Transforming Service

By Dave Pond

Along what is likely the only paved road between the Santiago Airport and the Dominican Republic's capital city of Santo Domingo, cans, hubcaps, and other trash litters the ground below a lush canopy of tropical trees. Tiny shacks cleverly constructed from a patchwork of rusted tin, rotten plywood and what can only be described as storm debris pepper the brilliant green landscape.

"Most of the students who come on these trips have never been exposed to this level of poverty," says Mike Giancola, director of the Center for Student Leadership, Ethics & Public Service (CSLEPS) at North Carolina State University. "The culture shock can be pretty intense for some."

That's where the transformation begins for many NC State students. Year after year, they forgo a recreational spring break to participate in one of the university's week-long Alternative Service Break (ASB) programs, gaining exposure to cultures and experiences vastly different from the comforts of their suburban lives.

Building Homes – and Bridges

In Santo Domingo, the NC State ASB Habitat for Humanity team spent its first day touring the city, easing into the week ahead. The gentle transition gave students the opportunity to absorb some of the more mundane aspects of Dominican culture, leading to observations such as, "The ketchup tastes sooo different here."

Fast-forward 48 hours, when hard manual labor on a Naguan job site steers the conversation far from condiments. Students struggle to communicate with Dominican laborers while they learn how to tie rebar, mix concrete and pour a roof. The home they're working so hard to build is desperately needed, but many in the United States would consider it insufficient. For those in the impoverished community that the students have come to serve, the new structure will be more than enough.

"The people seem to not even notice what they're missing - what we think they're missing," says junior Katie Skinner, adjusting her words to reflect her changing perspective. "They are completely content with the materials they have."

A sense of contentment and gratitude for things often taken for granted in America isn't limited to beneficiaries of Habitat for Humanity - it's a tenet of Dominican culture displayed by young and old alike that's as instructional as it is admirable.

Students Learn the Challenges of Teaching

More than 100 miles away in the dusty town of Monte Cristi, another team of NC State students armed with cardboard cutouts and giant flash cards makes the 30-minute hike from Hogar la Esperanza de un Nino (an orphanage that's part of Arizona non-profit Orphanage Outreach) to the Bella Vista School, where they teach Dominican school children a few English words. Throughout the excited chaos that often fills the classroom, the NC State students-turned-teachers watch as their young pupils display an infectious enthusiasm.

"Today in class, I was feeling really down about the education we are limited to giving these children, and I started to wonder if they really cared at all," says junior and team leader Jessica Gil. "Then, in the afternoon class, three little girls got up from their desks and stood right in front of the board with their notebooks and pencils, copying down the English words we had written on the board. The little girls were so interested in learning how to say the colors in English that they wanted to be front and center."

The chance to learn a few English words isn't always grounds for excitement, but in a community where opportunities are few, nearly every student in each of the school's four classrooms brims with anticipation, eager to participate.

Using Velcro and Music to Teach About Health

In front of a captive audience assembled in the community center of a quiet little village in Monte Cristi, senior Jo Vargas and her team field questions about simple hygiene, nutrition and anatomy from members of a community that rarely has access to any kind of health education. Few Dominicans pass up the chance to have their blood pressure checked and their blood sugar measured, waiting patiently in line for an opportunity to receive a welcomed checkup.

Highlights of Dominican Trip

The NC State team adeptly administers the simple tests using only a tiny fraction of the $130,000 worth of medical supplies they brought to the Dominican Republic on behalf of Flying Doctors, a group of volunteer physicians who will support a medical clinic in the weeks to come.

Just down the street, the other half of the ASB Pre-Health team does its best to teach school children about teeth brushing and healthy eating through the creative use of poster board teeth and Velcro-backed plaque. The schoolchildren watch attentively and begin to participate after a little encouragement from team members.

"We're up there trying to talk to them about portion control and not eating too much red meat, but their answer to us is, 'We eat meat whenever we are able to get it,'" freshman Rachel Humble says. "How can we even teach something like that when food isn't always readily available?"

Other messages, however, get through loud and clear. After a fruitful day in the classroom, the NC State Pre-Health team joins the school children for recess. Above the din of outdoor play, the sound of delighted children singing their anatomy lessons in both Spanish and English fills the air. "Esta es mi cabeza. Esta es mi cabeza. This is my head. This is my head." Their classroom choir director, NC State sophomore Victor Saxena, happily sings along.

Toward the end of the week, many university students found themselves reflecting on the countless lessons they'd learned and reassessing their priorities and values as they struggle with the realities of a culture so different from the one they know in the United States.

"All my life I had helped a lot of people but until this trip, I don't believe I had ever served anyone," reflects junior and Habitat team member Julie Stainback. "Serving to me is so much more powerful than helping because you are helping make a change in someone's life, but not seeing yourself as having an advantage over them."

"On this trip, I believe I've received more than I gave in return," she adds. "For the first time in my life, I had this great moment of insight where I realized that no one was 'better' than someone else because of his or her color, culture, religion, or any other factor. I have been taught to treat people fairly and that everyone should have equal opportunities, but deep down there was a part of me that had always maintained some prejudice or bias. I now see how I can play an active role everyday in pursuing equality and the fair treatment for all groups."

Encouraging a Lifetime of Service

This year, CSLEPS sent 14 teams of NC State students on Alternative Service Break trips to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Ecuador, Italy, Belize and Guatemala in addition to American locales such as Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Louisiana, Alaska, New Mexico and Pennsylvania.

"One of the primary objectives of the program is to give our students a deep understanding of privilege and the responsibilities that come with the privileges they have." Giancola says. "Some students take the first step during the trip, for others it happens after they return. Our hope is that they will engage in a life of service."

CSLEPS continues to expand its partnerships with communities around the world in order to provide its students with transformational service-learning experiences while collaborating to address pressing community needs and social justice issues. Its strategic plan is to develop 20 partnerships by 2010.

Links:

• Student reflections from some of these ASB trips

• Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service