by Elizabeth Jimenez –
Have you ever wanted to participate in a humanitarian service project overseas?
There is a plethora of organizations offering an opportunity to serve overseas. Choosing the right one can be daunting. At least it was for me. Then, last August while I was at BYU Education Week I found an amazing organization that met all of my criteria: community conscious, spiritually based and transparent. Singular Humanitarian is under the umbrella of CHOICE Humanitarian who has been established for many years in the same countries Singular Humanitarian works in. They have a very conscious model of service that fully integrates the community’s needs and promotes self-sufficiency through education. They also provides on-going support when the projects are complete.
So, I packed my bags last winter and headed to Mexico on a humanitarian mission with Singular Humanitarian. It was a unique experience filled with purpose and the opportunity to give, share and receive. We went on a week long mission to a small town north of the State of Mexico called Acambay.
We stayed in humble accommodations within the town. We slept in unused classrooms in sleeping bags on the floor, or if you were lucky on a cot. Typically you sleep within the community in whatever accommodations they are able to provide for the group. There were about 40 of us on the expedition, mostly LDS (Latter Day Saints) singles ages 31-45. The organization was created by LDS singles, but welcomes singles from other faiths that share similar values. This commonality helped create a very caring and loving atmosphere amongst all the expeditioners. And, although we were mostly LDS, we were under strict guidelines not to proselytize.
Each day was filled with activities from morning until evening. The expeditioners ate breakfast, lunch and dinner together. We spent the days working in teams to help build chicken coops, latrines, ovens, etc. In the afternoons we provided workshops on small business management, teamwork/community and music lessons for the children. We worked hard and had a lot of fun.
By far the highlight of my trip was working side by side with the members of the community. One of my most memorable moments was painting the school wall with Dona Josephina. She was the first to touch my heart on this trip with her eagerness to help with any project and learn as much as she possibly could.
Several people asked me if I thought we made a difference in the one week we were there. I mean, could we have used the funds for transportation, meals and planning in a more beneficial way to serve the local community? I thought about this and I feel that what we brought with us was more than money. In addition to manual labor, we provided our expertise in business, teamwork, problem solving, etc., and I believe this created an awareness of greater opportunities and more mindful community interactions. We were mostly professionals that had the opportunity to attend college and able to provide another view of the world that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to in their isolated community. I believe we provided a sense of global belonging through the knowledge that a bunch of Americans were willing to take their time and money to help them instead of going on a nice vacation. I suppose I could say that we brought an element of hope for a better future.
This experience changed my life and I can’t wait to do it again. I made many new friends amongst the expeditioners and the community. When I came home I wanted to share the love I felt there. I had a greater joy and appreciation for my life and the lives of my new friends in Acambay.
“Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made” President Marion G. Romney [1897 – 1988], 2nd Counselor in the First Presidency
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