Case Study: Safe Passage In Guatemala

We, as leaders, must educate our teachers so we can properly equip them with the skills necessary to support students of poverty. An area of concern for me is hiring the right people for the job. When hiring teachers to work in a low-income district, it is necessary to have the important conversations related to students of poverty. Our turnover rate is higher than the state average so as a leader, we need to take the steps necessary to hire the best candidates for the job. Once staff is hired, our school must support them with the training to build the best team for our students. Working in a school district with a high poverty, it is essential that we provide professional development opportunities for our staff focusing on students of poverty. This course has provided me with multiple resources that could be utilized in the creation of staff professional development. If teachers fill their toolboxes with the right mechanisms, our students will benefit throughout their

Have you ever thought about people who need help in your community and ways you could help? In Aniak, Alaska, there was a need in the medical field because the town only had one doctor. A team of teenagers saw this need and decided they could do something about it and formed a team called the Dragon Slayers. On the other side of the country, Cassandra saw a different kind of need in her community. Because of harsh Rhode Island winters, fuel for heating homes is really important. She and her friends learned about biodiesel and how it could help her community. In the two articles, Defeating Dragons and Food That Fuels, young people saw community needs and helped bring positive change in unique ways.

A current problem in Haiti that Free The Children is focusing on is education. Following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that destroyed Haiti on January 12th, 2010; hundreds of school buildings were destroyed and the education system was left wrecked. This is affecting society because currently Haiti’s literacy rate is 62% and only less than half of the country’s children attend school. About 37% of students actually reach the sixth grade out of the 60% of the students that enroll. Free The Children is currently working in an area where 90% of the schools built are built by community-based, non-governmental, and/or religious organizations that are trying to rebuild the education system.

Alongside my studies, I run a nonprofit organization called The Esther Enaholo Foundation (www.teef.org.ng). This foundation is a platform for reaching out to children in motherless babies’ home. Our most recent project was organizing a Christmas party for children in Arrows of God orphanage home, Ajah. This party had in attendance 50 children from the orphanage home, masters’ students from Pan-Atlantic University and staff of the

I 'm currently serving as a 2013 Corps member for Teach For America. I joined teach for America because I believe in their mission that all students deserve an equal an excellent education. I also joined because they work with schools where students are growing up in poverty and low income communities; a resemblance of my past. You see, we become our worst critics and even the mir image of success vanishes when our thoughts become clouded with fantasies; imaginative thoughts of the impossible. I longed for success, making it clear that the riches were of no importance to me. To others it appeared that I yes she, is writing her own story; untold was the beginning.

The country was foreign, a first for me. Dilapidation and ruin scattered the horizon as far as one could see. Guatemala is a place where poverty has a strong grasp on its people. We traveled tirelessly for hours to reach the poorest of the poor. Upon arrival old, young, and natives of all shapes and sizes formed receiving lines, eager to welcome us with gifts of smiles and gratitude. It was an experience that forever changed me. This was the first time I had stepped outside the boundaries of the American culture into a world where nothing is taken for granted. Each day spent on my mission trip brought a fresh awareness of gratefulness. Any pre-trip reluctance quickly became a vague memory as my emotions welled within bring a fresh change to

In the past two years, I've had the privilege of volunteering at the "Ready for School" event at Faith Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights. Ready for School, or more commonly known as "Backpack Day", is an event where Arlington Heights school districts and other community members help fund to purchase school supplies for under privileged students in Arlington Heights. In addition, on the day of the event there are multiple community services, such as the police and fire departments, the library and park district in attendance to help families understand the resources they offer. The numbers of families and students that attend increase each year, this year with over 600 backpacks.

We will house kids who are products of all facets of society. For example, children of immigrants, children who have affluence, children who are loved and cared for greatly and children who may be in a situation of neglect. Teaching is about reaching out to each student, helping them to overcome challenges and be the best that they can be. It seems that an increasing number of these challenges may not be academic in nature. I believe that conquering these challenges actually beings with the little community forming within our classrooms. As teachers we have the obligation to teach our students how to have respect and compassion for one another. How to be on the same team and work together, no matter each person’s background.

The program is able to provide support for these student Monday through Friday, barring holidays and school breaks, at no cost to them. If the program did not exist, these students would be unable to receive the same academic support nor a safe environment to play with their peers. Additionally, the students’ parents often come topic up their child after their work day in their uniforms. If the program did not exist, the parents would have to find alternative means of care for their children after school, whether it be they return home on their own from the bus or finding a baby sitter at a costly burden. I connected with these children in this aspect as I was not privy to resources such as these. I neglected my school work that I was unable to finish by the simple inability to ask for help from my family members as they themselves did not know how to assist me with my schoolwork. The program offers a great alternative that would exist if the program was absent in the community. The longevity of the program speaks to the sustainable community relationship that the university students were able to build with the community partners at Lay Park, and the value of the program by the continued support of the Lay Park staff.

One of the initiatives that I am proud of is Kiducation. This is my drive to raise money to buy school supplies for underprivileged schoolkids in India. When I was in India I often saw kids whose parents lived below the poverty line (less than a dollar a day) walking to school with any supplies with them, mostly because they couldn’t afford basics like books, pencils and more often than not geometry cases. I also observed how we here in Canada often take these things for granted. Hence, Kiducation was born, both to raise awareness about every day third

It was the summer of 2010 and I was attending an inner city missions trip in Peoria, IL. Each morning we served in an urban neighborhood volunteering at a local school or government housing. At the school, we found chipped and faded paint, walls yellowed from old age, water stains on the ceilings and walls, and lockers that were filled with graffiti. The government subsidized housing was in a horrid state of disrepair. Bullet holes riddled the doors and brick facade on the buildings. The windows and doors did not provide the safety the residents needed: ripped screens, broken glass panes and broken door locks prevailed throughout the units. The neighborhood community center had barred windows, broken concrete walks, and trash on the property. I was overwhelmed with the deterioration of the school and the neighborhood around me. I decided that summer, I would do what the neighborhood people could not do for themselves, be an active part of revitalizing broken communities through the

In January of 2015, I experienced a mission trip in Guatemala. Although the trip taught me a lot about both myself, and the people and culture of Guatemala, one of the more prominent realizations I had was that the Guatemalan children had so little resources to get a quality education in life, yet they were still eager to learn. For example, each child was required to wear a pair of black dress shoes to school. Since many could not afford to pay for these shoes, they each walked to the missionary compound, no matter how far, to get a free pair of shoes that were offered. Additionally, many of the kids were more inclined to attend a short church lesson after eating dinner than play with their friends. After experiencing this dramatic change

Prior to my education at Temple University, a service trip to Haiti changed my life. Among the hundreds of personalities I interacted with in Haiti, almost all were malnourished, homeless, or family deprived, all living on less than one dollar per day. I was perplexed by the simplistic, yet satisfying lifestyles the Haitians lived. I helped organize movement workshops for different communities using a variety of physical activities. On the first day, the students responded well as I demonstrated different calisthenics, having the students mirror my movements. Subsequently, movement became my primary source of communication throughout the remainder of the trip.

The agency where I am interning is Partnership with Children. “Partnership” as it is called, works to strengthen the emotional, social and academic skills of at-risk children to prepare them for success--academically, socially, and in life. “Partnership’s” programs aim to bridge the gap between those who have a vested interest in working within New York City’s highest-need public schools, and those in need. “Partnership’s” goal is to transform the overall culture of many of the city’s struggling schools by helping students cope with the extreme stress of living in poverty. Helping students thrive in safe and supportive schools that encourage

It has always been close to my heart to help others who are in need; therefore, I chose to volunteer my time toward helping to make Project Backpack a success. Some time ago I chose to join the Project Backpack team in order to help under privileged school kids. Project Backpack is a project where members go out and buy items that children need in order to make it through school. Some items that were purchased to fill backpacks were school supplies, such as notebooks, pencils and pens, crayons, and other school essentials. We also would get personal items for the children, such as toothpaste and toothbrushes, shampoo, body wash, and deodorant. Then we might even get a few toys, such as cards, football, or another small toy. We chose to do that because we realized that we were giving these backpacks to children who are under privileged and they may not have many toys, and it is just a way to make the backpack more comforting to the children.