About this program
Through a program simply called the “Guatemala Group,” current students and faculty at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia, travel to Guatemala to help the community in Antigua. While there they provide an assortment of services, including constructing homes, donating supplies to schools, and learning the language so that they can gauge the needs of and partner with the community. 2010 marks the second trip for Westminster students.
The program started out as an inspired idea in Bill McGahan’s mind after he and his family volunteered through an NGO in Guatemala called From Houses to Homes four years ago. He wanted to expand on the wide array of offerings of the Community Service and Service Learning component of the Westminster community to include a new opportunity in a place that had become dear to his family’s hearts. The inaugural Westminster trip was in 2009.
The trip allows for an off-campus and out-of-Atlanta service learning opportunity for Westminster students to experience how “… A clear understanding of one’s self contributes to responsible citizenship, whether that involves treating each other nicely on the playground, valuing the Honor Code, or respecting our mutual interdependence in a world of many races, creeds, and political views” (from The Westminster Schools Mission and Philosophy).
How it works:
Rising juniors and seniors who are interested apply to attend the trip by submitting a reflection on the experience based on what the prior year’s students shared with them. 12 students’ names are literally drawn from a hat to determine who will attend. Once the names are announced, the selected students attend many meetings during the ever-busy second semester to learn more about what lies ahead of them.
As the 2009 group did, the 2010 group will work with the same NGO that Bill McGahan worked through four years ago, From Houses to Homes. The 2010 group learned early on that they were to each raise at least $500 to cover the costs of building the houses, which included not only the costs of the materials but also the labor of local workers. The students busied themselves all second semester earning their portion, and that includes a very successful series of bake sales in front of Malone Dining hall at lunch during the school day. At this writing, the 2010 group exceeded their goal of collecting $8,000 — they actually accumulated $10,750!
The 2010 group continued the tradition of “packing two bags” — one for their personal items, and one to transport items to donate to the locals. A very popular item for children is a stuffed animal or a doll. The groups from Westminster also take deflated sports balls (that can then be inflated and enjoyed on a local basketball court or soccer field), school supplies, and clothing.
During the days of their stay, their schedule varies to include building the homes they raised the money to build, attending a Spanish conversation school to work on their language skills, sightseeing around the area, visiting local schools, and enjoying getting to know each other better in this unique setting.
