NSU Students Visit Guyana During Service Trip to Rebuild School and Help Georgetown Community

NSU’s Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement recently led a team of NSU students and staff members on an unforgettable service trip to Georgetown, Guyana to help rebuild a community school and do community outreach.

As NSU junior Brynne Hunt learned, the week-long trip was one that would change all involved forever. Here’s her story:

“We began work at Grove Primary clearing out books from their storage room, painting the walls with vibrant, child-friendly colors, and transformed it into a beautiful library over the course of five days.

“The most amazing part was that 13 strangers were able to set their differences aside, work together and complete the project ahead of schedule. This gave us time to play with the children during their break — they loved us but loved our cameras more!

“We spent our last two days of work doing community outreach, which for me was the most impactful part of the week. We spoke to families throughout the village and gave them parcels containing food and clothing. They welcomed us into their homes as if we were long-lost family, allowed us to cuddle their babies, and showed us how to play cricket.

“We learned that grandparents, parents, children, aunts and uncles live in the same home, which is the size of one room in a house in America. Also, we learned just how lucky we were: an average family of five will have an income of about 50,000 Guyanese dollars a month, which is comparable to $200 in the United States. As a result, the majority of children stop attending school after the age of eleven because it costs 400 Guyanese dollars a day for transportation. Throughout the week we stressed the importance of school to the children we met and encouraged them to continue their studies.

“Our journey to Guyana changed my life. I learned to appreciate everything that I am given in America. I also learned the importance of being there for one another; we are all one human race, and we were created with the ability to help others in need.

“This is why the service program at NSU is so vital; college students are the most powerful group of people in the world, and if we can team together to make a difference, I have no doubt that we will change the world and better ourselves. I hope that I can inspire at least one person to take time out of their day to help someone else. Regardless of how trivial it may seem, you may brighten someone’s day. ‘Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.’”

The NSU students were also featured in this Kaieteur News story, viewed by clicking here. Several students also shared their thoughts on the trip by blogging here.

For more information about NSU’s service trips or civic engagement opportunities, please click here.