and how happy and grateful the people are. People this side of the world these days find it hard to deal with what live throws at them. These people have nothing and no entitlements to anything yet they have no suicides and can’t even comprehend why people would do something like that because they are so grateful for what they have. Every day was more and more uplifting and everyone looked out for each other and kept everyone positive. From the first hug I got to the last farewell from the missionvale community, they only showed me love and happiness. I am truly grateful to everyone who made this experience of what I thought would be giving back but really was what I received from this experience for me at such a young age possible. Since comming home my attitude towards people has completely changed and has pushed me to become a more positive version of myself.

Sorcha Mulvihill