The Young Leader

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Service in the Sacred Valley – Letter to You

Hey Peru Service in the Sacred Valley 3-week crew:

Holy wow! What a whirl-wind summer it was!  I just returned to Costa Rica after visiting the jungles of Peru, the salt deserts of Bolivia, the alto plano of Chile, my family and friends across the U.S and Baja California, Mexico.  My bags are unpacked and this gypsy adventurer is glad to have a place to call home until next summer!

I hope this letter finds you well and loving life!  Have you all checked out the blog we wrote or looked at the pictures I posted on the Peru Facebook page or taken 5 minutes out of your busy school schedule to look at all the pictures you took?  I am sure you are up to your eyeballs in school, social, club activities now that you are home, but I encourage you all to think back to what we did this summer – what you experienced and learned, how you were impacted and inspired, and how that shifted something in you -permanently.

My hope for each and every one of you is that you put in the same hard work, care, dedication and passion into your relationships, families, schools, teams, churches, groups, clubs and to the strangers you have yet to meet, as you did in Yuncaypata and the community of Peru.   I was blown away (as I told you many times during our program) by how invested you were and what we accomplished in the end.  Please continue to volunteer as the LOD, to run the show, and be in inspired to transform: yourself, your community and your world!

Much love and pura vida!
Jen

 

Don’t just relive your summer abroad. Experience GLA in a whole new way next summer, in a country you’ve never been to before. Then check out Jen’s highlights from the program below.

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PS: here are some of the highlights…. In no particular order and know there are so many more:

1)     Maria refusing to get on the horse and hiking that damn mountain! Eso!

2)     Lisa, ‘I feel like I’m living in a default desktop wallpaper!’

3)     The village of Yuncaypata – Frederico, his family, the kids and the church inviting us to their celebration

4)     Hiking down the mountain with Maddie on horseback

5)     Our visits to the orphanage

6)     Jump roping in Wanchaq park

7)     Our last night dinner, including the photo contest award!  Haha!  Good laughs from both groups!

8)     My awesome team of Silvia, Serita and Miguel… so grateful for them!

9)     The 2nd 3-week group going back to Yuncaypata on their last day in Peru to finish the roof!!!

And playing the game of Tetris, with bricks and mud! 🙂

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Spanish Service Adventure in Peru – Letter to You

Hey everyone,

I’ve only been in the states for two months, but I’m already itching to go overseas again. I imagine Drew needs a restock on Inka Kola… GLA is sending me to China in a few weeks to look into next summer’s programs – I can’t wait. I wish I could take Lucas with me to laugh at all of my jokes. I’ve taken time to reflect on our visit to Peru and how much of a growth opportunity that it was (and can continue to be) for all of us. Many, MANY good memories fill me with pride and admiration for you guys and some bring up feelings of confusion and disappointment. All are worth recalling.

Collectively we built eco-fridges in 12 houses and pathways in 14. According to Sandro (that hair…), the community was very happy with the work that we did and his hoping to continue the project during the rest of the year. The community president of Mancco, Santos, and one of the more active community members, Emilio, say the nicest things about our exchange. That work was tough, but the Papa John’s at the end of the day made it all worth it. I still laugh about the battle that Ryn and Elizabeth got into about stealing a pig from its mother! I’m glad Ryn won – GLA does not condone forced adoption of animals.

I wish I could transfer back to Andahuaylillas for a few days. Maybe we can do a reunion tour for the town anniversary and go dancing with all the aggressive old women? Sambath, you in? Although boat hopping in rapids and hiking through pre-Incan ruins was cool, my favorite time was spent chilling at the home base, talking trash with all of you. I was so impressed by Laura’s drawings of nature (even her log was good!) and couldn’t believe the summer reading you guys were crushing while on the trip – I think Sacha and Megan finished 10 books between the two of them!

I do my best to align my actions with my principles, so I did a few things as soon as I got back: I stopped eating beef, I switched to a credit union, I grocery shop almost exclusively at a farmers’ market and I started researching local organizations where I can volunteer my services as a public health educator. These are all things that I think are good for my community and are DEFINITELY within my time/money/skill limitations. I’m curious to know what changes you guys have made. What has stuck with you? What are you worried that you’ll forget?

You guys always amazed me – keep it going.

Eric, Director

 

Don’t just relive your summer abroad. Experience GLA in a whole new way next summer, in a country you’ve never been to before.

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Heart and Soul of Africa – Letters to You

Mambo!!

The morning air is crisp here in Portland, Oregon. I just arrived back from my summer work travel. I was on the road 14 weeks and it feels good to be home. As I arise to crisp dark mornings, mild sunny days, and star filled nights I am reminded of my time in Tanzania—minus the sunrise rooster crowing and banana plants in the garden!!

Just this week I put on my favorite Tanzanian skirt and began teaching a service-learning course at Portland State University called “African Children in Portland.” Its focus on supporting English Language Learners and 1st generation immigrant children in the school system will keep alive my time with all of you. It will tie my summer experience into life “back home.” This bridging of my summer and fall didn’t happen overnight—I’ve been building it for years! It’s been worth the effort! As I write to you, I’m curious about what you might be doing to bridge your GLA Tanzania experience to your local life.

Together the class and I will create a space where they will be of service and explore complex social issues all while trying to get to know themselves better. They’ll ask the same big questions our Tanzania team asked you—who are, who do you want to be, what are your hopes and dreams for the world, what’s your part in making that happen? And just like you, they won’t have all the answers to all the questions because it isn’t a one time graded quiz—it is an ongoing conversation. What a relief!

As with so many of you, my University students will mention feeling uncertain about where to begin to make change happen. Some will wonder if now is the time. Some will argue they don’t have enough time, talent, or energy. Still others will throw caution to the wind and jump in with both feet. Then throughout the term all of them will reflect and together they will recognize that change is happening already and they simply need to commit to being a part of it. Passion, excitement, and joy will be accompanied with doubt, fear, and boredom. Together the class will find inspiration to create meaningful long term relationships and commitments to serve the common good. I’ll tell stories about you to inspire them. I’ll invite them to be brave, passionate, inspiring people in ordinary ways AND I’ll be thinking of all of you as I do it. I’ll be remembering hard work, belly laughs, tears, and hugs. I’ll be remembering hikes, games, new ideas, story telling and everyday efforts. I’ll let them know that others have already accepted the call to “Be the Change.” All the while I’ll be wondering—what have those GLA TZ 2014 teens been up to? What little and big things have they been doing to stay connected and inspired as they daily create the world they want to live in and pass onto the next generation?! And I’ll be hoping to hear from you so my curiosity will be satisfied, my own sense of connection will be strengthened, and the relationships we began will continue to grow.

That’s all for now—it was a privilege this summer to be a small part of your epic life journey. If you find yourself in Portland one of these days the coffee is on me!

 

-Jenna Padbury, Director

 

Don’t just relive your summer abroad. Experience GLA in a whole new way next summer, in a country you’ve never been to before. Then check out Jenna’s favorite memories below, and mentor Paulina’s letter to her students from this summer.

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Jenna’s Favorite Memories:

  • Epic games of team charades and Body Body!
  • Quiet moments on the third floor balcony
  • Waking up at Maasai weekend and seeing everybody sleeping outside
  • Cheering wildly at the pick-up soccer games with cows and goats and children wandering through the playing field
  • Hearing the question during every session, “Why do we talk about girls and women’s issues so much?” And recognizing that wasn’t the teams original intention but a sign that we were welcoming the local community’s most pressing social and political agendas into our programming.
  • The awe filled and breathtaking experience of winding down into the Ngorongoro Caldera through the morning fog.
  • Squeals of delight at the first animal sighting followed by moments of silent appreciation on each safari
  • Dressing hands with blisters on them from shoveling dirt to plant trees—recognizing in that sacred moment that the true meaning of service is planting a tree you don’t plan to eat from or sit under

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Hello my lovely Tanzanian ladies and Will, 
 
First off, I want to tell you how much I miss you all. I also want to commend you on your service and all of the amazing things we shared. 
 
To start,  here’s a list of all the things I miss most:
 
  • Hearing your loud and amazing voices singing everywhere and all the time (I’m looking at you, Monica!)
  • Walking with you guys to service and seeing all of your students hold your hands and play with you
  • Watching you guys tutor the students! 
  • Peanut butter sandwiches. All the time. You guys did a number on those jars! Ha!
  • The Poop Chart. No need to go into detail
  • Mentor Groups: I’m so sorry about the candles!
I would also like to tell you that your commitment to the service was impressive and even though you sometimes painted outside the lines, I could tell you wanted to be there! I appreciated how much you cared, how eager you were to do something when you finished early and all the sweat (especially when we had to do maintenance outside in the dirt).
 
Another thing, I will never forget how much you all  taught me about yourselves. I enjoyed our time off from service, where we played games, ate peanut butter sandwiches, shared stories about our lives and when you guys taught me what the word “Bae” means. I’m officially cool now (probably not but your lessons helped).
 
You all learned so much from being there and from the students. I saw you all transform into much more conscious and mature teens. I have faith that all of you will take your experiences in Tanzania to all parts of the world. The work you did was invaluable and the lessons you learned will guide you into adulthood. I can’t wait to see what you will accomplish.
 
Sending you much love from sunny San Diego,
 
Paulina aka Mama P 

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Don’t forget to experience it all as if it was the first time with a new GLA summer adventure!

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