Sustainable Development and my expectations


When I was young and my elders would ask me what I want to do with my life, I always responded that I wanted to help the world.  Today, I still reply with the same answer, so I am taking advantage of my college experience so I can help developing countries have the same basic necessities that I am fortunate enough to have.

After my junior year of high school I spent a month in an extremely rural Peruvian village called Patacancha.  I was on a community service trip that aimed to build a community center for the locals to gather. I was honestly disappointed with the overall outcome of my experience.  Compared to the strong Peruvian men who are accustomed to the heavy weight of the building bricks and the extremely high altitude of the community, my group’s ability to complete the physical labor was fruitless. Although the Peruvians clearly appreciated our efforts, my group’s physical labor skills were in no way comparable to theirs. It was really frustrating because it often seemed as if we were more of a burden than an asset to the villagers.

Although it was disheartening that we could not accomplish our goal of building a community center, I still do not regret my time in Peru because it was truly a memorable experience. At the end of each workday my friends and I went to the local elementary school to play soccer with the children. One of the teachers also allowed my friend and I to teach his second grade class for the day. It was through these experiences that I was able to understand how people in developing countries are much more appreciative than most Americans, and I admire their positive attitudes to their tough situations.

I enrolled in the course “Sustainable Development Solutions” because I know it will provide me with opportunities I would otherwise never have. After learning about volunteer tourism, my biggest fear is that my group will do more harm than help in the Nicaraguan community we will hopefully be traveling to. After my experience in Peru, I am able to understand that volunteer tourism may often help the tourist much more than the villager. Hopefully, my group will be able to do enough research that our efforts in Nicaragua will actually prove to be effective.  Although I know I will gain so much from my experience in Nicaragua, I do not wish to leave disappointed, knowing that our efforts did not benefit the community.