Alumni Interview with Tim van Asdonck

What inspired you to go abroad? 

What inspired me to go abroad is that I had researched how skateboarding can be used as a tool to stimulate positive youth development in deprived situations, and I wanted to experience this in practice.

Why did you choose SKIP?

I chose SKIP and Concrete Jungle Foundation because the seemed like professional organizations who knew what they were doing. I was happy to find out that what I believed was confirmed once I arrived.

What was your favorite part about Peru?

Besides Peru being a beautiful country, I really liked that I could challenge myself to learn Spanish. This seemed like a huge goal at first, but turned out to be attainable in the end.

What made your experience abroad unique?

That I got to combine everything that I love to do: skateboarding, teaching, working with children, and traveling around the world.

How did local staff support you throughout your program?

I was very happy that once I arrived I received trainings and information not just on how the organization works, but also on the cultural situation of the place I found myself and about the area where I'd be working. Besides this, there was also ongoing support in the guidance of my work, but also in organizing social activities for the volunteers, etc.

What's one thing you wish you would have done differently?

I wish I started learning Spanish before I arrived in Peru.

Describe a typical day in the life of your program.

Skate down the street with a bag full of water bottles with fellow volunteers to where we got on the bus. Clean the skatepark with the youth leaders to prepare it for the day’s classes and skate around until it was time for the first class. A group of excited kids would then flood the skatepark. We would sit everyone down and talk through the life-skill we would be working on that day, start the lesson/session and let the fun begin. In between classes, I’d skate with the youth leaders, and when classes were done, I’d get a nice cold cremolada on the way back home. 

What did you enjoy doing in your free time?

Hanging out with other volunteers and Peruvian people, skateboarding, and going out. 

What was your accommodation like? What did you like best about it? 

I shared an apartment with four other volunteers, which I really liked because I got to know a lot of new people that way. You live together, hang out, go do fun things and bond - I made some good friends there. 

What is one thing every participant should know before participating in your program?

The point of the project is not just to teach skateboarding: skateboarding is used as a tool to work on developing life-skills.

What was the hardest part about volunteering abroad?

I think it must have been saying goodbye to all the amazing people I met - not just the children I worked with, but also the fellow volunteers.

What is one thing you wish you would have known before volunteering abroad in Peru?

The diversity of the country. I think I would have taken more time to travel around Peru had I known that before.

What do you feel the biggest benefit of volunteering abroad is?

It's liberating in so many ways, the main ones being it exposes you to different cultures and different motivations to work.

Now that you're home, how has your program abroad impacted your life? 

It has given me a purpose to pursue in my life. I tried to learn as much as I could in the year I was there, and that opened up a lot of opportunities to develop myself in the ways I'd like to develop myself the most.

Would you recommend SKIP to others? Why?

Most definitely! It was an incredible experience being able to help out somewhere with the passion and skills I have in skateboarding. Besides it being a very rewarding experience for yourself, you also contribute to other people's lives - the change/progress in the children is very visible.