Even though I did not have everything I needed growing up, I learned the value of even a small amount of assistance. I have experienced tutoring children in underprivileged communities to creating braille books for visually impaired students. I began my journey in Isabela, Philippines, where I witnessed families facing challenges in gaining access to healthcare, education, and stable jobs. Volunteering is my way of giving back what I wish every child had, including support, dignity, and a fighting chance. 

My experience volunteering with grassroots projects, including The Bookworm Project, an organization that supports the education of blind students, and Project PEARLS, an organization that supports the wellbeing of children and adults’ livelihoods in small communities, has taught me that solutions to major problems do not always need to be huge to matter. Sometimes, we can just show up for the people who need humanity the most. 

These experiences inspired the development of Arapaap, my youth-led organization that addresses the problems that matter most in the community I have lived in, including assistance for single-parents and disadvantaged families, providing basic education and healthcare for children, and creating a climate-resilience system for farmers. Volunteering remains my anchor as an international student and serves as the remainder of my identity, principles, and the reasons I advocate for solutions that put people first. 

Volunteering helped me gain my purpose and direction. 

Like most Filipino children, I used to measure my worth in plaques and praise. I grew up addicted to achievement: the gold-star student, the medalist, the one teachers pointed as a role model. I lived for recognition, and was constantly raising the bar just to feel seen, but somewhere along the way, the applause stopped feeling like a reward and started sounding like noise. I was excelling, sure, but I wasn’t moved. It felt like I was climbing, but toward nothing.

Everything shifted when, as part of a school requirement, we were asked to volunteer at a transformation center for children in conflict with the law. At first, I was hesitant, almost dismissive. I expected defiance, maybe even violence. Instead, I found boys who gave me their seat before I even looked their way, who shared their food without taking a bite, who showed a generosity I hadn’t seen in some of my most “accomplished” peers. They weren’t hardened delinquents. They were kids. Failed not by character but by circumstance. And that experience made something click. The issue wasn’t my shortcoming in ability, but the shortsightedness of my purpose.

As a Lasallian, I was taught to give to the needy, but I’ve come to find that that phrase oversimplifies the exchange. It implies a unilateral transmission: from the educated to the uneducated, the privileged to the underserved, but volunteering and witnessing such lives through the raw lens of empathy stressed how flawed that idea is. It was never about helping the “less fortunate,” but about breaking the illusion that you’re above learning from them. Oftentimes, in retreat centers, we're told to take a step back, but in times like those you realize that you must step up. That moment helped me step away from ego-driven accomplishment and into a life that finds meaning in connection and in shared humanity. Service, at its best, is not charity. It is humility, accountability, and growth.

Volunteering has been a transformative experience, shaping not only my perspective but my belief in what is possible. It has empowered me in ways I never expected and showed me that taking action is not about waiting for the perfect circumstances but having the courage to step forward and try.

As a youth volunteer serving two communities in both Cabiao, Nueva Ecija and Porac, Pampanga, the experience wasn’t all smooth sailing. My fellow volunteers and I, from both the UK and all over the Philippines, were met with many challenges in our three-month placement. We had to contend with internal power plays, political agenda, and even distrust from the communities themselves.

At one point when morale was incredibly low and we were met with one defeat after another, we gathered together to lick our wounds. Feeling that our moping around was doing nothing for us or the community, we decided to take matters into our own hands. We designed a program completely outside of the one that was set before us and wrote a proposal for it. The program was approved and we set about executing it and finally, after weeks of losses, found a win for ourselves.

Volunteering broadened my horizons on what can truly be achieved. At first, I often doubted my ability to make a difference, wondering if my efforts would ever amount to anything. But time and experience proved otherwise. Hope may open the door, but courage is what allows us to step through it and to walk toward new possibilities and witness the horizon beyond uncertainty.

My volunteer journey has reinforced the importance of engagement, determination, and resilience. Every act of service, no matter how small, contributes to something bigger. And it is this realization that continues to fuel my commitment to advocacy, collaboration, and the pursuit of meaningful change.

To be honest, volunteering has never really felt like volunteering to me. I didn’t wake up one day and decide to “give back” — I just had something I cared about deeply and a reality I couldn’t accept. Ending violence against children isn’t just a cause I support. It’s a life I’ve lived, and a future I want to help rewrite.

It’s hard for me to separate volunteering from my personal journey because, in many ways, they’re the same thing. From writing petition letters in high school to raise the age of consent, running small campaigns against physical abuse, creating safe spaces with fellow advocates, and eventually launching a global youth-led movement —advocacy hasn’t been an add-on or side project. It’s how I’ve tried to make sense of the world, and how I’ve fought to change it.

While the path I’m on hasn’t always been easy (of course), it’s always felt true. I’ve learned to lead from the margins, to speak bolder when silenced, and to become the kind of change I needed when I was younger. Everyday, I’m so grateful to be doing what I love — something that’s not just personal, but deeply collective. Volunteering, in that sense, has never been a choice. It’s been the red thread running through my life — tying my past to my purpose, and my story to something much bigger than myself.

And I hope that through this work, more young people will feel seen, safe, and powerful in ways I never did.

Working with my fellow Moro and Lumad throughout Mindanao, both as an anthropologist and a volunteer, made me realize that despite the differences in our languages and cultures, we all share the same struggles and aspirations. This experience helped me deepen my understanding of my fellow Mindanawons and discover more about myself and what I want to do.

This inspired me to work with my fellow Indigenous peoples across Mindanao to promote solidarity between Indigenous identities, because when we come together, we make a greater impact.

I have always believed that volunteerism saved me. It saved my life and it saved my future. I was bullied before and was a hate victim due to my looks. I almost gave up. However, I was empowered through an invitation to volunteer when I was freshly 14 years old to teach young children in a slums community in my hometown English, Math, Music, and Catechism. Since then, I believed that I have been empowered to serve and that I was saved by this opportunity to lead and give back. Being in the volunteer space for more than 14 years, I have volunteered in local projects, national endeavors, and global efforts on health, climate, education, peace, and development. It has really enriched my personal life in the sense that my sense of purpose, the reason why I strive to live everyday, deepens and widens to include others in my priorities. It has taught me to be empathic, selfless, and passionate with grit in life. It has shaped and is continuing to shape my professional career and my personal leadership journey. There really is hope through being selfless and being empowered through volunteerism.

Hi @here! What’s the most courageous thing you’ve done in the name of being yourself? Express your Pride and get a chance to win tickets to the ‘Dalaga na si Maxie Oliveros’ musical! Send your entries to the gender-equality 🌈 chat room until Thursday!