When a person reaches 70 years old, he or she might be eager more do valued deeds. Since they have more free time than others who are younger and they want to fill this time by volunteering abroad where they be in a different country and experience different people and at the same time they do something valuable toward people who need such a help.
Palestine is the answer to the question, in Palestine, you can volunteer in many organizations that offer you a place to stay, guidance, and volunteer opportunities in different fields. Many Palestinian organizations would have a place for you to give Palestinian children and youth a hand in whatever way you could. So, your age does not matter at all if you want to volunteer or learn Arabic in Palestine as well as engage in some educational, community development, social, and cultural activities.
Why Palestinian organization would have a place for someone who is 70 year old?
Well, there are a lot of reasons that answer this question and which make these organizations more willing to let those who are old to get the opportunity to be in Palestine and contribute to developing the Palestinian community.
One of the benefits of age is wisdom. Older volunteers have gathered a lifetime of experiences and education that they have also had the opportunity to test out. They can provide many new and innovative ideas for creating and developing new programs and conducting activities, based on the experiences they have gained during their lifetime. Older people who no longer are in the paid workforce often have a refreshed perspective on things and can be creative in their thinking. When you have more time away from the daily pressures of life, you also have time to rethink the way you do things.
The second benefit is that many older volunteers have a wide range of experiences traveling around the world and they can easily adapt to a new life and culture quickly. They know very well how to get around, how to seek help if needed, how to mix with others, and most importantly they can easily accept things the way they are.
The third benefit is that older Volunteers come from a wide range of social, business, and cultural backgrounds. Many have developed a large network of contacts through their social, business, and cultural, and travel experience. Older volunteers have used their networks for advice and support for the Palestinian organizations during their time in Palestine. Creating contacts throughout the world has been a real benefit to these organizations and their work. Just to have someone “in the know” to bounce ideas off is extremely valuable.
The fourth benefit that older Volunteers have is ‘life experience’ and have generally learnt along the way some of the most useful skills in life, that is patience and listening to people. Generally, they have interacted with people from all walks of life and cultures so they have no problems with adapting to a different culture. They can also easily engage in ‘small talk’ and they have a lot of different experiences and stories to share. Additionally, many of them also speak more than one language, which makes it easy to communicate with more people.
So in conclusion, if you would love to volunteer in Palestine or come and learn Arabic, but have been putting it off because the years are creeping on, put that thought out of your mind now. We realize that you may not want to play football with the kids, nor climb mountains, but we want the skills and experience that you have. Yes, there is no doubt that most of the volunteers who come to Palestine are younger and you will be mixing with them but you are never too old to travel, meet new people, learn a new language, and make a difference in your life and the lives of others.
Which organization might offer me this opportunity?
The Palestinian Center – Go Palestine is one of the educational centers in Palestine that offer you an optimal opportunity to volunteer or learn Arabic in Palestine. The Palestinian Center in Hebron, Palestine offers many great opportunities to learn, grow and achieve for internationals who are anywhere between the ages of 18 to 70 years old. In the last 10 years, the center hosted more than 400 internationals between the ages of 18 to 70 years.
