A group of Justice Studies students led by Police Foundations coordinator Jim Norgate (upper left) are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work as part of a Me to We volunteer trip in Nicaragua this Reading Week. The group will depart on Feb. 28 and return March 7.
Watch short video of Jim Norgate telling students about what lies ahead below:
There won’t be internet or cellphone service when a 20 group of Justice Studies students reach their destination this Reading Week. Nor will their days be spent lounging on the beach in a stereotypical spring break manner.
The students, led by Police Foundations coordinator Jim Norgate, will leave the comforts and conveniences of home behind for 10 days of manual labour in the hot sun, in an effort to make a difference make a difference in a part of the world dramatically different from their own. As part of a Me to We volunteer experience, the students are bound for to El Trapiche, in the Central Pacific Region of Nicaragua, where access to education has been a major challenge. Their mission: to prepare the ground for a new classroom.
Norgate who has been leading groups of Justice Studies students on Me to We volunteer trips during Reading Week annually since 2014, has warned them that it will be difficult, both physically and emotionally. Not only will they work hard but he has told them that nothing can prepare them for the experience witnessing such poverty. He leads the trips each year because he strongly believes that the experience will not only help make a difference to others in need, but also have a profound impact on the students.
“I’ve seen how it changes them,” he said. “It’s an experience that will change them for the rest of their lives.”
In 2014, students travelled to Nicaragua where they helped build a Grade 2 classroom for a school, without electrical power or modern conveniences. Last year, they travelled to Ecuador where they helped rebuild a medical clinic in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest.
On both trips, Norgate found that the expierence also builds a cohesive, tight-knit group among the participants. “Students travel there as individuals but by the time they return, they are one.”
Third-year Advanced Law Enforcement student Andrew Oosterhoff knows this well. This will be the third year he is participating in the Me to We volunteer trip with the College’s group. This year, he has taken a leadership role.
“The first year I was in shock. It’s true that nothing can prepare you for the first time you are there; you see how little they have, and how much we have,” he said. “That trip really changed me.”
This year will be a first for Megan Fleury. The second-year Police Foundations student, who is an active community volunteer, said has been interested in participating in a humanitarian trip for several years. She said this provided the opportunity for her to take part in a more cost effective way. She knows it will be difficult but for her the reward will be well worth it.
“The point that we’re going down to a community to make a difference,” she said. “That is what I look forward to most.”
The group’s focus on helping others began long before they started packing for the trip. They have already raised funds to help finance the trip for students who were not financially able to go. Each student in the group is involved in fundraising, regardless of his or her own financial situation.
The trip is also supported by the College’s Be World Ready program, which offers students opportunities participate in Study Abroad, Work Abroad or International Field Study experiences. Students who volunteered for the trip each received a $500 Be World Ready travel grant to off-set their personal costs. For information visit studyworkabroad.niagaracollege.ca
The trip is one of four International Field Study experiences that will be underway this Reading Week supported by the College’s Be World Ready program. Groups of NC students are also bound for Honduras, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic , London, and New York City.
Me to We offers volunteer travel experiences to empower young people to change the world. For more info visit www.metowe.com
