My name is John Buterbaugh and I served as a YASC volunteer in Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2023. Having been a special education teacher at an inner-city middle school, I experienced many of the difficulties that many teachers around the country were feeling. I wanted to take on a new opportunity to explore my strengths and feel like I was making a positive difference in the process. In early 2020, I attended the discernment retreat to learn about the program. I was grateful for a discernment retreat that felt less like a high-pressure job interview but more like a relaxed get-to-know-each-other conversation. They asked me about my skills and strengths, and I shared my interests in mental health, education, and exploring new places. However, as we all know, COVID lockdowns hit in March 2020.
The program was put on hold. However, I still wanted to chance to continue the discernment process with YASC. When Elizabeth Boe from Global Partnerships reached out to me about a placement in Sri Lanka in August 2021, I didn’t exactly know how to feel. It was a country I knew little about and it was not remotely on my radar given that I stated preferences for placements in the Philippines or Latin America. Still, I wished to explore the opportunity and get to know more about this beautiful island country.
I believe that what followed was the will of God — multiple people in my church came out of the woodwork and shared their connection to Sri Lanka — whether it was volunteering there with Habitat for Humanity, their daughter living there for a year, or their cousin even being born there! I felt pointed to Sri Lanka. In addition, my discussions with the world’s friendliest people (according to Lonely Planet) led to greater comfort in my decision to remain in the process. I spoke with Nagulan Nesiah who works for Episcopal Relief & Development, Melissa Jayasuriya, and Bishop Dushantha “Dushy” Rodrigo. It was very clear that these incredible Sri Lankans paid great attention to my stated interests and skills.
Melissa’s husband Monroe was the CEO of LEADS, a non-governmental organization that provides child protection services. This was an important way to use my experience working with children and an agency with mental health work. I felt so seen and so listened to!
When people asked me if I was scared or anxious in the process, I would say I was until I wasn’t. When I reflected on the dangers in my own country, Sri Lanka felt like a refuge.
Even so, on March 16, 2022, the day I arrived in Sri Lanka, the Gota Go Gama movement began. Sri Lanka’s faced its worst economic crisis in history. Consumer prices soared, the currency’s value plummeted, and lines for limited supplies of fuel stretched for miles and often lasted for four days.
However, I witnessed the stunning resilience of the Sri Lankan people and their kindness toward me through it all. I feared that perhaps there might have been resentment toward Westerners like me given the many privileges we enjoy. However, the people’s anger was entirely directed at the government’s handling of the economy. When fuel became so scarce that I couldn’t call a tax, I simply learned how to use the bus even thought it was over capacity by Western standards! People were looking out for each other. I felt very comfortable walking up to an older gentlemen and saying, “Uncle, where is the bus stop?”
You do still need to be on guard, but most of the negative aspects are avoidable if you are wise. Never hop in a taxi without pre-negotiating the fare. Ask a Sri Lanka to call a taxi for you — the Sri Lankan will make sure you don’t get overcharged for being an apparently wealthy foreigner!
The bottom line is that Sri Lankans are a patient, gracious, kind-hearted, and hospitable people and they will fall in love with you if you give them a chance!
Overall, my placement in Sri Lanka opened up doors for me to explore the Asia-Pacific region. I have a deep appreciation for South Asian culture in particular. Before, I couldn’t imagine myself just walking up to a person of South Asian descent and speaking to them in their native language. Now I have the confidence to do just that! The YASC program has opened up so many doors both professionally and personally, and I am so grateful for the opportunity.
If you’re not sure of your next steps, if you want a chance to see the world, and if you just need one good reason to apply, here’s my pitch. This is a program where figuring it out is relaxed and the place you go will be a soft place to land and will provide structure and support to you. If a guy like me can endure an economic crisis in a developing country halfway around the world, why not give the YASC program a shot?
Learn more about my time in Sri Lanka at yascinsrilanka.wordpress.com