CLÉMENT HARDEL

Coach of TOTO 2 program, India, 2019

“170 days is enough for me to realize that I’m experiencing something inexplicable and unexplained, a sort of adventure in which each day is likely to bring something new and in which the word “routine” does not exist, where emotions are intensified and where what is true one day isn’t necessarily true the next. 170 days in which to think hard about yourself, others, the world. Days that remind you why you‘re here, on the other side of the world, far from the comfort of all that is familiar, from family and friends, from habits and a day-to-day existence that was becoming oppressive. 170 days in which to understand, learn, open up, exchange, share, read, discover, travel, breathe, reflect, love, put things into proportion, smile, cry, laugh and live.”

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LISA BONNION

Coach du programme Yummy, Inde, 2017  -  Coach du programme Deco Me, Philippines, 2018 - Leader du Green Village Mékong, Vietnam, 2019

“My contact with the Youth has taught me to trust, to have faith in myself and to be firm while retaining the ability to reexamine myself. When you’re a coach you have to make 15 decisions a minute, support the Youth in their Life Projects, give them confidence, and room to develop … This year strengthened my belief that challenges, caring and humor are the keys to a positive pedagogy. This experience has given me the strength to continue coaching, this time in the Philippines. I see this mission as a new challenge: getting to know new Young Adults, learning to work together in a new environment with new cultural codes, and above all, succeeding once more in developing a coaching system that combines high standards, appreciation of the Youth and team spirit!”

CAMILLE FORTIN

Coach du programme Aurora, Philippines, 2017

“I quickly grew attached to the Young Mothers at the Center. I got to know them, and learnt how to challenge them. I was demanding, caring and good humored as I helped them grow and take control of their lives. I will always remember their joy, their smiles, and their incredible resilience. I still ask myself how it is possible to give so much when one has so little. At the Center I discovered a micro-economic activity, but also a community. When we’re out of our comfort zone we are sometimes tested to our limit, but the love of the Youth bound us together and gave us the strength to persevere. This has been an unforgettable year, intense, overwhelming … I am so grateful for the responsibilities I was given and the trust shown by LP4Y!”

LUCIE TAURINES

Coach - Responsable Partenariats - Coordinatrice Philippines  Aujourd'hui, Présidente de LP4Y Paris

“When I arrived in the Philippines for my LP4Y mission, 3½ years ago, I knew nothing about poverty, the poverty that exists in certain countries affecting certain populations, and I knew nothing about the lives of the Young Adults, the same age as me, living the other side of the world …

And I met Young Adults who had nothing, who lived in conditions we can’t even imagine and yet, who had hearts filled with a joy we cannot begin to understand. I was looking for meaning, and they were looking to meet their most basic needs: shelter, food for one day, clothing …

I was brought face to face with my own barriers, my own limits. Life on a mission is extraordinary, because when you live and work with the Youth, the barriers within you come crashing down, and your outlook on the world changes. You undergo a transformation in the way you approach the world and life itself.

I – Immersion in a new world and discovering poverty. On my mission I learnt about poverty and all its contradictions: The reality of the hunger that nags at the guts of the Youth, who can’t make it through the day because they’ve just had one meagre meal that day; the lack of health coverage and the exorbitant medical expenses that can plunge a family into debt for generations, condemning them to abject poverty; the appalling conditions in the slums, and the Filipinos whose reaction is to laugh and say “It’s raining in my house; the violence of the typhoons that in 2 hours can destroy the basic dwellings; the reality of prostitution, just to pay an electricity bill; the sexual abuse suffered by young children that barely raises an eyebrow in the slums; the drugs to help forget life’s hardships.

2 – An LP4Y volunteer. What I learnt: I learnt to make mistakes and I learnt what it means to work on a development project. I learnt to meet new people without prejudging, without preconceived expectations.

I learnt that giving and helping doesn’t work.

I learnt what it meant to support / guide / share with the Youth, and the incalculable value of listening and sharing when it comes to LP4Y’s pedagogy.

I learnt to live and work with it, plunging deep into another culture.

I learnt to live the simple life, and to appreciate the freedom that gives!

I learnt to submerge myself, living and loving a country and a culture which won me over with its powerful and honest outlook on life.

I learnt smiling from the Filipinos, along with taking joy in simple moments, resilience, hospitality, generosity, joie de vivre.

I leant from my mistakes, I learnt patience and humility.

I learnt that being a volunteer is not about being a super hero, claiming to know everything, solving all problems as a Westerner might see it, instead it’s about giving the best of oneself, even when you can’t see the results, hoping that the Youth will, in turn, give the best of themselves, defying the odds which seemed to destine them for hell.

I learnt the importance of teamwork and living in community with the other volunteers, I got to meet extraordinary people, with huge hearts who astonished me with their caring, their generosity, their passions and their love for others.

When you go on a mission you are agreeing to let yourself be transformed, touched by the missions, by a country’s culture, by the contact with others. Above all,

I learnt to open myself to others and to the Youth. To consider them as adults, as equals, and that was the key to everything …”

LILAS VERRON

Coach - Project Leader Pedagogical Development & Coaching, Inde, 2018 & Myanmar, 2019

“For the first 6 months I was Coach for a team of 17 Youth in one of the Delhi Centers in India. I worked with them on their Life Projects and supported them on their journeys towards professional integration. The role of Coach requires a lot of organization as it is very cross-functional. Our role is to coach the Youth, individually and as a team, to provide training (English, computer skills and professional communication), to develop partnerships, to help the Youth manage a micro-business and also, of course, to manage the Center’s budget. The mission is very rich on the human level, and you see the project’s impact every day, which is very motivating. The following 6 months I was put in charge of Project Leader Partnerships and Pedagogy, providing support for the Coaches in these 2 domains. Training the Coaches, developing tools, getting an overview in order to make improvements … This mission with the coordinating team gave me an overall vision of LP4Y’s actions.”

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CLÉMENCE HAMERY

Coach du programme Digi'Women, Inde, 2019

“When I arrived in Bangalore in August 2018, my mission was to develop a new Center for the Youth, one that would be more professional and with the capacity to receive a second team and more volunteers. I feel as if I personally grew, along with the walls of the new LPC. I learnt to dare, to be patient and to accept others’ ideas. I realized the importance of teamwork, whether with other volunteers, with members of the community, or with the Youth themselves. I am deeply convinced that each of the women who come here every day has a talent, and it’s amazing to see their self-confidence grow, giving them access to a future that they would never before have imagined.”

THAÏS LUNEL

Coach du programme Eco Construction, Philippines, 2018 - Coordinatrice  Philippines, 2019

“When I joined LP4Y and the Green Village, I was instantly won over by the atmosphere of the place! The Green Village isn’t just a training center, it’s also a place where the Youth, trainers, volunteers, and indeed the whole community, come together to live, share and work, bringing it to life! Working side by side with the Youth gave me energy and a great burst of happiness! Faced with their motivation, enthusiasm and resilience, we are inspired to give the best of ourselves. I am so happy to testify to their personal growth and development within the team. This mission was truly a life lesson!”

JULIEN VIDAL

Communication & Fundraising - Coordinateur Philippines, 2015

“With LP4Y I was able to grow, explore, meet people, learn, laugh, exchange points of view – enough to fill two lives (…).Getting out of your comfort zone is always a bit scary at first, but to my mind it's the best way to really feel alive.”

“The good memories I have of volunteer work are largely thanks to my last mission in the Philippines with the association “Life Project 4 Youth”.

For more than 2 years, with LP4Y, I was able to grow, explore, meet people, learn, laugh, exchange points of view – enough to fill two lives. That’s the great thing about volunteering – it offers so much in the way of emotions and experiences. Everything is intensified, everything is more amazing. Daily life reads like a novel, and every day I realized how lucky I was to be living out my dreams, my passions and my convictions.

Thanks to LP4Y I met some extraordinary people. Starting with the Youth, a symbol of that resilience which allows them to always reach higher and gives them the ability to constantly reinvent themselves, improving and growing.

Also, the Filipinos I met who work hard every day to help those in need, looking for ways to create a more just world, for social issues or in business.

Finally, the volunteers, who decide to stop being the center of their lives, instead putting themselves at the service of others, using this decision as a source of strength allowing them to overcome all the surprises, the gaps, the shocks and the disappointments of living so far from home.

LP4Y reminds me of Mark Twain’s philosophy “They did not know it was impossible so they did it”. So many people were uncertain about the NGO’s project, and yet the idea of bringing different people together to create the spark for the integration of excluded Young Adults is magic. Volunteers, with their new, almost naive, approach, provide them with the virgin ground on which these Young Adults, sometimes so damaged, can reinvent themselves and plant the seeds of their new life.

Finally, LP4Y is a state of mind inspired by yet another writer and will accompany me for the rest of my life: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars", (Oscar Wilde). Do not put limits on your projects, do not hold back your dreams, because the others will do that for us.

I also particularly remember returning to France where, most of the time, people brake before even starting to move forward. In short, these 2 years were filled with success stories, like so many life lessons I can now refer back to when imagining the life that I want to have and spread around me. Getting out of your comfort zone is always a bit scary at first, but to my mind it's the best way to really feel alive.”