It's all about the relationships

A Christian Science Monitor article, “Does Community Service Really Change Anything” caught my eye today for two reasons.  The author, Mr. Raj Mundra was my daughter’s biology teacher last year and the topic he covered was right in the heart of the SixSeeds mission.

When Mr. Mundra found himself on a three-week service project in Mumbai, India with a bunch of high school students, he asked some great questions: What long-term benefit does any underserved community truly derive from Phillips Academy's – or any other organization's – outreach efforts? What differentiates well-intended programs to encourage global citizenship from those that seem more like "cultural tourism," and resume-building for high schoolers?

His group cleaned a building and also gained more frequent access to clean water for the residents of the area.  The residents themselves were at first curious and then captivated.  They were spurned into action by the water project, and soon after tackled issues such as better quality education and greater access to medical care long after the Phillips Academy students were back at their dorms in Andover, MA. 

The students were transformed too, some  “no longer content with simply standing on the sidelines.”

He concludes, “What we have learned about engaging a foreign people in community service is that those who become part of the process are the ones who are truly served by community service. Long-term benefits for underserved communities from outreach efforts lay in genuine partnerships that are based on mutual understanding.” 

During our family service trip to Tijuana, we also found it was after trust and relationships were built, that the benefit to all parties was most palpable.  Friendship and partnership were the sustaining factors and it’s what keeps us going back for more, summer after summer!

To check out the similarities in our experience with community service, please see Mr. Mundra’s article, as well as mine on this site.