See you in Guatemala on August 2-10, 2008!
This summer we will travel to the remote village Santa Avelina in the Guatemalan highlands. Here we will install concrete floors in the homes of 45 families. Please see www.helpsinternational.org for more information on the work we will be doing.
Thanks to all who supported us on our 2007 trip! It was more than we could have ever hoped for!
Please read what the students had to say about the trip:
According to volunteer Mark Bailey, a 2007 Villa grad, “All of the families ... were incredibly grateful for the work we did for them. Just seeing the expression on the people's faces was thanks enough for me. After we finished each stove, all of the family members would come out to thank us and we would play with the kids and give them toys. Each home made us some form of food (like tortillas, fruit, and snacks) and a drink of bottled water or papaya juice. Some of the food didn’t exactly settle well with our stomachs, but we ate it nonetheless out of respect for the starving families. They were really giving us food out of their budget while they were going hungry. It was all too humbling.”
Kim Humphrey, VMA senior
The experience was humbling in the extreme and forced me to re-examine my priorities. The experience ... has made me aware that it is not only a cliche that you can change the world, it's truth.
Laura Kennedy, VMA junior
For me, the best part about Guatemala was realizing all the things we had in common with the people there, and how similar we are to them. We had been fully educated on the differences between our cultures, so it was a pleasant surprise to meet people who look and live differently from us but share many things in common with us anyway. We saw couples riding motorcycles together, we saw giggling groups of schoolgirls and clusters of schoolboys karate-chopping each other and whistling at girls they liked. The children, like children in the US, are inquisitive and love to play. My group spent much of its time playing frisbee and tag and monkey-in-the-middle, just as we would have at home. ... Families drank sodas and laughed with us at our hilariously broken Spanish. Music was played, there was dancing and eating and laughing – just like in America. These were simple parallels, but they connected us to people we knew very little about, and they are what, to me, made the trip so meaningful and life changing.
Renu Ramesh, VMA junior
Going to Guatemala was a life-changing experience. The interactions with the locals gave me a new outlook on life. The people there are not materialistic, and find happiness within themselves. They are not frivolous or petty, and their resilience can carry them through any hardship. I learned much from the Guatemalans.
Emily Schubert, VMA Junior
This trip was an experience of a lifetime. My eyes have been truly opened, and I am now even more grateful for what I have and the lessons the people of Guatemala have taught me. If you have your friends and family and people to look out for you, nothing else matters. The rest are just trifles. This trip will definitely have an effect on the rest of my life. I will never forget the people and their generosity and
hospitality, and I hope they never forget me either. I'd like to thank HELPS International and Ms. O'Connell for making this trip possible.
Joe Reser, VMA Senior
The trip was not about building stoves, but it was about forming a connection with the people. The greatest lesson I learned from them is to measure success by family and friends, instead of how much money one makes. The overall experience was incredible. Guatemala is a beautiful country with amazing people.
Derek Furnish, VMA Spanish teacher
This trip really made me see what is important in life: relationships. Family, friends, neighbors, loved ones are what is important. Material possessions, money and stuff do not make us happy. I saw people with just a roof over their heads who were still smiling just because they were alive. The only time I saw sadness was when they talked about loved ones who had died or moved away. My cable is now cancelled and I'm on my way to visit my mom and then my grandmother. I am going to try to remember this trip whenever I complain about something trivial or unnecessary, and remember that as long as there is someone who loves me and cares about me, then things are going to be just fine. The only thing I need to acquire is a tighter relationship with everyone around me.
