I had the unforgettable experience, during Conference Week this past winter, of co-leading an Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trip to Guatemala.
Department of French Studies Associate Professor Jeff Tennant hangs out with the neighbourhood boys outside the Pediatric Clinic cafeteria entrance in Guatemala.
Our team consisted of 16 students from a variety of years and programs of study. One of them, fourth-year Health Sciences student Debra Krieger, took on the role of student leader, working with staff member Leah Getchell and me to facilitate the group experience.
The preparation provided for faculty, staff and student leaders prior to the service-learning experience was of the highest quality. Our team leader meetings covered not only the logistics of leading such activities, but also the educational leadership aspects of our role, with a clear and concise introduction to relevant concepts of critical and reflective pedagogy. Subsequent workshops with our teams included practical information about the location where we were serving, as well as discussions of social justice issues.
In order to serve the local community and to bond as a team, we spent a cold January evening volunteering at Ark Aid Street Mission on Dundas Street, serving meals and socializing with guests. This service work, like the work on site in Guatemala, was followed by a reflection session to discuss the significance of the service experience.
Our main placement was at the Clínica Pediátrica del Relleno Sanitario (Pediatric Clinic of the Sanitary Landfill), serving meals and developing a nutrition and hygiene program for the children of the neighbourhood, with a focus on promoting hand washing and tooth brushing, as well as tracking evolution of height and weight following the introduction of an affordable meal plan.
The smell from the municipal dump just the other side of the wall behind the clinic was a constant reminder of where we were, and while child labour in the dump was recently banned following a number of accidents, many families in the area still make their living from recycling material found in the garbage there.
The clinic staff are very dedicated and do what they can with limited resources (from charitable donations, with no government support) to address a situation of widespread malnutrition among children. Our team developed a great rapport with the doctor and her colleagues and they organized a reception for us on our last day to express their gratitude for our service.
On two afternoons, our team visited the junior high and high school students living in a residence for girls from rural areas. We did crafts when we first met, but soccer and dancing turned out to be much more effective ice-breaking activities. In just a few short hours spent with these girls the members of our team developed strong bonds of friendship with them and found communication was possible despite the language barrier.
Evenings back at home base were devoted to reflection activities, thinking about and discussing our experience starting with general questions such as: “What did I see today that challenged my beliefs/values/ideas?” and “What did I learn about the community?” Leaders were provided detailed guidelines to facilitate reflection, but we were encouraged to adapt the activities to fit our team’s experience.
One exercise asked students to situate their viewpoint in relation to statements on a values continuum such as: “I believe that I should change my lifestyle in order to do my part to make the world a better place.” Discussions on such questions challenged participants to examine their place in the world, and these sessions sometimes got quite emotional.
The ASB is a great example of how at Western transformational learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom. It offers students a unique opportunity to broaden their horizons in local and international work for social justice.
For us faculty members, that week in February is usually precious time for working to stay on top of our teaching and research duties, but leading an ASB experience can bring fresh and exciting perspectives both professionally and personally.
I highly recommend it to my colleagues – it is an opportunity for experiential learning not only for the students, but also for us university teachers, and nothing can be more professionally satisfying than accompanying our undergraduates as they solidify a life-long commitment to work as engaged citizens to build a better world.
The writer is an associate professor in the Department of French Studies.
Getting involved
Faculty and staff are invited to attend an information session on Tuesday, Sept. 29 from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. in HSB 236. Applications are available on asb.uwo.ca and are due October 6.