Orphanage Outreach

Her Outreach360 Story

Fall of 2010, the first half of my senior year of college, I was in a funk. A few months before I had ended a two year relationship with a group of friends after realizing their destructive and unhealthy impact on me. I didn’t like the person I had become with them, so I cut all ties.

I spent most of that semester alone, trying to figure myself out again. I was trying to figure out what it was that used to excite me and motivate me to live life to the fullest.   

That November, I found what I was looking for.  A friend who knew I was interested in travel and working with kids invited me to join her for spring break on an Outreach 360 trip to the Dominican Republic to teach English to children. I signed up right away, looking forward to an escape from the numb, apathetic atmosphere that surrounded me. 

Over the next few months I slowly became acquainted with the 11 other girls on my team and as I learned more about each one, my excitement grew. We bonded so much during our day of travel from Charleston to Monte Cristi and felt like best friends by the time we reached our destination.  For the first time in 9 months I found the community I had been searching for and remembered what it felt like to laugh really hard, smile a lot and enjoy life. I was beginning to break free from the funk.

We met the children we would be teaching at Solomon Jorge, one of the local primary schools.  These students were the poorest in the community as well as the most poorly behaved. In the past I have prided myself on my ability to handle difficult children, but I was completely out of my element.

This was my first experience in the role of teacher.  The organization and creation of lesson plans in itself overwhelmed me, but being expected to execute these lessons to unruly children who didn’t speak the same language was just too much.

I was really  frustrated because I couldn’t speak their language well enough and I didn’t have a clue how to effectively teach them my language! All the enthusiasm I had going into the week was quickly draining away and I was starting to lose hope in our ability to make a difference. 

One day in the classroom it was just all too much so I grabbed a book from the shelf and went outside to sit on the playground. It was in Spanish, but I flipped through anyway. Some of the kindergarteners and 1^st graders who had decided  to cut class as well came and looked over my shoulder. Thrilled to be acknowledged and craving the undemanding  company they offered, I started reading to them.

As I stumbled over the unfamiliar words, Maria, the little girl next to me, patiently and encouragingly corrected my pronunciation, and when I got to a word I did not know, the word for dirt, she reached down, picked up a handful of sand and dirt and looked at me meaningfully while repeating the word.

            I was amazed and a wave of peace washed over me.  I had been so single minded in my mission that I hadn’t considered all the other reasons for my presence. Although she was obviously blessed with the gift of teaching, she didn’t treat me like a student, she treated me like a friend.

I decided to take a cue from Maria.  Instead of being upset that our plans to teach English weren’t going as planned, my friends and I decided to make the most of our time with the children and build relationships with them. We quickly realized that their violent, rambunctious behavior was not a product of them being ‘bad’ children, it stemmed from their lack of understanding the rewards of good behavior. Just like Maria didn’t know which words to help me with until she spent some time with me and saw what I struggled with, we couldn’t understand the needs of the children until we took the time to get to know them.

We changed our strategy. We came each day and engaged the children with games and songs, rather than flashcards and lessons.  Behavior improved dramatically as the children realized that we wouldn’t include them in the fun unless they sat in their chairs and kept their hands to themselves.  My friends and I suddenly were far less stressed and tired and the children were having fun and were far more receptive to us.

The rest of our trip was blast. We really started to assimilate to the culture, slowing down our thoughts and movements and focusing on enjoying each moment. Focusing more on each moment allowed us to enjoy our surroundings more, and it helped us to create more meaningful relationships with the children, and each other.

I knew before I even left the country that I would need to return as soon as possible. I had fallen in love with the children and way of life. Two days after I returned home I went straight to church and signed up for the trip they were taking to the DR in June. I had been very interested in it for several months, but hadn’t signed up because I didn’t think I had enough money to go. My trip with Outreach360 taught me how important it is to take advantage of the opportunities that life gives you, and I decided to not let something little like money keep me from living my life in a meaningful, purpose driven way. I sent out about 100 fundraising letters and in less than 3 months I had raised more than enough for the trip, and didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket!   

My funk was officially gone. I had a wonderful new group of friends who loved and supported me and who shared my desire to live a life of purpose. I started to really enjoy life again, taking a new appreciation for everything in my life and learning to just sit back and enjoy each moment as it comes.

Maria and her friends taught me life lessons that I will never forget and that I am certain I would not have learned had I stayed home that spring break.  Because of those lessons I am going to spend another two months with those children through Outreach360 and invite you to join me!