Happy Fourth of July!! The American holiday was a different experience in Kenya; we began our day with a quiet morning of mindfulness at the Tiriji Eco Center beginning at 7:30. Our guided meditation started with closed eyes, we pictured our past as a personal garden; lush with new plants as well as aged with…
Today for lunch, we ate at one of the restaurants we have already eaten at, but since most restaurants here have a menu of the day, we ate totally different food. It was absolutely amazing and if the food was like that in the US, McDonalds would go out of business. When I was younger,…
“Don’t go because you’ve fallen in love with solvability. Go because you’ve fallen in love with complexity” -Courtney Martin Thirty hours, four planes, nine people. This is all it takes to be a part of change. It is important to note that we are not here to solve a crisis. We are here to understand…
Working in the community center for the past couple of days has definitely been a change from the active soccer games, piggy back rides and tag that were ever present in the first week of working with the kids. It has taken some getting used to, but having my leg contained in a cast has…
Today’s post is from Ellie who shared her handwritten journal. You can read the journal with the link below. http://staging.shouldertoshoulder-old.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ilovepdf_merged.pdf
After three days of working in Dora, seven students planted 300+/- trees. The trees will help prevent erosion, will provide wood, and will make the area even more beautiful. It was very satisfying to leave the worksite and see all our progress. We had a lovely lunch then went to play basketball. Basketball was really…
Getting up early at 6:30 and walking over to an eco center called Tiriji to do some mindfulness in Kenya is not something every rising senior can say they did this summer. We were in a large circle and did some very simple yoga poses that stretched out our bodies so that we could spend…
Reid – My favorite part of the day was when we replanted the irises. This was my favorite because it was our first hard work experience. Since I signed up for this trip, I’ve been waiting to go into the swamp and get some real work in. I was sad to find out that that…
Our Cambodia ’19 crew has been hard at work on helping to build a new school. During some time off today, they had the chance to interview some local teenagers about what the local school is like.
Today the group was in San Cristobal working hard to help finish painting teacher housing. The housing is important as teachers are often placed by the government and if they do not have a home to stay in locally, weather and other conditions impact their attendance. By providing comfortable housing for teachers, Give and Surf…
We received word from our course instructor team that students are continuing their project work in Dora. We will share a photo here and a few more on Instagram @studentsshouldertoshoulder
We started off the day with a delicious breakfast before we finally began our project. Our goal is to help the workers construct another guest house at KACH. We carried and placed lots of heavy stones, learned how to mix cement, and hauled bags of sand from one point to another. In between our project…
Our Bolivia instructor team has let us know that the group has arrived safely to Rurrenabaque. After a long day of travel, they are off for a good nights sleep and will begin tomorrow with an introduction to the Rio Beni Health Foundation.
Today was our second day of working on the school with the village chief and the all of the students in our homestays and village. We were feeling pretty sore from carrying buckets up the riverbank yesterday but we managed to load four “robo cows” full of dirt to make concrete. Later in the day…
We had out first full day of work with Common Ground Relief today, beginning with an orientation from Thom and Britt. We then spent time in the tree nursery and had a great dinner with local resident “Smitty” who share his thoughts on all life with us. Below are Casey and Eleri’s reflections on the…
For all those who freaked out yesterday from a day not blogged, I am here to say that we are all alive, well, and functioning. Yesterday was a very eventful day where we traveled from Nairobi to Meru on a six hour Kenyan bus ride. One bus was blessed with an alarm clock going off…
Our CI’s have reported that students have begun their project work planting trees to restore land in the town of Dora. Spirits are high and the scenery is stunning. Working alongside our NGO partner students have really begun to “dig in.”
The past few days we’ve had the chance to explore the local sites on Bocas. In the midst of our journey we came upon a man by the name of Polo. An eccentric man, Polo has lived on “Polo beach” for 55 years, aptly named after him. Once a millionaire, he blew all his money…
Today in Panama is a national holiday. Today the new government was sworn into office. In Panama, a presidential election happens every 5 years. Citizens of Panama must be 18 years old to vote. Citizens go to vote at schools. In this recent election, four parties had good turnout at the polls. The parties were…
We spent our first day exploring the French Quarter and taking in the diverse culture of the city of New Orleans. Below are reflections from Vishal and Joe on the Jazz Brunch and Krishna Ceremony and dinner. Check out the video from Jazz brunch posted to the SStS instagram account as well! Stay tuned for…
Students had the chance to meet with and work alongside the Executive Director of Give and Surf, Neil Christiansen. Look out for more student posts coming this week and follow along with our pictures and video each day on Instagram @studentsshouldertoshoulder
In our second day working with the kids, those of us working in Cristobal ended our time there with a walk through the jungle. Oscar, a fourteen-year-old member of the Ngobe indigenous group led us through the jungle, instructing us in Ngabere as we walked. The kids found it hilarious as we struggled to pronounce…
After a full day of travel for many of the students and the instructors, the SStS group assembled in LAX, made their way through security, and are now beginning some of their orientation activities at the gate. Despite the late night departure, everyone is in good spirits and excited for the adventure ahead.
Today was our first day of working in community centers in Cristobal and Bastimentos. We split into two groups of seven and started work around two. My groups made our way over to Cristobal, where most kids did not speak very much English. Our first activity was a game of soccer. It started out as…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]We just received an update from Sarah and Jim as their first full day in Phnom Penh came to an end. In order to better understand some of the tragic elements of Cambodian history, the group visited the Cheoung Ek Killing Field and the Tol Sleng Prison. In the process, they learned about the…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]After getting off the shaky, 13-row plane we adventured through the streets to get to our water taxi. It had rained this morning so the streets were flooded with water. We held our bags up as high as we could and tried to avoid splashing each other at 7:30 in the morning. The somewhat…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]After a full day of travels, the group traveling from LA arrived safely and met up with the last two members of this year’s Cambodia team. After checking into their hotel and enjoying their first Cambodian meal, they immediately headed out to explore Phnom Penh with Phiya from CRDT as their guide. After an…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Just as the Panama Canal’s connectivity we would see in 24 hours, the Au Bon Pain of Miami International served as a joining together spot. All 17 of us met up and successfully began our journey together in front of this airport bakery. After making it through security and checking into our flight, we…
We received a message from Jim and Sarah letting us know that their group is boarding their flight for Hong Kong, so they are on their way to Cambodia. Despite the late night departure, the group is in great spirits. The group of six students from the U.S. will meet the remaining two students in…
We just received a message from the course instructors. The group arrived early in Panama City, quickly made their way through customs, and will soon be heading to their hostel for the night after a long day of travel.