Posted on March 22, 2006
More than 300 JMU students participated in 27 student-led trips, both international and domestic, as part of the university’s Alternative Spring Break program.
“What I hope comes out of all the trips is that students have an experience that opens their eyes and encourages them to get engaged in all their communities and connected with the world around them,” said ASB program director Lorelei Esbenshade.
One of the furthest destinations was Guatemala, where participants were introduced to local culture and history.
“We got to meet these widows whose husbands had been killed in the massacres of the 1980s [in Guatemala],” senior Sarah Robarge said. “We got a lot of history lessons throughout the week.”
The Guatemala trip worked on the Highlands Project, focusing on the environment and reforestation.
“We were making environmentally friendly stoves,” Robarge said. “It was really cool because we were making something practical that they would use four or five times a day.”
Sometimes language was a barrier on International trips. Participants of the Guatemala trip had to use creative communication.
“The children of the village spoke some Spanish, but the adults spoke a Mayan dialect,” Robarge said. “We had to communicate through smiles and hand gestures.”
While some ASB programs go out of country, others stay in the United States. One group went to Kansas City, Mo., to work with Operation Breathrough, a day care center for under-privileged children between 6 months and 16 years old during their parents’ workdays.
“The center is a safer place than these kid’s homes,” said coordinator of first-year orientation staff Dan Murphy. “We didn’t expect to get as close to these kids as we did.”
Parents who use the center are required to pay only what they can afford. Many children attend for free.
“Most of the children come from single-parent homes,” Murphy said. “The six hours of the day we spent with these kids is the highlight of their day.”
Even closer to home was the trip to Washington, D.C., to the Father McKenna Center to help the local homeless male population fighting substance abuse.
“We were able to hang out with the men and listen as they told their stories,” said ASB student coordinator Rebecca Bourne. “We played chess and learned card games as well as prepared them lunch every day.”
Typically, Alternative Spring Break trips are composed of two student co-leaders, a faculty learning partner and seven participants.
“The trip leaders pick their site, organize their service, find their housing and create their budget,” Esbenshade said, “If it were all up to me to do it all, we would have three trips.”
Trip leaders must attend training from mid-October through November.
“You learn a lot of different things through activities and speakers such as risk assessment, conflict, leadership and personality styles, and first aid,” said Guatemala trip leader Sydnee Lifshin. “It is crucial to go to those meetings.”
Many participants said they felt the experience taught them lessons they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Murphy said it is important to help those close to home.
“We have this focus on things that occur all over the world and we forget the poverty here,” he said. “The American dream is not a reality for everyone.”
