School the World is a non-profit organization committed to solving extreme poverty through the power of education. We offer student service trips for high school students interested in making a difference abroad. Our service program is unique in that students contribute to our larger ongoing mission and can travel to beautiful Central America during their school vacations!
School the World's Student Service Program provides an inspiring service experience for High School Students. While traveling to Central America (Honduras, Guatemala or Panama), they get to experience a new culture, make new friends, fulfill service hours and create lasting relationships with the children in the community! All while supporting our infrastructure growth by building a school and/or a playground with their student group!
ABOUT THE TRIP: Each group that travels funds and participates in the final construction phase of a new school building and/or playground during their journey of discovery. Students spend the majority of their week in a community in Southern Honduras working on the project and interacting with the children, their parents and the teachers as they form strong bonds through mutual learning. We also believe cultural exposure and understanding is an important part of our program. During their trip, students experience the beauty of Honduran culture.
Throughout the trip, our World Changers begin to open their eyes and minds to the deep and complicated causes underlying poverty in rural communities. They walk away with first-hand insights of economic realities that force mothers and fathers to send their young children across treacherous borders. More importantly, they experience the power and influence of education in ordinary people’s lives.
Trip Highlights:
- Complete the building of a school or playground for children living in extreme poverty
- Experience a new culture
- Form deep connections with children - even with a langauge barrier!
- Enjoy daily recess with the kids
- Spend time teaching in the classoom
- Visit the home of a local family to better understand their culture
- Make new friends from across the U.S. and beyond
- Be immersed in Spanish language
- Get community service hours
- Experience an awesome cultural day!
- HAVE FUN!
Students will spend the months leading up to the trip fundraising $3,750 which goes toward funding the school or playground they will be building in the community. This also covers all trip costs including flights, accommodations, food, transportation, and trip insurance.
School the World provides resources throughout your fundraising journey and has plenty of ideas to get you started!
This past February I went on my third service trip with School the World to a rural community in Guatemala. All three of the trips that I have been on have been truly unforgettable. The relationship the School the World has with each of the communities they work with is amazing. Unlike most service organizations, School the World maintains a five-year relationship with the communities in which they work to ensure that the schools they are helping to provide will be sustainable and supplied with materials. It was inspiring to see how grateful everyone in the community is to have the opportunity to attend a safe school. One of my favorite parts of the trip is when we have the opportunity to follow a member of the community around and see what they do on a daily basis. Everyone is so welcoming and willing to show you what they do everyday, which could be anything from harvesting crops to making tortillas to hand-washing clothes. Traveling with School the World to Guatemala has been one of the best experiences of my life and I will be forever thankful to have had this opportunity, not just once but, three times.