"Hi, my name is Xavier Clapin-Pépin, After 2 months, the exciting experience and the challenge of adapting to International Humanity Foundation (IHF) center in Bali continues. However, these times give me chance to clarify my fields of interest. Although I love teaching children, my principal interests for me at the center is the daily management and organization in general.

I am constantly looking for new challenges and I was happy to deal with difficult tasks at IHF. Of course, for me the first challenge is the difference of language. All my life, I have spoken French but I have always been in contact with the English-speaking environment without speaking English. The advantage that I could find at the IHF center in Bali is that most of the volunteers are like me, English is their second language. We have Chineses, Indonesian, a Slovakia, two Germans etc. Diversity is so rich and everyone wants to improve their English so it’s a perfect environment to accomplish that goal.

I sincerely believe that education that we give to children is priceless for their future. In addition, they are in contact with volunteers from all around the world. For them, it’s like having the opportunity to travel during their childhood around the world. Obviously, we understand that is not always easy for the children to come to the center and receive English courses because English is often their third language. To encourage them to speak only in English, we have put signs everywhere in the school written : '' speak in English please.'' I think we are good to motivate them. For instance, in my English class with children around 11 or 12 years old, I offer them at the beginning of each class to watch an English video cartoon for the ten last minutes, if they stay quiet during the class. This trick allows me to capture their attention a little more.

In the same vein about motivation, last week we held graduation ceremony and everyone at the center have worked hard to make this event a success. We prepared diplomas for all children and some recognitions prices for children with the best results or those most involved in class. We find the space to accommodate more than 60 students at the same time and prepared several games to keep them happy. We also provided them with juices and food. I'm sure this ceremony graduation greatly motivates children to continue to work hard and participate the best they can.

In the center, I try to help as best as I can the co-directors 3 (Intan, Greg and Johanna). I think one of the best decisions I have taken is to rent a scooter for my short travels. This scooter has become very useful for everyone at the center. For example, when Intan needs to go to the nearest town to buy school supplies I’m glad to lent her my scooter. I wanted to volunteer to live a great experience and give my time and energy without necessarily receiving a salary in return but to help people. I consider myself someone very lucky. I was born in a middle class family in Canada and I always had everything I wanted. For a long time, I wanted to help the people in need. I feel that children recognize my dedication and this recognition is priceless. In recent months, I have improved my English a lot but I mostly learned to reconcile some problems. Living in community is never easy and we must be prepared to make big sacrifices. Although, solidarity is stronger than ever and this is wonderful especially since we live rather modestly in the center. I understand better the cultural tradition of Indonesia and my journey has inspired me to explore the world more. Being a volunteer for IHF is an opportunity of a lifetime!

Xavier Clapin-Pépin "