Service
Tanzania '15
Red Sweater Company
The summer after I graduated high school, I went on a trip with Moondance Adventures. The trip I chose to go on was to Tanzania in Africa; where we would spend 1 week of service, 1 week climbing Kilimanjaro, and the last week on a Safari. We were paired with an organization named Red Sweater Company where we would help build a garden for the school. This was so that the children attending the school would have food to eat while at school. While on this trip, we also got to visit a neighboring Elementary School. I've always loved kids and was more than excited to visit this school. This was my favorite moment on the entire trip because my heart was overfilled with joy from these kids braiding my hair, wanting to hold my hands, and just laughing hysterically at everything. For kids who had so little they were filled with more joy and happiness than I've ever seen before. Even though I couldn't communicate with the children, smiles and laughter sure goes a long way. It was hard to say goodbye, but those kids will always hold a special place in my heart... and I can only hope that I'll have the privilege of going back one day.
India '15
Elementary Schools & The Doon School
During the Spring of senior year of high school, I had the privilege to visit India with a group of 18 kids from my school a week and a half before Spring Break. This period is called "X-Term" where you have the ability to stay in Richmond, go on a trip outside of Virginia, or go on a trip outside of the country. This trip would be a mix of sight seeing and service. Once we got to India, we worked with elementary schools outside of Agra and also with children in the slums of Delhi. I've been fortunate enough to travel and the slums of Delhi was a place that will be ingrained in my mind forever. It was the first time I've actually experienced extreme poverty. Something that I learned from this was the amount of joy, love, and passion to learn. From this trip I gained the insight that going to college is such a privilege and being fortunate to have the education that I have. I left with the need to want to give 100% towards everything that I do.
El Salvador '14
Habitat for Humanity
This was my first mission trip outside of the country! It was also where I fell in love with mission trips. This trip I took with my church to El Salvador where we got to work with Habitat for Humanity to build houses outside of the city San Salvador. It was super fun to get to test my spanish skills and learn how they go about building houses. We had to make the cement and lay the mortar. It was incredible to see the progress my group made throughout the week because we saw the walls come up out of the ground. We also got to meet the family who the house was for and I've never felt so much joy. The woman said that we were her godsends and that she was forever grateful. It really put my mind in perspective, it also made me fall in love with wanting to spread that sense of joy and happiness into others.
