After months of preparation and years of fundraising, 16 girls from my school trekked to Nicaragua to build a school in a rural community. I am changed by the rewarding and challenging experience, and thank my lucky stars every day for the opportunities I have been given. Here are a few of the useful things I learned you should be aware of for a service trip:
1. You will never be fully prepared: You can research the culture, pack and unpack one million times and strive for perfection in planning, but nothing will prepare you. Just take it all in.
2. It is kind of impossible to explain to anyone outside of the experience: It is unique and that is a gift it offers. Brainstorm ways to talk about it that don't sound cliche. Remember stories that will enlighten others. It will help, but won't be perfect.
3. Avoiding Voluntourism is hard: This is a strange phenomenon that centers the trip around the people serving. It involves taking a lot of pictures holding children and using them for your own gain. This has been known to cause rifts in the community, further abandonment issues and do little to help under-developed nations begin to thrive. I was fully aware of this before leaving on my trip, but the threat is always present. Keeping this in mind is always the goal, but its dangers creep. Being aware is the first step in combating this behavior.
4. There is a lot we unknowingly take for granted: This seems obvious, but holy cow. Things as simple as going to the bathroom at night, and protection against rain, to variation in our food. It has opened my eyes and I will strive to be happy with everything I have been given.
5. Our way isn't always best: Disconnecting completely for a week was beyond rewarding. The people of this community are strong, resilient and ultimately happy people. They live in the moment, they live. I have never felt more at peace than when I spent energy just focusing on my direct surroundings. It teaches you that you can always learn from other cultures.
6. Ultimately, and most importantly, it is not about us: It is not, has not and never will be about the people going on the service trip. It is not about MY life altering perspective gained, or experience and change of heart. It is not about MY challenges and rewards. Service trips should be about exactly that: serving. The community in need should be at the center of it all; laying a foundation for whatever they need to have opportunity. If you build a wall and leave it there, that doesn't help as much as teaching them to build their own walls. They should be selfless, not self-serving. This behavior shift will start to make a lasting impact on everything you do in life.
