Students From The Victor Schoolhouse Provide From Guatemala
Posted: 9/4/2018 | September 4th, 2018
Earlier this year, nosotros announced our latest FLYTE partnership, alongside the Victor School from rural Montana. Our destination was to post a grouping of its high schoolhouse students to Republic of Guatemala for a calendar week together with a one-half of learning, service, together with travel.
Quick side note: If you’re novel to this website, FLYTE (Foundation for Learning together with Youth Travel Education) is the nonprofit foundation nosotros created merely over 3 years agone to post high schoolhouse classes on educational together with service trips overseas. Our mission at FLYTE is to empower students through transformative move experiences.
We know the ability of move tin alter yous – together with thence do the teachers nosotros partner with. Unfortunately, lots of schools merely don’t have got the resources together with funding to post classes overseas. That’s where FLYTE comes in. We serve underserved communities unopen to the the States that don’t have got the resources to post their students on degree trips abroad. So far nosotros have got sent entire classes to Mexico, Ecuador, together with Cuba.
And alongside your help, nosotros did it again. We raised over $18,000 to assist these students become on their schoolhouse trip to Guatemala!
The students, the school, the parents, me — nosotros all give thank yous you for beingness business office of this!
In tardily June, they landed dorsum inward Montana, thence today I wanted to give yous an update on their trip thence yous know where your assist went. (I know, I know. It took a piece for this update to happen. I’m a tiresome writer.)
Remember, Victor School is located inward the modest rural town of Victor, Montana that serves a full pupil population of 300 where 100% of the students have gratis or reduced-price schoolhouse lunch. The poverty charge per unit of measurement is high inward this community together with many families combat to brand ends meet. Their instructor Lindsey was excited to partner alongside us to brand certain her students had the chance to regard a business office of the earth they’d never gotten to regard before.
After 3 flights together with nearly xx hours of travel, the kids made it to Guatemala. For most, this was their showtime fourth dimension leaving the United States, visiting a developing country, beingness inward a identify where the civilisation together with linguistic communication are starkly dissimilar than that of their hometown, together with for some, it was their showtime fourth dimension out of Montana!
FLYTE trips are non merely vacations for teens. The itineraries are crafted to include diverse forms of learning, teaching, adventuring, interacting alongside local communities, together with participating inward activities that force themselves out of their comfort zones.
The students spent the showtime business office of their trip inward the metropolis of Antigua, where they took Castilian lessons (which brought their linguistic communication studies from Montana to life) together with climbed the Pacaya volcano. That chance impacted the students together with what they idea they were capable of thence much that they stopped on their fashion downward together with journaled to document their exhilaration together with admit themselves for what they had accomplished.
On the shores of Lake Atitlán, they experienced living communally. Part of their service learning took identify at the Amigos de Santa Cruz, a local NGO, where they made authentic Mayan cuisine, learned almost vocational preparation programs, together with donated books they collected inward Montana for the NGO’s preschool library. They also spent an afternoon connecting, playing soccer together with h4cky sack alongside the neighborhood kids.
They spent fourth dimension volunteering with Konojel, a nonprofit whose mission is to trim down chronic malnutrition together with endemic poverty. They helped out at the community take in where undernourished children have salubrious meals together with educational enrichment.
The trip to Republic of Guatemala ultimately changed their perceptions almost the earth exterior the the States (and small-town Montana) — together with what they wanted to create alongside their ain life.
As the students reflected on their trip, nosotros heard a few mutual themes.
The showtime was the realization that what they heard on the intelligence is non ever really accurate. They forthwith empathize how powerful together with of import it is to regard together with experience things for yourself. It’s a lamentable reality that nosotros regard on the intelligence is non the whole pic together with that all likewise often if it bleeds, it leads. Just banking concern check out what the students had to tell almost their shift inward how they viewed Republic of Guatemala in 1 lawsuit they experienced it first-hand:
“I wasn’t going to become to Republic of Guatemala because of all the materials I heard others proverb almost it, similar that I would go kidnapped, or that it was poor, or that I would acquire lost. But I’m rattling happy I did, because that wasn’t truthful at all,” said Zoe. “I’ve never had people grin at me randomly, but these people inward Republic of Guatemala did.”
Or every bit Sam R. said, “A lot of [my] identify unit of measurement said Republic of Guatemala was a unsafe identify together with gave it a bad reputation without ever beingness there, but when I went, everyone was super friendly together with I was comfortable.”
And fifty-fifty though these students come upward from an economically-deprived, to a greater extent than rural business office of the United States, traveling overseas made many of them realize how lucky they have got it compared to others. This is 1 of the telephone commutation things I realized when I went on my showtime trip overseas. It’s what got me out of my caput together with made me realize that I had a lot to a greater extent than opportunities that I idea when I was living dorsum at home.
Sam idea that “(being from a identify unit of measurement alongside no money) I had nothing, yet in that location are places alongside fifty-fifty less than us. It makes me to a greater extent than grateful for all of the trivial things nosotros have, similar hot water.”
Ellyse couldn’t believe that “little things to us — similar schoolhouse together with build clean H2O together with john newspaper — are such a privilege together with nosotros abuse it” afterwards seeing how rare those were on the trip. “I idea Victor needed a lot of go together with that it was rural, but it’s non [that] bad.” Most of the students came dorsum from Republic of Guatemala much to a greater extent than grateful teens. They shifted their perspective inward a fashion that had them looking at how many opportunities they really have, rather than focusing on what they don’t have.
This was also echoed past times Sophie, who said, “We realized how much nosotros have got for granted, similar john paper, build clean water, together with gratis education.” For Emma, “it made me to a greater extent than grateful for what nosotros have, similar skillful water, garbage/recycling services, etc. I am thence lucky to alive where I do together with I am thence grateful for all I have.”
Sam wants to go harder inward schoolhouse “because I forthwith know what sort of chance I have.”
Summer observed, “We are thence spoiled. We have got thence much to a greater extent than than some people inward Republic of Guatemala could fifty-fifty dream of.” Sam S. said, “that although Victor is considered poor past times American standards, nosotros nonetheless have got it rattling easy.” Madison felt that she had “a personal experience of how the existent earth works, how dissimilar countries are genuinely thence different. It made me appreciate my domicile thence much more.”
The students had other epiphanies every bit well. Gracie realized that “everyone has their ain fashion of living, together with mine is no ameliorate than anyone else’s.” Emma said, “It’s slow to forget that there’s thence much exterior of your trivial bubble together with bigger issues inward the earth that nosotros don’t regard or experience inward the U.S.”
Many realized they could force themselves beyond their comfort zone together with do things that they never idea they could do.
Sadie “tried many dissimilar foods together with tried to savour things that would unremarkably scare me,” together with Emma said “I achieved my goals past times putting myself really out of my comfort zone. I learned that fifty-fifty inward petroleum times, I tin do what I demand to brand myself experience better.” Gracie really liked the shared hostels (two thumbs upward from me!) fifty-fifty though she had never experienced anything similar that before.
This trip inspired them to move to a greater extent than too!
Zoe wants to become to Hawaii together with also mayhap dorsum to Republic of Guatemala (“and select my identify unit of measurement alongside me thence they tin regard it’s non dangerous, merely adventurous”). Ellyse would similar to become to Sydney, Haiti, Nicaragua, together with Mexico. Summer also wants to see Australia. Julia wants to report abroad inward Spain. Audrey wants to become to Greece, Norway, France, Spain, “and thence many to a greater extent than countries.” Sam would beloved to become to Republic of Guatemala in 1 lawsuit again to regard other areas. Madison has been inspired to move “everywhere!”
Sophie plans on traveling, together with this trip “helped learn me non to have got whatsoever presumptions almost a identify I’m going together with to merely allow myself to acquire there.”
These lessons that the students learned are why I created FLYTE — together with why it’s thence great that thence many of yous back upward the mission too.
With the division, lack of understanding, together with fearfulness of the other that’s permeating our civilisation today, this is just what makes the fundraising, the coordinating of grouping move logistics, together with the challenges of running a nonprofit — all worth it. These students left their comfort zones together with had experiences that created a shift inward their perspective.
Will this unmarried trip of Republic of Guatemala alter the world? Maybe, maybe not. But what it does is pose these kids on a path toward success, toward growth, together with toward thinking bigger! And nosotros never know the ripple upshot that occurs in 1 lawsuit we’ve thrown that showtime unmarried pebble. By neat opened upward the door, nosotros allow other things to acquire through that volition exclusively widen it alongside time.
Thank yous in 1 lawsuit again for helping us enhance coin for the schoolhouse together with making an deport on on these teens together with the futurity generation of globally-minded citizens!
First, if yous or someone yous know is an educator inward an under-resourced schoolhouse together with wants to have got an experience similar Victor School’s, yous tin let us know here together with nosotros tin contact yous when applications are opened upward again.
Second, merely every bit it takes a hamlet to enhance a child, it took an entire community to post these students to Guatemala. Thank yous to all our partners for making it possible for students to experience novel cultures together with countries together with to broaden their worldviews! We are forever grateful to these sponsors:
- World Nomads, our move insurance provider, which donated coverage for all our students together with chaperones. H5N1 rattling large give thank yous you to them for helping out together with ensuring our students were protected!
- MYGHT Travel, which managed all our airline bookings together with donated oculus masks thence the students could acquire some shut-eye on their flights.
- Om the Go, which donated Asana pillows for the entire group. The kids practiced yoga daily together with loved that they all had their ain personal yoga mats to stretch out together with elbow grease on.
- Our squad of FLYTE Champion blogger fundraisers, who created their ain fundraising pages together with helped us fund this trip: Carol (Wayfaring Views), Kristen (Kids Are a Trip), Gabi (Dream of Travel Writing), Anisa (Two Traveling Texans), Nicole (Wandering alongside a Dromomaniac), Amelia (Passports from the Heart), together with Maggie (The World Was Here First).
- Path’s Crossing, a move carte du jour game that prompted questions that made the grouping both express mirth hysterically together with yell alongside gratitude. The companionship donated a game to Victor School together with a per centum of all its sales to FLYTE.
- Mahadevi Ashram, which housed the grouping at Lake Atitlán together with provided them alongside daily yoga together with meditation at a discounted rate.
Lastly, interplanetary space thank yous to our private donors. We know that in that location are many worthy organizations out there, together with we’re honored that yous chose to donate to FLYTE. You made this trip go on together with nosotros can’t give thank yous you enough!
Sumber https://www.nomadicmatt.com
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