Kieran’s Introduction to Domingo Savio
In October of 2022, Kieran made the decision to shift his career path, so he stepped away from his management consulting position in Brussels. However, he did not want to jump straight into the next step in the job search process; instead, he decided that he wanted to spend the next few months of his life volunteering at a non-profit organization while committing to learning a new language—Spanish! While researching non-profits in Latin America, Kieran stumbled across a small, tight-knit community non-profit in Santiago, Chile. After communicating back and forth with the founder and director Olga, Kieran was set to fly out to Chile to volunteer at Domingo Savio for four months.
Kieran’s Daily Routine
Kieran lived in the metropolitan area of Santiago, starting his day at Domingo Savio in the La Granja neighborhood at 11 AM when he arrived at the organization. Upon arrival, Kieran recalls always being greeted by the tías who welcomed him with open arms and shared lunch with him.
“Lunch was always very fun and homey, with different people joining every day and the food always tasting like your own grandmother cooked it!”
After sharing lunch and conversation with the tías, Kieran would begin preparing for his workshops. At the beginning of his volunteering, Kieran felt quite nervous about the workshops because he had never worked with children or taught before, so he always spent a lot of time designing his lesson plans with intention before the kids arrived at Domingo Savio at 4 PM.
Once the students arrived, Kieran would play games with the kids and get to know them more through personal conversations. These interactions not only helped Kieran to develop relationships with each student, but it also helped him to improve his Spanish communication skills. After the kids’ free time, Kieran would begin his workshops which were typically on English, cooking, or technological skills.
Based on the skills that he had developed during his life and previous career, Kieran designed a computer lab workshop that taught kids how basic computer and graphic design skills, using applications such as Powerpoint or Canva. Kieran also used these workshops as a platform to incorporate lessons about his home country Belgium and its history and culture. During one workshop, Kieran taught the kids about Belgium, its cultural foods, music, and history by asking the students to create an information flyer about the city.
“The workshop was great, because you could tell the kids were deeply curious to find about the cultural differences – both small and big – between Belgium and Chile.”
Kieran’s Advice for Future Volunteers
Based on his own experience, Kieran believes that the effort and passion that you give to Domingo Savio and its community is reflected back to you. Kieran reflects on his time at Domingo Savio, and he remembers being welcomed and invited into the lives of the tías, the niños, and the international Domingo Savio community, and he hopes that he had as much of an impact on their lives as they did on his.
Kieran advises future volunteers to put in the effort to prepare for workshops and leverage any existing skills they have to do so, whether dancing, handcrafts, cooking, or anything you can imagine. At the same time, he guarantees there is no need to worry.
“Don’t overthink it, it will come naturally and you’re surrounded by people who have been doing this for a long time, use them as a resource.”
Although Kieran was unsure about working with children as he had no prior experience, he found that all the resources and knowledge he needed were around him. He describes the tías as not only incredibly kind but also as a wealth of knowledge. Any questions or guidance that he needed could be answered through their years of experience working with children and in the local Santiago community.
During his last day, the niños gifted Kieran a small book they had made that included their favorite memories with Kieran and their well-wishes for his future.
“One niño described that she would never forget all the things she learned with me, and I will always remember that as a sign that I did leave a positive impact in this terrific little community that deserves it so much.”