Doing Service in the Dominican Republic
Gabriela Madrid spent her spring break as the learning partner for the Organization of Latino American Students’ (OLAS) service trip to Cabarete, Dominican Republic. There they worked with The Dream Project, which focuses on early childhood and primary education as well as youth development. The group worked on a mural made of recyclable materials at The Dream Project Center in Cabarete. The Dream Project staff wanted to educate the students about recycling and to promote it in the community. The group collected plastic materials from the neighborhood, cut and painted the materials, and created the mural. Participants also had the opportunity to interact with students and to read with them.
This was a great opportunity to learn about up-cycling, to explore the community of Cabarete, and to support Dream in their goals! Gaby hopes that this artwork inspires students to think about and use trash in different, creative, and sustainable ways.
The Quintessential Alternative Spring Break
Zunara Naeem had the opportunity to serve as a learning partner for two trips during her tenure as a fellow. Learning partners are staff at GW who are invited to join the trip as participants, while also being available in a leadership capacity as resources for participants and the leaders.
On Zunara’s second trip as a learning partner during spring break 2018, she traveled with 51 students and members of the GW community to New Orleans for the quintessential spring break service trip. They focused their learning on disaster relief and the experience and response of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans community. Their service involved building a home with Habitat for Humanity for a homeowner affected by Katrina. Zunara visited the worksite on our final day of building. It was wonderful to meet her and experience her excitement first-hand for her soon-to-be home.
Zunara came out of the experience in New Orleans with a new-found perspective on the aftermath of natural disasters and the value of volunteers who assist in helping pick up the pieces afterwards and also take their knowledge to other communities so that the struggles of those affected by natural disasters are not forgotten.
