Good morning!
Another week with School The World completed! I have just returned home from my sixth School The World Trip (fifth to Guatemala), and I cannot even begin to explain how grateful and excited I am to have had this experience. For those who don’t know much (or anything) about School The World, it is an AMAZING non-profit organization that works to combat poverty in rural Central America through the power of education. I have had the privilege of working with STW in so many different ways over the past five years, and I am looking forward to more involvement in the future.
This week was a bit different from my previous trips with STW. Instead of traveling as a student on their Student Service Learning programs for high school students, this time I was a chaperone. Going into the week, I expected things to be very different from earlier trips, and I thought I would miss out on the fun of being a student on the trip (which I obviously LOVED, having returned so many times!). However, as soon as we arrived, I realized the week would not be so different after all, and actually even better than being a student, as I could do all the fun things I had before, just with more responsibility and freedom to share it all with the students in my group.
We worked in a small community called El Rincón in the Santa Cruz del Quiché region of Guatemala’s Western Highlands. Our group spent five days working in the community to complete the school building which the students helped fund in partnership with the municipality, and then on the sixth day we celebrated the new school and playground with a dedication ceremony. Although the project was similar to those I have worked on in the past, the week as a whole felt different. First, there was a lot more manual labor to be done (digging holes, moving rocks, mixing cement) than usual, and a lot less painting. This ended up being great for the group, though, as everyone worked SO hard together each day to complete the project. This also made it easier towards the end of the week – once the hard work was out of the way, we all had more time to spend with the kids in the community!
El Rincón is also in a slightly different financial state than others I have seen in the region, and others that STW typically works with. Normally, STW builds schools, playgrounds, and brings educational aid to communities who are extremely poor. El Rincón is a community that is very poor. So, although all of these communities are in need and are at a severely lower level of wealth than I am used to seeing at home in the United States, it was interesting to see the little differences among communities in Quiché and work with a group that has a slightly more developed lifestyle than others in the area. I am by no means trying to diminish the state of poverty this community is in – there is definitely a great need for education here! I am only trying to distinguish ways of life in rural Guatemala and find out why some families have more than others.
Getting to know the children and families of El Rincón was so incredible. The community was so welcoming from the first day we arrived, until the last, and assured us that the school we left behind would be put to great use. The students constantly promised me that even after we returned to the US, they would continue to stay in school and study hard. This is the most comforting reminder that all of our hard work will pay off, and truly will make a difference in so many lives.
I want to emphasize that the work STW does in these areas and teh service trips they lead so many students and families on are NOT just surface level tasks meant to foster a good image and fun week of travel. This program is the purest, most raw and personal immersion into another culture, creating lasting change and lifelong relationships (STW forms a 5-year partnership with each community!). I am starting to plan my career around STW’s mission and the experiences I have had with this organization, and so I cannot say enough good things about the program.
I know in my heart that this will not be my last trip to Guatemala, or my last time traveling with STW, though I don’t know when that next time will be. I am hopeful that sometime in the near future I will get to experience another amazing journey with this group, but for now, I have some other exciting adventures planned. For more information on what School The World does and how you can get involved, please visit http://www.schooltheworld.org. Stay tuned for more stories on El Rincón next week!
xx,
Megan
Megan Gilman 