Humanitarian Relief Missions
College students on humanitarian trips give their talents, receive great gifts
Short-term humanitarian missions provide unique opportunities for college students to engage the people and needs of other places and cultures in an effort to make a positive public contribution. These trips can take many forms, and can span the needs of a diverse range of people, but one thing is sure: if you participate in one of these service projects, you will experience something you have never experienced before, and grow as an individual in ways you could not have imagined.
Colleges and universities continue to support and encourage humanitarian work because it provides a ripe context for learning and individual growth to take place. More than simply an opportunity to "see the world," these projects help students learn about compassion, community building, and hard work—factors that play out in surprising and remarkable ways as students come into direct contact with people of different cultures and backgrounds.
Humanitarian missions are often conceived in response to immediate national or international disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, or the 2004 Asian tsunami, but are also ongoing contributions to needs in the developing world. Tufts University, for instance, recently sponsored its swim team as it distributed nearly 5,000 pounds of food, clothes, toys, and medical supplies to Haitian migrant workers in the Dominican Republic.
Many schools maintain ongoing relationships with villages or orphanages in developing countries, sending new groups each year to build upon previous efforts. The University of Iowa is one example: The Iowa Voyagers Operation Romania, an annual service trip to Romania, enables students to care for babies and toddlers in orphanages, as well as teach conversational English to grade school children.
Often, funding for these service projects is provided by colleges or universities directly, or by way of scholarships. In other cases, students are required to raise their own funds. Learning how to raise money for humanitarian work can be an education in itself, and well worth the effort.
Participation in humanitarian missions, whether here in the United States or overseas, is bound to stretch you in ways you could not plan or imagine. Not only do these experiences enable you to see the world, but they also provide fertile ground for personal growth and development. And if testimonials can be trusted, those offering their service to help others in need are more frequently the ones who receive the greater blessing.
Daniel Todd is a freelance writer living in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a senior editor for the literary review Smartish Pace.
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