Source: Summerland Review
A group of Summerland students and teachers will be embarking on a Humanitarian journey to Quito, Ecuador and the Chimborazo province during the spring break of 2011.
Ecuador is a country uniquely endowed with dramatic topography and a variety of climates, vegetation birds and wildlife.
Ecuador’s landscape ranges from the lush and vast Amazon Rainforest to the high peaks of the Andes Mountains.
Free the Children’s school building projects are located in the Chimborazo province, a deeply impoverished rural area with a rich cultural history and breathtaking natural beauty.
Students will teach cooperative games and contribute by helping build a school. Students will practice their Spanish and learn some Quichua as they interact with their Ecuadorian peers and learn about rural life and community development.
The Me to We facilitator will be fluent in Spanish and therefore able to translate all community-led sessions and guided walks.
This also means the facilitator will be able to take care of all logistical and medical situations.
There will also be an opportunity to hike in the Andes Mountains with local guides.
The last few days of the trip will be spent drawing connections between the Ecuadorian experience and the world at home with a retreat to the Amazon rainforest. Under the leadership of two experienced Me to We guides, students will explore what they have learned and delve into global issues such as the indigenous movement, women’s rights and environmental sustainability.
In Ecuador, participants will spend the majority of their nights at community-developed and community-operated tourism projects in the Andes Mountains that provide opportunity for cultural exchange with every meal. These accommodations provide a sustainable source of income for the local community, and profits are regularly invested in the local school to provide vocational training, transport and lunch programs.
This is an experience the school can provide that most students will not have the opportunity to participate in after they leave.
The trip is being provided to any grade 11 or 12 students in the 2011 school year, at a reasonable rate with an opportunity to fundraise to cover the costs.
With this experience, students will understand why it is so important that we develop a deeper understanding of other cultures and that it is not up to us to change the culture of others, but allow them the opportunity to bring about change on their own.
Planning for this trip is still in the early stages.
Students who are interested in joining the trip or want more information about Free the Children or Me to We trips are asked to call Pat Gartrell, Shelia Martin or Jean Wnuk at Summerland Secondary School at 250-770-7650.