For some students at Georgia Southern University, breaks away from school aren’t all about Netflix and binge drinking. Through a unique program offered by the school, called Alternative Breaks, students are able to spend one week of their time away from class making an impact in the community on a local, national or global level. 

This May, a group of eight students traveled to La Represa, a poverty-stricken village in the Dominican Republic. I am fortunate enough to call myself one of the members of this group of students. Our project was titled, Building a Bridge to the Future: Expanding Access to Educational Opportunities. We worked with a corporation called Service For Peace, whose mission is to achieve sustainable community development in poverty-stricken areas. We had a sense of the purpose of our trip, yet we could not fully anticipate what the week would bring, or that when we arrived back at the airport one week later, our hearts would break as we said goodbye to our new friends and new home.

In a nation where school is a common part of life, at least until the completion of high school, it is difficult to fathom a place where there are only three classrooms for an entire community of children. It is also unimaginable that children walk over a mile a day to arrive at the gates of a school in which they show absolute joy to attend. Our days were filled assisting in the manual and hands-on process of building the new portion of their school. Our nights were filled with opportunities to learn and make lasting friendships with the people of the community. Both instances joined together to impact us in unforgettable ways.

We learned so much throughout the week. We learned the correct way to mix cement. We learned how to bathe in a river, in the street under a drainage pipe or in a bathroom with no lights. We learned that we could, in fact, survive without electricity. We learned what it's like to wake up to the crow of a rooster. We learned the sound of children overjoyed to be at school. We learned how to dance, laugh and play with a group of people who didn't even share our language. Most of all, we learned about the overwhelming and absolute pure love of the people of La Represa. 

The main thing our group can take away from the people we met and the experiences we encountered is how beautiful life is when you take away distractions, live simply and appreciate the company around you. We saw the joy of people who survive with so much less than what we take for granted every single day of our lives. What we contributed through our service is nothing compared to what we gained from this community through the ways they changed our hearts and minds.                   

The Alternative Breaks program offers several different options for trips every winter, spring and May break. For more information on the application process, visit http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/LeadServe/alte...