LearnServe Paraguay
A landlocked country of six million people, Paraguay is the size of California yet one of the poorest countries in South America. Paraguay boasts two national languages – Spanish and Guarani – and one of the world’s largest hydroelectric dams, on the eastern border with Brazil.
LearnServe Paraguay participants join young leaders in the capital city, Asunción, and in the small rural town of Isla Pucu to learn first-hand what life, and social change are like in Paraguay. In 2012, LearnServe Paraguay participants will:
- Meet a group of inspiring youth leaders in the barrio of Santa Ana in Asuncion
- Work on projects in Santa Ana related to health, job skills training, environmental education, and art – all led by youth from the Centro Cultural Comunitario
- Live with families from our partner school, Colegio San Jose, in an upper-middle class section of Asunción (students only)
- Meet and live with students and families in Isla Puku, a small village two hours from Asuncion, an opportunity to learn about rural Paraguayan culture
LearnServe Paraguay will give you an understanding of how lasting change comes to the neediest communities in Paraguay — through projects developed by those communities themselves.
Note: Spanish (at least one year) is required of all LearnServe Paraguay participants.
Leaders
LearnServe Paraguay co-leaders are Caitlin Reilly, Bryan Whitford, and Domingo Alonso. Caitlin is a Spanish teacher at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School for Public Policy in Washington, DC. She co-led the LearnServe Paraguay trip in 2011, and participated in 2010. Bryan Whitford is a Spanish teacher at the Bullis School in Montgomery County, MD and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay from 1997-9. Bryan participated in the LearnServe Paraguay program in 2010. Domingo Alonso is on the founders of the Centro Comunitario Cultural in the Santa Ana neighborhood of Asuncion, and has been an integral part of LearnServe Paraguay since its inception in 2006.
Key Dates
Tentative travel dates
June 20, 2012 – July 8, 2012
Pre-travel Training Dates
At Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, from 3-6:30pm on the following Sunday afternoons, unless otherwise noted. (4301 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814)
- January 29, 2012 - Teacher Orientation
- February 26, 2012 - Student, Teacher, and Parent Kickoff and Orientation
- March 18 - Students and Teachers
- April 15 - Students and Teachers (ropes course)
- May 6 - Students and Teachers
- June 3 - Students and Teachers
- June 17 - Send-off Celebration for travelers and families
Post-Travel Follow-up Programs
- August 30, 2012
- September 23, 2012
- October 14, 2012 – Graduation!
Cost
Cost of Trip: $3,600 (does not include passport, visa fees, or vaccinations)
Financial Aid is available. Any participant or school unable to cover the full cost of the program should contact Sabine Keinath by email at trips@learn-serve.org.
Resources
For more information, contact trips@learn-serve.org.
Program Information for parents, students, and teachers.
Map