Superintendent helps build school out of recycled bottles in Guatemala
#It might be hard to imagine going to school in a building with dirt floors and traveling miles every day to get there by foot, but for many Guatemalan students, it is just another Tuesday.
#Humboldt County Superintendent Dr. Dave Jensen returned from a very meaningful adventure in Guatemala earlier in January, working to build a school out of recycled plastic bottles for students in a small, agrarian community.
#“We were greeted by the community members and they were just so excited that we were there,” said Dr. Jensen.
#Dr. Jensen was randomly selected from a pool of 4500 superintendents who had their portraits done by Lifetouch (who also does student portraits each year) to participate in their annual Memory Mission in 2021, but the trip was initially delayed because of the pandemic.
#Lifetouch partnered with Hug It Forward, a Guatemala based organization that builds education infrastructure out of plastic bricks, or bottles filled with non-degradable trash from the community. The initiative not only builds schools and such, but cleans up communities by repurposing garbage.
#According to Jensen, the community had been tasked with gathering 10,000 plastic bottles, which were all stuffed to the brim with other plastics and garbage in order to create the plastic bricks, which would fill the walls of a three-room schoolhouse. Jensen, other volunteers, community members, and students worked to sort and tie the bottles together so they could be layered together with chicken wire and concrete.
#“This really showed the commitment of the people that they want to see this happen,” explained Jensen.
#According to Lifetouch, “The community spent more than 20,000 hours preparing the eco-bricks for the project.”
#During the trip, volunteers also learned a great deal of Guatemalan history and visited homes in nearby villages and historical sights.
#“It was humbling for us from the United States and Canada but also to see the pride and what was really telling to me, is just how incredibly happy the community members and those children were and how happy they were to show us their homes and to welcome us,” said Jensen.
#Another special aspect of the trip included K-6 grade students receiving their first ever photo portraits, which were flown to Guatemala in person by Lifetouch on the last day of the trip.
#“We felt like we got so much more than we gave,” said Jensen.
#Dr. Jensen and the other volunteers were also treated to a special farewell and got to interact with students and experience more culture.
#“We were treated to just such generosity and kind words through an interpreter. The students did dances for us, the staff did dances, we were invited to play games with the kids…The teachers came and thanked each of us and provided a gift to every one of the volunteers. As if that wasn’t enough, these 350 kids literally went through the 30 volunteers and gave every volunteer a hug,” recalled Jensen.
#This trip also celebrated Lifetouch’s 20th year “bringing together volunteers from around the country to serve children, families, and communities around the world.”
#“This effort was especially exciting this year because with the help of Hug It Forward and members of the community we worked side-by-side to build an eco-friendly structure that will house students for decades to come and we did it with a network of educators and employees who really care about giving back,” said Jan Haeg, Community Relations Manager at Lifetouch.