After a hard day’s work, LSP ‘09
The 2009 summer LearnServe Trips to Paraguay and Zambia returned in July. As always, there were revelations and defining moments such as this one from Nathan in Paraguay: Continue reading
Making a Difference
Monthly Archives: July 2009
Reflecting on LSP ‘09
Cultural Center in Santa Ana
Harry
My defining moment was when I witnessed a man sowing his torn soccer shoes. And it hit me, if someone in a America even had a couple of scratches on their shoes they would buy new ones. so that showed me how materialistic things are not important to Paraguayans because they value the more important things. Like family friends and just living life.
Nevasha
My turning point was participating in all of the activities that the health group participated in, but the activity that really impacted me was when we walked around and talked about living in unsanitary and unclean environments. When we were explaining the steps needed to accomplish a sanitary and clean environment some of the stories that I heard really made me think. For example, when we went to a man’s house he was explaining to us how he didn’t have any clean running water and another person was explaining to us how they hadn’t eaten in like 1 whole week. Hearing those stories really made me wish that I could help a little more.
Washing hair on Health Day
Not only did hearing about some of the peoples lifestyle make me think, but walking around and witnessing their living conditions made me think about how I lived. The way that they lived reminded me how grateful I am to have the things that I am BLESSED with, but it also made me realize how some of the things that I am blessed with are taken for granted. Instead of complaining about what I don’t have I should take advantage of what I do have because there are so many people who would love to have some of the things that I have. Being in Santa Ana is a prime example, but even though they may not have much they still make the best of their situation. Sometimes that’s what I need to do rather than complain.
Reflecting (in Spanish!)
Lindsey
We ended our work in Santa Ana by reflecting on the experience over the week and evaluating the work that we had done. I was privileged to help lead the reflection session for the group of young people from Santa Ana. It was amazing listening to them discuss the successes and challenges of the week along with suggestions for improving the project next year. They spoke with passion and maturity that was beyond their years. After spending a week working side by side with youth from Paraguay and the United States I am reminded that these students are the future, and I have a new found hope for the future that they will help to build.
Making Friends
Nathan
have decided to use one of many moments for this reflection. There were many. On the health day at Santa Ana I encountered a little girl while leaning up against the wall of the San Blas community center. She couldn’t have been more than 4 years old, with no shoes, a large sweat shirt on, and dirt on her face and clothes. She gazed at me; I asked her “tu quires lavar”. The girl replied nodding her head, “si”. I then brought her over to Maddy; we decided that the best thing to do would be to remove her sweatshirt, but it was sewn shut. We tried to get it off her head, but it was too tight. She stared at us, as if she was begging for us to take it off so we could wash her hair. I couldn’t help but wonder, how long had this sweatshirt been on her. Had she been neglected so long that she had grown too big to get it off. It was so painful to think of the possibilities.
The only option was to get scissors and cut the threads that had sewn it together. I grabbed a pair of scissors and removed the sweatshirt. We then decided to wash her hair. When Maddy removed the hair tie on her head, her hair stood up in one place, where the hair tie had been. More thoughts came into my mind on how long it had been since she had been washed or cared for at all for that matter.
Cutting nails and hair
After the girl’s hair was washed, I walked over into the community center to watch students give clothing out to the children. It occurred to me that we did not have enough for everyone. I wished we could do more.
The same little girl from earlier walked into the community center and looked at me. I grabbed some clothing for her. She took the bag, smiled, and walked away. This girl is example of the many children in the Santa Ana community and the world that need attention immediately. Washing her hair and giving her clothing are examples of many small gestures that we provided for the children. They are not enough though. Work in these communities must be continued. This trip had given me a much better perspective on the magnitude of poverty in some places in the world. It has allowed me to reflect on new ways to create sustainable change in communities like Santa Ana. Action must be continued and broadened. Change can not occur without the government recognizing this community. We must continue to take individual actions in the meantime, strengthen programs like Learn Serve, and pioneer others.
Dog sniffing trash in the street
Eamon
My turning moment was when I saw the trash being dumped next to a house, and I realised that even though there are piles of trash everywhere, people can still say “Hola” with a smile on their face.
Zoe
A turning point for me on this trip happened for me a few days ago, while I was out with the rest of the health group, having a “health talk” with a woman at her home in Santa Ana. We were discussing trash disposal. Some of the advice we gave to the woman included avoiding burning trash, because the fumes that come from burning trash are very hazardous to people’s health. But then she went on to ask a great question: what could she do instead? This led to a discussion about how no trash trucks run through the Santa Ana community. I had heard before coming to Santa Ana that it is a community ignored by the Paraguayan government, but this idea of government abandonment didn’t really hit me until this incident. In the United States, at least as far as I know, there is government recognition for every community, certainly the ones surrounding D.C. the way Santa Ana surrounds Asunción. There are government programs like welfare that support the needy in America. So for me to realize that Santa Ana, a community literally 15 minutes from the home of the president, is completely ignored by it’s government…with no trash collection, water and electricity, or any sort of assistance, was really a major turning point on the trip for me.
Painting murals
Michelle
On our first day in Santa Ana, we walked around the area and ended up at a daycare center where we would be painting murals the following week. The kids ran to me and latched onto every part of my body. But I noticed one girl was crying in a corner. I went to her and saw the zipper on her jacket had broken, and it was one of the colder days we had spent there. I played with the zipper to get it as much closed as possible, and she looked up at me with dirt smeared all over her face and tears in her eyes but a smile that someone had stopped to help her. I almost burst into tears looking at her- here was a girl who had been freezing and probably hadn’t had the opportunity to wash in a long time, but she was so happy that someone had noticed her and wanted to care for her, even if it was for a matter of moments. It reminded me that that is what we are truly doing here. We of course did a lot more important work than fixing a zipper on a jacket…but really, everything we did went back to caring for other people, because really, we all want to be noticed and cared for, even if it’s only for a matter of moments. I feel like that was more important than anything else.
Sam
my moment was, being able to watch two other people experience the re-defining moment, of what poverty means, and realizing how I was captivated in that moment too. What I mean by this, is when we say the word poverty, we look down upon others, but that changes in Santa Ana. When we work, hand in hand, at eye level with the kids in Santa Ana, on their projects, the word poverty does not exist. What word replaces it, I do not know, but what I do know is the feeling. The feeling of belonging to a community, and bettering that community… your community.
Playing soccer
Nicole
One of the most vivid and shocking moments for me was during a walk in Santa Ana when we passed a house and saw two boys playing soccer in their yard. The boys were young and they ran around the little space recklessly, almost crashing into the strings of barbed wire that enclosed the yard. Watching a small boy so close to that dangerous fence was painful for me, I wanted so badly to grab him, pick him up and take him away from something so harmful. There was a woman in the yard too, completely unworried by the boys’ proximity to the sharp prongs of the wire. I kept thinking of the boys later when I saw other kids on the streets, in the houses and at health day. I just wanted to protect them from harm, but I couldn’t, which was the worst part, I could only watch them running and hope they didn’t crash.
Christina
On our first day in Santa Ana,as I walked across the main courtyard, I came across a group of young boys playing soccer with a crushed, rotted and old sprite bottle. They had no proper soccer ball and yet they were playing as though they were apart of Manchester United. The children in Santa Ana are so resourceful and make the best out of what they have. Many kids in the US take their toys for granted, for example on many school fields you can find old and abandoned sports balls. The children here don’t let the fact that they don’t have a soccer ball stop them from playing, they simply find another way.
Action Plans
Wilson High School
- Create a pamphlet with a short bio about Learnserve and our trip. Explain materials we would like to acquire. Hand out pamphlet during parent teacher conferences.
- Have bake sales and multiple fundraisers at school to raise money for high school and college tuition.
- Contact students who are going away to college and sorting through old clothes. Ask that they donate gently used and unwanted clothing to the people of Santa Ana
- Contact jersey distributing companies to ask if they would donate sets of jerseys to the community center.
- Ask Nicole’s church if one of the collections could be dedicated to Learnserve.
- Start pen pal program at Wilson/ Tulane.
Washington International School
Gabby and I will create a power point or slide show with information and pictures from Learn Serve Paraguay and present it during morning meeting a our school, this way students will be aware about learn serve Paraguay. To raise money for Paraguay we will have a dance-fund raiser for our primary school, bake sails and make bracelets with Paraguay written on them and hopefully a clothes or shoes drive.
BCC Action Plan
- Club- Organize a club to start letter writing campaign to government, set up fundraisers and supply drives, and work w. IB, MYP and PTA organizations
- A pen pal program with the spanish clases/ latin american tudies class between B-CC & Santa Ana. The point of this would be to share our experiences with others from our school, and gain a captivated audience that would be supportive of our next goal: bringing Santa Ana students to B-CC.
- Ultimate Goal: to work with IB/MYP to organize an intercambio exchange, bringing two Santa Ana students to B-CC for a month.
Muzungu!
LSZ ‘09 students on the last day
It is hard to believe that just 18 days ago, 15 students and 9 teachers from the DC area were heading off to Zambia together for the first time with some having never even been on a plane before. Not too many of us can say our first time on a plane was a flight to Africa!
We hope you have enjoyed reading our blog. Its main purpose was to give voice to the many different experiences and perceptions that both teachers and students alike were having during our trip. Some expressed the feeling that being in Africa was like “coming home”… as if it was a place they knew well or were supposed to be. Others were struck by the warmth and friendliness of the people and how happy so many seemed, despite having so little.
LSZ ‘09 teachers on the last day
On our last day in Lusaka, the group shared some of our more meaningful and memorable moments. Although this was not something I shared with the group, our daily reflections played a role in what struck me most. Although the process of journaling and reflecting at the end of each day was not always met with the utmost enthusiasm, our reflections unfailingly transformed into very thoughtful and meaningful conversations. The onset of hunger pangs with dinner time approaching was not enough to keep the conversations from lasting an hour to an hour and a half with everyone feeling comfortable enough to share their insights from the day and even gently debate something that had already been said. You could see various people scribbling in their journals as others spoke because something was said that they had not thought of or noticed in the same way. For me, the beauty and power of the group was that each person was able to experience things for the first time not just through his or her own eyes but through the eyes and ears of 23 others.
There are so many things to be shared that a daily blog cannot even begin to capture it. Some of the things that stick out in my mind from both my own experiences and our reflections are as follows:
- The ease with which teenagers, no matter where they are from, can form quick bonds and friendships. I do believe that age played a part in how quickly our 15 students bonded with 15 David Kaunda students, allowing a 2 hour dinner and movie event to lead to never-ending hugs and tearful good-byes. Although I can no longer count myself as a member of this generation, I have already been “friended” by a D.K. student on Facebook… you have to love the internet and its power to instantly connect people halfway around the world.
- Feeling like the outsider and, yet, not feeling uncomfortable. I always enjoyed walking through the dirt roads in the N’gombe compound as we were greeted with finger points and a rising chorus of “Muzungu!” from the small children that came running to line the roadside, smiling ear to ear and waving, as if “spotting” the foreigner was a rare and treasured find. Although, traditionally reserved for white people, we laughed when we realized that everyone in our group received the finger point and “muzungu” call, clearly a term used for a foreigner of any skin color.
- The ability of human interaction and play to cross any language or cultural barrier. I loved watching the LearnServe students run around the Malambu School with a balloon in hand, closely followed by a growing pack of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders, laughing and shrieking and in hot pursuit of that balloon held just out of reach. The LearnServe students were inevitably caught and the entire group would collapse into a pile of giggling children with the LearnServe student buried somewhere at the bottom and often laughing the hardest.
- This was highlighted as well at Chikumbuso as the children, wearing the same tattered clothes day after day and running around barefoot on a dirt field filled with rocks and garbage, never once complained as we all ran around in our Asics or Nike running shoes. These kids were as happy to play soccer with a ball made of plastic and twine as they were to play with the fancy soccer balls we brought with us, as long as we were playing with them.
- The heartbreaking exercise of distributing clothes to the double-orphaned children at the Malambu School. Realizing that the clothes we had considered not worthy of keeping were viewed as prized possessions by these children helped create some perspective that would be hard to experience any other way. By no means was there any pushing or grabbing… these children stood in line, hungrily eyeing the clothes but never once taking something that someone else had picked out and being completely honest as to how many items they had taken. Children who were not double orphaned were outside at the windows, clambering to peek inside to see what the lucky ones had gotten. The rest of the clothes we brought were left to the school to decide who needed them the most.
- Realizing how well these children will remember you. Having been on this trip last year, I was astounded by how many of these children remembered my name after having spent only 3 days with me almost 12 months ago. Some would come forward with something they had been given a year ago to remind you that they remembered exactly who you were.
- The ability to have so little and yet be so generous. We all made home visits in the rural area of Monze where we each of us had the opportunity to spend time with a family in their hut, learn how to make the traditional meal of n’shima and have a chance to ask questions about life in Zambia and on the farm. Any hesitation to do this was quickly washed away by the irreplaceable experience of comparing and contrasting our many cultural differences and traditions while eating a delicious meal. These families, who have so little, welcomed us into their homes with open arms… a highlight of the trip for many.
Walking with Chikumbuso students
Dance lessons
Soccer balls at Chikumbuso
Presenting gifts at Malambo School
on the last day
Rachel milks a cow
Gaby enjoys n’shima at dinner
The people of Zambia taught us that we have much to learn about hospitality and human interaction, about appreciating what we have, about having perspective with regard to what is truly important in life, and about how far a smile can go.
During our reflections, we unanimously agreed that we would walk away from our experience with much more than we were giving, regardless of how many clothes or donations we brought. We also understood how important it will be to continue the work we started by building awareness of the issues facing the people of Zambia, issues that face many countries in Africa such as HIV/AIDS and clean water. Hopefully, the action plans we created at the end of the trip will help us start to meet the needs of people who, although halfway around the globe, are no less deserving of the many things we have, especially life’s basic necessities, and with which we have been blessed here in America.
Gaby, a teacher at Sidwell Friends School
A Safari and a Wonder
View of Zimbabwe beyond the falls
Today we visited Victoria Falls and went on a Safari. It was amazing! Victoria Falls was so wide! It took us at least two hours to go around the whole thing. I was struck by the vast depths of water. Being one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Victoria Falls is one of the most superb things I’ve ever seen.
Zebras!
Before going on the Safari, I didn’t assume I would see anything. I was super wrong! We came upon many animals, including zebras, impalas, water buffalo, wilder beast, giraffes, and elephants. It really was an adventure. The water buffalo got so close to the truck that I think I almost smashed Zora between the seat. I also got the chance to see the sunset beside the water, which was a beautiful view. Overall, today was marvelous and it also gave us a chance to be a tourist and to just relax.
Nina, a student, Cesar Chavez Public Charter School
Saying Goodbye
Maddy washing hair
I really don’t know where to begin. I can’t believe today is our last day, it seems like just yesterday we arrived at the Hotel Chaco. This trip has honestly been one of the most amazing trips I’ve had, and I had such a great time with every single LSP student. Last night was our final goodbye, or despedida, at Santa Ana. Although there was great music and food, i couldn’t help but feel extremely sad and upset. It’s so hard to suddenly leave the friends you have made. The people in Santa Ana are the greatest, most caring, and hard working people I have ever met in my entire life, and I know I will never forget them. Our host families from Colegio San Jose were so great to us, it was crazy how comfortable I felt with every single one of them, they were so sweet and gracious. Clara, my host girl from San Jose, made me feel so comfortable and at home. I felt like her family was my family. I will definitely miss everyone so much, and I’m really in shock that its over.
Maddy, a student at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Teaching teachers and the joys of childhood
Today was field day for the children at the Malambo School. This was yet another example that the joy of children is universal, regardless of social and economic status. Each grade, first through seventh, had to rotate among seven stations, doing various games and races. I led the soccer station, where they had to dribble a ball between cones in a relay race. It was rewarding… and exhausting. There were about forty 1st graders. As I reflect upon my time with them, I’m struck at the patience and organization their teacher, Ruth, must have in order to work with such a large group of small children at one time.
Nina organizes kids for relay races
Although I worked with all grades today, 1st grade is on my mind. The children didn’t understand much English. I tried my hardest to explain the rules, demonstrating to them that they had to dribble in and out of the cones then run back and tag their teammate, but it was obvious they weren’t particularly concerned about the rules. They just wanted to kick the soccer ball and have fun—and that’s exactly what they did. They were absolutely adorable as they ran around with the ball, almost completely ignoring the cones set up. They laughed and cheered and demonstrated to me just how precious childhood is. These children do not have many tangible items to entertain them; they do not play on the Internet; they do not have a room full of stuffed animals; they do not have Baby Einstein toys to teach them the alphabet at an early age; most of their clothes are tattered and held together by a single safety pin; most do not have shoes; they may or may not be able to attend school past 7th grade. Nevertheless, what these children do have is a nurturing community, a safe environment, caring teachers, very sweet spirits, and the most beautiful smiles.
Elizabeth teaching math
I must say, our three days at the Malambo School have been fatiguing—working and trying to communicate with students where there is a strong language barrier is difficult. However, I am so glad to have had this experience in getting to know them and their teachers. We’ve taught the teachers different teaching styles that will be helpful in their classrooms, and our interaction with the students was definitely positive and exposed them to things they have never experienced before. But our group ended up learning and receiving much more than we gave. I have learned so much about community and the pureness and simplicity of rural life here in Zambia. It’s been a very different experience than the two schools we visited in Lusaka; urban and rural life is seemingly different everywhere in the world. But it is obvious that despite the apparent poverty, people here are happy. People here are appreciative of what they have and are very supportive of each other. This was the case in Lusaka as well, but with a totally different environment. I am exhausted from field day today. It was a great day, but I’m now looking forward to traveling to Livingstone tomorrow…
Rashida, a teacher at Hyde Leadership Public Charter
Humility
In front of the cultural center, Santa Ana
With no more than 72 hours remaining, I have become increasingly homesick. My experience in Carapeguá and with my various host families have been very pleasant and I will soon miss the friendly faces and voices of my temporary companions. In the last ten days I have lived as a Paraguayan, sharing experiences and tales that will forever remain near and dear to my heart. My experiences have helped me to come to the realization that life should be shared and adored and that one must make the day his own. Paraguay has exceeded my greatest expectations and has helped to change my mindset to one of continuous generosity, not out of a feeling of superiority but one of unity.
Kids in Santa Ana
Poverty, in Paraguay at least, is a mindset, a mental barrier – which has affected none of the people I have met. Those who have lacked material possessions are persons of character, strength, determination and people who have experienced pure joy, though their needs surely surpass anything I have seen in the States. In numerous ways I envy their happiness and collectiveness. The children with whom I have been partnered work in cold, wet, seemingly unlivable conditions, right alongside Americans, without complaints or whines. Some of their feet hang outside of their shoes and get dirtied by the mud. As I observe their work I want to swallow my desire to quit and follow in their footsteps. I have come to lead and teach, yet I gain many lessons in humanity.
Today, while I was playing I ripped my pants and was quite ashamed about getting help. I had no way of compensating the gentleman and feared that once more I was the student and they were my teachers.
In this trip and through this particular experience, I have learned that humility is an admirable quality. there are perhaps many more things I can pick up from them in the last few days for the duration of my trip.
I am sincerely and honestly grateful for this experience and the encounters with this program, and the people who I am proud to call my family.
Sam M., a student at Bell Multicultural High School
HOO – Helping Others Out
Houses in the barrio
I am in the health group – comité de salud. In the health group we go around discussing different topics on health. Today we put together little bags to distribute to families living in Santa Ana which included soap, shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, etc. I noticed the families were very happy to receive these items. Even though it wasn’t much, they were still very happy. The distribution took place in the afternoon. In the morning we had a chance to do something that I personally enjoyed and will never forget. We helped to clean a man’s house and we did things like take apart his bed and clean each piece, cleaned up the dust that had built up in the house, and cleaned up all the glass bottles and papers and recycled them. We also cleaned his clothes-the most interesting part was that we cleaned them by hand in a bucket of soapy water.
Washing hair
Participating in these various activities made me think about how the people living in Santa Ana make the best of what they have. Even though they are not in the best situations, they still try to make the best of it. On the other hand, there are also some people living in Santa Ana that don’t care. When people try to lend a hand, they just push the help away. When they do that it makes me angry, but that wouldn’t stop me from helping.
Every opportunity I get I will take advantage of to help others. Being in Santa Ana it makes me want to help more.
Nevasha, a student at Central High School
Pancakes + Syrup = Smiles
Natalie makes pancakes
For the first part of today, we made and ate pancakes with the Malambo students. After mastering the name “pancakes,” which was difficult for the first graders with whom my group was working, the students started preparing their batches of batter. Arms were covered in flour, kids were picking grains of sugar off the table that had fallen from the spoon too early, and fingers were fishing out dropped egg shells. But what remained most brilliant throughout the morning were the students’ smiles. Their smiles are best described as authentic. Students, who a day earlier ducked behind their neighbors if one of us looked their way, warmly opened up to us, their American counterparts. Since entering Zambia, I have not encountered such warm, genuine, huge smiles on the faces of so many children.
There are two specific moments from the pancake-making workshop that clearly stand out to me. This seemed to be the first graders’ first encounter with maple syrup – sweet, sugary, sticky goo. One student, Britone, cautiously tasted the syrup on the side of his plate before indulging in his mid-day snack. His face lit up with an ear-to-ear smile at the sugary taste. He then took his spoon and dragged it across the top of his pancake to squeeze any maple syrup available onto his spoon to eat by itself. After doing this a couple of times and ending with no more syrup, he looked up to me and held out his plate, asking for more syrup. This was not an uncommon response to this new food we introduced. Across the classroom, students were pointing and eying the syrup, pleading for more, smiling all the while.
Andrew teaches Teacher Kennedy
The second moment was towards the end of the class when I decided to experiment. I started by making very small pancakes, about the size of a dime. This shape-change attracted more students to our portable coal stove. I then started making shapes – triangles, squares, circles – and that attracted even more students. I then changed to making numbers that the students requested. By the end of our pancake workshop, I had so many students standing over me enthusiastically thrusting their bowls and plates into my face that I could no longer see the coal stove. All I could see where their shining, genuine smiles.
Liza, a teacher at Cesar Chavez Public Charter
N’shima in Monze
Today we did something really interesting; as you may already know we taught at a school in Monze called Malambo. After our lessons today, we were invited and escorted by some of the students to their homes to cook a Zambian dish called N’shima. My partner was Ms. Briggs from my very own school. I remember my escort’s name but, for the life of me, I cannot spell it, so instead I will call him by his nickname, Scorpion.
Lauren pounds pine nuts
When we got to his house, we were greeted by a woman name Georgina who invited us into her home and spoke to us for a while abut her life, family, etc. We met her daughters who were 3 and 4, spoke with another student from the Malambo School, and also learned some Tonga. Next, we started to prepare a sauce for the N’shima.
Gaby eats n’shima for dinner
She started to grind peanuts and pumpkin seed leaves together in a mortar and pestle; I also gave it a try and got a picture. It was called Mundiyoli, and I noted the recipe so that I could make it when I got back. Next, she put it into a pot a let it sit for a while. She then put a powder called mealy-meal into a pot which we had to stir. This was the traditional N’shima, one of the most popular dishes in all of Zambia. The kids at Chikumbuso get most of their nutrition from this dish. With the N’shima done, we were ready to eat. This was my first time tasting it and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Afterward, we talked with her for a while more but soon it was time to leave so we left and walked back to the camping grounds for dinner.
Marshall, a student at School Without Walls