Newsfeed
Printer-Friendly ModeStudents spend break teaching lessons of their own to overseas children
March 31, 2008 —
The Dominican Republic is proving to be a hot spot for SVSU students seeking to perform community service abroad.
Most recently, a group of 21 SVSU students teamed up with students from Central Michigan University to spend their spring break working in the city of Monte Cristi through the Orphanage Outreach organization. Students from both colleges were members of the His House Christian Fellowship.
Co-leaders for the SVSU group were Nursing Senior Jamie Zumbro and IT Services employee Brent Fitzgerald, who is a recent graduate of Ferris State University. The pair enlisted the help of CMU Associate Campus Minister of the His House Fellowship Eric Woods to plan their trip and collaborate with the CMU students.
"Our trip was not related to previous trips," Fitzgerald said, referring to the 2007 Alternative Spring Break that sent SVSU students to work in the Dominican Republic through the same organization. "We were discussing what sorts of mission trips were available, and there was only a habitat trip in the works at the time," Fitzgerald said.
"We try to organize at least two mission trips every year for the week of spring break," added His House member Susan Burgard. "Every year our His House does a Habitat for Humanity mission trip."
The group spent their week teaching English and leading a youth group for children whose native language is Spanish. They worked among over 200 other volunteers, most of which were college students. Forty-five children resided at the orphanage ranging from 18 months to 18 years of age.
"We would have to prepare lessons for all of our classes, and each day we would get a different subject to teach," Zumbro said. "For example, one day, my group had to teach body parts to all of our classes, and other groups taught clothing, sports, face parts, food, etc."
"The residents of Monte Christi don't have much money, and the schools lack a decent English program," Fitzgerald said. "For a lot of children in this particular area, the ability to speak English is a ticket to a better life."
For the orphanage's youth group program, His House organized an instructed lesson for the children which involved singing and performing the story of Adam and Eve.
The group also got a chance to engage with the children outside of the classroom setting. "Between classes, we would play with the children at recess," Fitzgerald said. "Whether it was playing frisbee, jumping rope, playing soccer, or just making wild attempts to break the communication barrier, we wanted to invest in the children. The love that we wanted to share with the kids is the same love that Christ has for us, and our goal was to help them to see that love."
Burgard described some other aspects of the experience. "We got to see the real Dominican Republic from the beautiful beaches and mountains to the poorer neighborhoods where goats and dogs run freely. It was an amazing eye-opening experience and helped us to understand just how much we were doing for the people there."
All three participants have expressed interest in returning to Monte Cristi, although official plans have not been discussed. Several members of the 2007 Alternative Breaks group, however, have scheduled a return trip for May 2008.
Many of these students have arranged to receive study abroad credits while they return to work through the Orphanage Outreach program once again. The group is composed of former site leader for the break Jamey Latocki and nine other SVSU students, some of whom are first-timers and were not participants on the first trip.
Latocki discussed her desire to return to the Dominican Republic.
"I'm going into education, and working with Orphanage Outreach made me realize that teaching was my calling," the special education junior said. "I was afraid of the language barrier, but it ended up not being a problem at all. The children were so hungry for education, and giving them just a simple taste was more gratifying than anything else I've done in my life."
Much like His House's annual excursions, Latocki would like to see the College of Education design a similar program for study abroad experiences.
"I see no reason why teachers should not be exposed to teaching experience outside of the U.S.," she said. "I think teaching in a school with literally no funding is a test for anyone going into education, and puts the 'luxuries' of the U.S. education system into perspective."
