Twelve Auburn students spent a week of their winter break in Ecuador laying foundations for a brighter future.
Hannah Richards, junior in secondary social science education, was one of the Alternative Student Break site leaders on the trip to Quito, Ecuador.
"We went through an organization called Servants in Faith and Technology," Richards said. "They have a bunch of different churches in Ecuador geared toward the poor communities. It works for the children who are not necessarily orphans, but their parents don't have enough money to feed them a substantial meal a day."
Justin Grider, senior in wildlife ecology and management, also served as a site leader on the trip. Grider said when the team arrived the work site was nearly bare.
"It was a 35 by 60 foundation with pillars in the middle of it that will become a three-story building," Grider said. "It will serve as a church. It will serve as classrooms. It will serve as a meeting facility for the community there, for children that are sponsored by people from other states who pay for their meals."
The group worked for a week pouring cement floors, removing debris and preparing the foundation for the church.
"The biggest challenge was coming in as an American and, from a work aspect, knowing how to do things really efficiently with really modern equipment, but having to regress to the most basic, most primitive possible ways of doing something," Gryder said. "My biggest problem was trying to cope with the lack of efficiency. Two days in I said, 'We're making a difference. It may be slow but we're still able to do great things.'"
Richards said the most challenging part of the trip was the physical toll it took on the team.
"I have never done any kind of construction, and the tools we had to work with were four shovels, 20 buckets and a wheelbarrow," Richards said. "Mixing concrete and doing all that by hand was a big challenge for me. But that led to everybody stepping up and working together, so that was really cool."
Michaelann Carter, junior in nutrition, said spending part of her winter break in Ecuador instead with her family was a risk she had to take.
"If I hated it, it was just a week," Carter said. "If I loved it, I knew it would be something that would change me forever."
Gryder said devoting a part of his break to service provided opportunities he wouldn't have experienced simply returning to his hometown.
"I became best friends with all 12 other people who went on this trip," Grider said. "I feel like we will be friends for the rest of my life. That's not something that would happen if I had gone home. I got great family time, but I also interlaced it with a new cultural perspective, new friends and hard work."
Richards said the most rewarding part of her experience was working with people who were sacrificing their time in order to serve others.
"I think service at any time is really beneficial, but when you do it during a period where you could be just laying at home it almost heightens the experience," Richards said. "You're doing it at a time when you would rather be hanging out with you family so I think it hits home more.
"Service isn't about you feeling good at the end of the day. It's about you putting forth your time to serve others."
Grider said the group's shared desire to serve brought together people who might never have met in Auburn.
"Servant-minded people come from lots of different backgrounds with lots of different personalities," Grider said, "but the one thing we have in common is that we all have servant hearts."
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