It's not unusual to hear a volunteer with Destination Life Change (DLC) talk about a life-changing moment.

Through World Vision's DLC program, volunteers give of their own time and resources to partner with developing communities. Traveling overseas, these volunteers help by picking up a shovel in a garden, building a wall for a home or fixing desks to improve a school. And they often come away changed for life.

The following are two first-hand accounts from volunteers who recently participated in Destination Life Change trips.

Cathy Gibbon of Burlington, Ontario
Volunteered in Rwanda
"It was a turning point in my life."

"We visited a brother and sister living alone in a rural area quite a distance from the town. We learned that their parents were both deceased and after living with another family for a few years, when they were both very young, they began to live on their own. 

"They had been mistreated and the 17-year-old boy, Donatien, told us that at one time in their lives they thought the whole world was against them.

"He told us he thought about taking his own life but did not because he had to take care of his sister. 

"I knew when I walked away from their mud hut, holding his hand that I was going to sponsor him. 

"About six weeks later (a World Vision staff member) visited with Donatien. The joy I felt when I received her email describing the events that took place after we left Rwanda is indescribable. The photographs of the children dressed in new clothes with shoes on their feet and grins on their faces are ones that I cherish deeply." 
 
Vaughn Sauve of Kitchener, Ontario
Volunteered in Honduras
"(On our DLC trip) part of the plan was to get irrigation systems to people in rural communities because Honduras has two dry seasons. This would allow them to grow their own gardens year round.

"For our trip, 13 families were selected to receive drip irrigation kits. With hoes and picks in hand, we worked the ground together to plant four rows 25 feet in length.

"Part of our tour took us to homes where these irrigation systems had been put into place about five months earlier. Two men we met had healthy, green gardens with lots of vegetables.

"What was equally exciting was the look on their faces. We could see how proud they were of their accomplishment and told us what a difference it had made to their lives.

"After visiting the garden that had been around for five months, we could envision how much these other families would be helped.  I do know that with their help, we made a difference."

To change a child's life through World Vision Child Sponsorship, click here .
For more information about Destination Life Change, click here .