My Humanitarian Experience by Caleb

My Humanitarian Experience by Caleb - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

The most amazing service project I have ever been a part of was in a foreign country. Last summer my dad’s boss sponsored me to go on a youth humanitarian trip with a program called HEFY. With twenty-one other youth from all over the country who would soon become my friends, I got on a plane and was headed to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Bolivia is the poorest country in South America, and my group was to build a section of a schoolhouse for children to learn in. When I arrived in the country, I could immediately tell I was far from home. The air was much more humid, everyone was speaking Spanish, and I knew no one. However, being my adventurous and extroverted self, I faced the trip with invigoration. The first couple of days my group was able to get used to the environment and try some Bolivian foods. The food was great, but at times, I became very sickly. In fact, everyone in my party had serious stomach problems throughout the entire trip. What a challenge! Nonetheless, after the sightseeing and food-tasting, we were ready to get to work.

Because my team was compiled of just a bunch of teenagers, we had two parents and two group leaders who spoke the language come down with us. On the worksite, we had two designated construction workers to help and train us. Their names were Luis and Nestor; and let me just say, they were incredible soccer players.

Our project, as a team, was to lay brick for this building. (We were the third party to travel down and work on the building, so the foundation and some of the brick was already laid.) We had ten long workdays to get as much work done as possible—and the other groups had fallen behind schedule. It was bound to be a difficulty to catch up.

The first day was incredibly difficult; the first two hours of the day dedicated to training us in the hot, humid environment. All that we were given to work with were the trowels we brought, some of the materials they had, and plenty of bricks. The twenty-one of us split into sections and were assigned to a specific wall. We all had slightly different jobs whether it was making mortar or laying the bricks. I got the opportunity to do both because I am a rather tall, strong person. The height I had was helpful with laying bricks, the strength I had was useful for heavy wheelbarrows of bricks or mortar. I was one of seven boys in the group of twenty-one, so I could imagine that I’d get to carry several bags of cement to and fro-- and I did just that.

My group was especially determined to get work done. We ended up finishing one-third of the building when we only needed to do one-fourth of it! We accomplished so much and were so pleased to have done what we did. Though our bodies were frail with sickness while working in the hot sun, the feeling after having completed our section was incredible. I have never felt as happy as the time I saw the small Bolivian kids come and hug us for our efforts when they saw what we did. Not only did I get the opportunity to work on this building, but I also gained a love for the Bolivian people. Service is truly the best way that I personally can achieve happiness.