Madeleine Gertsen
Features Editor
In John Village, located in the center of Malawi in the town of Kasungu, there is little more than grass, brushy trees and rocks as far as the eye can see. With a population of only 200 people and the nearest city miles away, John Village could be considered isolated.
It is here that junior Amanda Dobin and seniors Alex Gottleib, Justine Jorgensen, Clare Musicco and Kyla Persky work under the mid-July heat. With the sun beating on their backs, they work alongside the John Village locals, digging, laying bricks and pouring cement. They are working to build a school for children who formerly had none.
As part of the NCHS Chapter of buildOn, Amanda, Alex, Justine, Clare and Kyla spent the 2013-2014 school year working to raise over $27,000 to make this “trek.” “To prepare for the trek, the club engages in extensive fundraising and awareness projects,” Kyla said. “Club members also partake in individual fundraising efforts
Kyla shares some pictures from her trek to Malawi with Features Editor Madeleine Gertsen.
such as babysitting, coaching private sports training sessions, submitting photographs for sale in art shows and selling holiday cards and hand-crafted bracelets.”
According to Alex, this work was worth it. “By physically going to the village and meeting the people we are helping, we are putting a face with a name and giving these people hope for a brighter future,” she said. “One
woman said she thought she would die before she ever saw an American come and help her. We could have just raised the money to build a school, but by going to Malawi we are giving them a greater desire to keep up with the project after we leave.”
“In the words of its founder, Jim Ziolkowski, ‘buildOn is not a charity, it’s a movement [that]helps break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service youth programs in some of the world’s poorest villages,'” Kyla said.
Amanda agrees that the NCHS Chapter of buildOn is more than a charity. “It’s very different from any other charity club because buildOn is giving the gift of education to the world instead of solely funding money,” she said.
This year, Amanda, Alex, Justine, Clare and Kyla helped give the gift of education to the people of John
Kyla helps carry sand back to the main work site to mix with cement.
Village. “We didn’t help the people of ‘Africa,’ we helped the people of John Village in Malawi,” Kyla said. “While we were there we physically worked on the construction site completing any number of tasks such as window-making, rebar, digging, measuring, brick-laying, the carrying of sand and water, and the pouring of cement.”
While the main purpose of the trip was to help build the school, Amanda, Alex, Justine, Clare and Kyla did have time to get to know the culture. “In the afternoon we did a variety of cultural activities such as talking to the chiefs and to learning how to weave a basket,” Alex said. “I’m so glad that I will always have the amazing stories to tell from the buildOn trek.”
Kyla also appreciates the stories and memories she took home from Malawi. “We work hands-on with the very
people we seek to help, traveling to places like Malawi and interacting with the communities in a way that very few are fortunate enough to experience,” Kyla said. “We speak with them, build with them, dance with them, eat with them, live with them and so much more, leaving us with a host of memories and the chance to see the world from a new perspective that truly cannot be achieved living within the bubble of a small town like New Canaan.”
Alex also felt that living with the John Village locals changed her perspective. “After living the way these people live, experiencing their way of life and seeing how much they appreciate everything they have, it changed my perspective a lot,” she said. “I gained a new appreciation for all the things I take for granted, especially education. You always hear kids in the high school complaining about going to math class or having a lot of homework, but the kids in this village were so happy to be getting a school and took so much pride in the little that they had.”
Amanda also found a new appreciation for the things she has. “It was an absolute shock to see people live like this and it made me realize how fortunate I am to have everything I have,” she said. “For example, my toilet, my
Clare (front), Alex (middle) and Amanda (back) help
shower, my lights. The list goes on and on. It made me sick to my stomach coming back and looking at all the clothes I had when the week before I had been complaining, ‘I don’t have any clothes!’ while the average person in Malawi wears the same thing every day.”
In the two years since its founding the NCHS Chapter successfully met their goal of raising $27,000 both times, built two school blocks and started an adult literacy programs. “In order to continue the trend this school year, the club plans to host bake sales, car washes, a movie night, a coffee stand, and an online campaign,” Kyla
said.
While the school blocks and literacy programs primarily benefit the locals, the trip also has benefits for its participants. “I have truly and fully realized that community service is not about me,” Kyla said. “It’s not about a resume, it’s not about self-satisfaction, it’s not about creating an image of myself as a ‘good person.’ The work that the buildOn club does is for real people, in real places, with a real need and that you cannot take lightly. Community service is, and certainly should be, entirely about the people you do it for.”
