Welcome to the School the World Blog!

Ally Stackhouse, Winchester MA

We have a nickname for the students who join us on a service learning trip. We call them World Changers.

We have a nickname for the students who join us on a service learning trip. We call them World Changers.

We woke on our last day in Guatemala not wanting to believe it was true; we had to leave. We had accomplished what we came to do, we finished building a school for the community of Trinidad.

Even though we were only there for a week to finish building and open the school, we spent four months before the trip raising money to fund the construction. As much as our time in Guatemala made a difference, the fundraising was what made it possible for a school to be built at all. Our car washes, raffles, and door-to-door weekends had paid off, literally! School the World has taught us every little bit of money counts and no amount is too little (or too big!).

It is hard to return home and not boast about our amazing experience, and not want to jump on a plane back to Guatemala with School the World’s July trip...

But don’t worry, it’s back! STW’s World Changer Diaries Series begins right now. Check this blog for multiple posts per week from students just like us, just returned from Guatemala with a lot to say.

Each post will be specific to that student’s trip; student’s are submitting journal entries, striking pictures, personal videos, reflections and more to tell you how this trip has affected their perspectives. Stay tuned for a video from Maggie, a blog post from Annabel, photos from Chris, and so much more from students up and down the east coast during this School the World Service Learning Season!

We are lucky. This is our third service trip with School the World- our last as high school students- and we find ourselves thinking about our first trip a lot this week. We remember the excitement, challenges and nerves that come with breaking your comfort zone and traveling to a developing country for the first time.

We have had our painting jeans and t-shirts packed for a week.

Even though the snow piled higher and higher with every storm, the time to embark on our next journey to Guatemala couldn't come fast enough. The past months, weeks, and days had been spent waiting in anticipation for our trip over our February school vacation. But when we heard the news report of a 'blizzard warning' for the day we were supposed to depart, the freak-out set in. We couldn't bare the thought of the weather stopping us from getting to Guatemala.

Congratulations to volunteer Joe Vitale!

2014 celebrates School the World's 5th year in action.

Maritza teaches 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd grade at an STW school in the Guatemalan village of Mactzul VII. She was born and lives in the nearby town of Santa Cruz del Quiche.