The return of a group of young people after a month of volunteering with ARCORES International in the Philippines reveals another side of the experience: that of parents who learn to accompany, trust, and let go. “We must decisively support what our children want to do,” they affirm.
Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport is the daily stage for thousands of arrivals and departures. But behind every embrace, there is a story. This time, the Augustinian Recollect camera stops on several families waiting for their children after an experience they will hardly forget: a month of volunteering in the Philippines with ARCORES International.
There are nerves, excitement, and a great desire to embrace them again. But there is also pride. Because while the young people have lived the experience on the ground, their families have also traveled, from thousands of miles away, their own path of trust and accompaniment.
“It was a dream he had, and he made it a reality”
“I am very nervous because I am waiting for my daughter, who has been in the Philippines volunteering for a month,” admits Javier San Martín, who traveled from Logroño to receive her.
Alongside him, other parents share similar feelings. The distance weighs heavily and a month can feel long, especially when children are on the other side of the world. However, in their words, a conviction is repeated: it was worth letting them go.
“We find it to be an important work, and the fact that our daughter decided to do something like this has filled us with great joy,” explains one of the testimonies.
For these families, supporting the decision did not simply mean accepting a trip. It was endorsing a calling that their children had been maturing.
“We strongly supported her going, because it was a dream she had and she made it a reality,” summarizes one of the mothers.
When volunteering also transforms the family
Isabel, from Zaragoza and mother of two young people who have participated in volunteer experiences with ARCORES, knows that the return does not simply mean getting back the same child who left a few weeks earlier.
“As a mother, obviously, accompanying them leaves a mark on you,” she admits.
In her family, moreover, volunteering has left a special footprint. First, one of her sons participated; later, his sister wanted to repeat the experience. A path that has generated new friendships, relationships, and a different way of looking at reality.
The parents perceive this transformation. They speak of the enthusiasm with which their children have lived the volunteering, of the connection established with the people they met in the Philippines, and of everything the experience has contributed to them personally.
“It is a wonderful and marvelous experience and opportunity, and it also nourishes them personally in every sense,” explains one of the mothers.
And alongside the experience of service, there is also the peace of mind of knowing that the young people have been accompanied during their stay: “They have been very well cared for and supported, while at the same time being happy and seeing everything that is out there.”
Accompanying also means letting go
In the testimonies collected upon arrival in Madrid, a word appears that is especially significant: support.
Supporting even when the distance is worrying. Supporting when saying goodbye for a month is difficult. Supporting when children discover a calling that leads them far from home.
“I believe we must support these kinds of things. It is a little painful that they leave for a month and you know it is a distant place, but I believe we must decisively support what our children want to do,” states one of the fathers.
Therefore, the advice of these families for other parents whose children are considering a similar experience is simple: trust.
“If you are at the right moment and you can do it, take heart and go forward. All our support, no resistance.”
After a month, the airport arrival doors open again. The suitcases arrive, the young people appear, and finally, the embraces they had been waiting weeks for take place.
The trip to the Philippines ends, but not necessarily the volunteering. Because those waiting on the other side of the door already know that when a young person decides to dedicate part of their life to others, something also changes in those who accompany them and let them go.
