Every year, an integral part of the #ASHexperience for many in our school community is the opportunity to participate in the ASH Global Service Program, which includes a visit to Thailand, Nepal or Tanzania. Over the February break, this year’s groups packed their bags and set off on these unforgettable journeys volunteering in local communities and making lasting, meaningful memories with their fellow students and staff who accompanied them. 

As part of this year-long program, teams will continue their meetings until the 2020 teams pass the torch on to the new teams in May. Until then, the 2020 teams will share their stories, reflections and ideas for the future. During their high school advisory assembly on March 25, all teams will show their program videos. That same day, we will also have our Community Voices celebration in the evening, which is open to the entire community. In the meantime, here is a taste of what they will share, with a day in the life of the global service trips...

Thailand
Our Thailand group traveled to the Unified Learning Center (ULC) in Khuk Khak, Takua Pa (southern Thailand). This center is run by the Foundation for Education and Development (FED) and educates close to 350 Burmese migrant children from nursery aged children (3 years old) up to grade 8, which can be up to age 16-17. Here is a day in the life, according to Andrew, Belen, Amarli, Marie, and Lauren. 

“While some of us went to the beach early in the morning, others stayed back and relaxed. Around 8:00 we had a delicious breakfast with fried roti, watermelon, rice and mango juice. Then we headed off to the ULC where we practiced our dance moves for our part in the cultural exchange ceremony later that night. After about 20 minutes of practice, we went to the nursery where the children greeted us happily with hugs and high-fives.

The following hour in the nursery left us wishing we could go to nap with them. We each gave them a plushie to play with and a colorful shirt to wear. After singing nursery rhymes and playing with them it was time for their lunch (which has been covered for a year through our fundraising) and midday nap. We snuck out quietly and moved on to the next activity.

After lunch and a quick siesta, we were off to our next activity. Our group visited the home of a ULC student, Adin. His father, Nway Oo, works at a fishery here in Phang Nga. It’s the off-season, and he’s saved up enough money from his 1-2 month fishing tours to stay at home with his family. Hours on the boats are achingly long and even more dangerous when they’re low on sleep. Back home, his wife, injured in the 2004 tsunami, has been bedridden for over a decade. Nway Oo hopes one day to make it off the fishing boats and work as a painter. He’s currently building a collection of pieces, one of which he had on display in his living room.

While it breaks our hearts to know that people live in conditions like this and worse, there is a silver lining. The FED does a tremendous amount to help families like Adin’s survive and even thrive in Thailand. Their health team provides Thai-Burmese translators so that migrants can communicate with healthcare providers, their legal team assists migrants in navigating the complex and stringent regulations of the Thai work and residency system and of course, their education team provides schooling for their children.

After relaxing for a few hours, we went back to ULC where we were greeted with a video made from the activities and lessons done the previous days. We then had a wonderful dinner and exchanged cultural dances. The ULC students showed a traditional dance which included eight different ethnic groups. ASH students then danced to three songs. We concluded the day with everyone dancing."

Tanzania
As part of our service visit to Tanzania, our team worked extremely hard for three days at a primary school in Moshi laying the foundation for two kindergarten classrooms. In addition, we planted 700 trees at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro through the Jane Goodall Foundation Roots and Shoots Program. And we also implemented a sports program at DINKA School in Arusha, where ASH is one of the ambassadors of the school, and met with tribesmen of a local Maasai village. Our program concluded with a visit to Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park to experience the beautiful countryside of Tanzania. Here is a day in the life of the Tanzania Global Service Program.

"After waking up and reporting for a delicious 7:30 am hot breakfast, we gather on the veranda of Kishari House overlooking Mount Kilimanjaro for our morning brief before boarding the bus to our work site. The sun is up and it promises to be a hot day on the worksite.

When we arrived two days ago, nearly 120 kindergarteners were sharing two classrooms. Hopefully, by building 2 additional classrooms in partnership with the local community, these young students will be able to learn more comfortably. After digging the trenches for the classroom foundations yesterday, we spend the day passing trays filled with concrete and laying the classroom foundation. 

We work together with a crew of local builders who prepare the concrete, pour it into the round trays and hand them over to us for passing along to the concrete pourers. This is hard labor under the strong African sun and we take frequent breaks to drink and eat. The more the day progresses, the more tired and sore we feel…The level of work we are doing at the site is most definitely intense. But we are proud of our strong teamwork and enjoy collaborating with the local community.

After our workday ends at 2:30 pm, we prepare for our tasks for the next day, which is laying large concrete bricks. Then the bus takes us back to Kishari House where we gather for a group reflection before heading to the pool at United World College, our partner on the ground, for a much-needed break and to soothe our sore muscles.

At 6:30 pm we enjoy a delicious local meal consisting of rice, beans, beef and a fresh salad and head down the street for a cultural night filled with local songs, dance, music and acrobatics.  It was a rewarding day and we are most certainly too tired to prepare for tomorrow evening’s legendary Tanzania quiz night! That will have to wait until the morning."

Nepal
Our Nepal program has been running since 2016 and we have always worked with Prabin Gautam and his Himalayan Voluntourism organization. We spend most of the week at the Shreesanjiwani Primary School and our goal is to help the school develop a curriculum that is interactive and fun for the Nepali students. The money we raise from the program throughout the year goes towards the school including a teacher’s salary and some school supplies. This is what a typical day looked like for us...

"Every morning on the Nepal global service-learning programme, we would wake up to have breakfast starting at 8.00 in the morning. If we were lucky we would have a beautiful view of the Himalayas and a hot shower! At 9.15, we would then reconvene to walk down to the Shree Sanjeewani Primary School, rain or shine! We arrive at the school in time for morning assembly and we quickly get ready in order to start teaching at 10.15.

Each group then spends about 3 hours teaching their grade level. From playgroup to grade 5, everyone has tons of fun, and despite any last-minute changes of plan, has a smile on their face. At lunchtime, everyone is quick to finish their food in order to spend half an hour playing with all the kids until classes start back again at 2.00. It is only a short 45 minutes until everyone comes together outside to have a dance party to end the school day.

We then all walk back up the mountain to the farmhouse. Some choose to take the shortcut, motivated either by the infamous masala tea, a hot shower, a nap or playing games together with friends. At 18.00 the whole team meets in the farmhouse for our campfire discussion, reflecting on the day, and maybe even a game of trivia!

Dinner comes at 19.00 and is followed by an evening of singing along to the guitars around the campfire until, one by one, people grab a hot water bottle and retire for the evening, getting some rest in preparation for another day of making memories tomorrow." 

For more details on our service learning programs, visit Our Involvement page.

#ASHExperience #thejourneymatters

Don’t miss our “Community Voices: Stories and Images from the 2020 Global Service Programs” on Wednesday, March 25 from 19:00-21:00 in the ASH Theater and hear more about these incredible programs.