Posted: 8/26/2019 | August 26th, 2019
When I started my nonprofit foundation for discovering as well as youth travel education (FLYTE), my goal was to make worldwide travel available to low-income youth across the country, who are extremely passionate as well as wise however would never have the chance to travel abroad otherwise.
Earlier this year, we increased $15,000 to send a group of youngsters from visualize Academy to Colombia.
Located in Oakland California, visualize Academy utilizes an ingenious project-based discovering design to guarantee that its trainees — the majority of whom online below the hardship line — are prepared for post-secondary education as well as beyond. (Most are first-generation immigrants as well as will be the very first in their household to go to college.)
Last month, they returned from their interesting trip to the country so I wished to share a few of what they did as well as learned, so you can see what your support accomplished. For many of the students, it was their very first time in one more country and, needless to say, it had a huge effect on them.
Our group started in Bogotá, where they climbed to the top of Cerro de Monserrate as well as explored Plaza Bolívar, where Jeremy, the instructor leading the trip, provided a cross-curricular lecture about Simon Bolívar, Colombia’s history during the medication cartel years, as well as the design around them. They likewise went on a street art trip led by two regional artists, on which they discovered all about art methods as well as the political climate that prompted numerous of the pieces that they saw.
The trainees instantly started seeing commonalities between Oakland as well as Colombia. Darrilyn, a fifteen year old sophomore, remarked that this trip, her very first time out of the country, “changed my perceptions as well as preconceived notions of Colombia a lot, as well as I saw that it’s much more like house than I previously trodde.” She likewise “really delighted in this walking trip since I like art as well as I like graffiti since it’s unconventional art as well as it tells the story of a person.”
Afterward, the group headed to Cartagena. They got a ideal introduction to the city on a walking trip with our partner, Context Travel, during which they discovered a great deal about Cartagena’s history as a port for enslaved people. This resonated with the students, who stressed exactly how essential it was for much more people to have this knowledge. Kai, whose new passport got its very first stamp on this trip, had the realization that “when people believe about Latin America, they frequently don’t believe about people of African descent.”
Myani, who’s 17 as well as just graduated from visualize Academy, was similarly moved: “It’s inspiring in a method since even though our ancestors were enslaved, they made the city what it is. You can see their value to the community. even though there’s an oppressive connotation, since they were enslaved, flip it as well as make it a powerful lesson. Make it your own: My ancestors developed this city.”
On top of all this, the trainees immersed themselves in Colombian cuisine by taking a street food trip with Cartagena Connections. They tried whatever from ajiaco as well as arepas to bandeja paisa, mango biche, as well as a bubble gum soda.
One of the highlights of the trip was going to Cartagena’s Barrio San Francisco with Alex Rocha from Experience genuine Cartagena, whose trips are developed to make deeper connections with the marginalized neighborhoods of Colombia. (Alex’s business likewise operates as a social enterprise, as well as so the proceeds fund an after-school program for the regional community.) Our trainees had an chance to link with a few of these youth with activities like drawing, dancing, as well as soccer, in addition to with truthful conversations about their shared experiences.
Aliza, a sophomore as well as president of the trainee council who had never left the us before, felt that this was the highlight of her trip since she was able to “see the youngsters as well as comprehend their atmosphere as well as exactly how they online every day.” Jany, who is seventeen as well as served as the de-facto translator for our Spanish-speaking parents, showed on exactly how the youngsters she satisfied “make the very best out of what they have. They’re grateful as well as humble as well as always try to discover something positive.”
Tayvion, a 14-year-old who likewise was traveling abroad for the very first time, had a deep conversation with one of the Colombian youngsters about authorities brutality. When Tayvion asked if they had guns, his new buddy replied, “Yes, however they never shoot.” having drawn parallels as well as distinctions with his own community, Tayvion shared his devastating realization: “It made me believe about how, for officers in the U.S.,their very first instinct is just to shoot.” (To me, that’s a unfortunate statement coming from a youngster as well as just shows you up much authorities violence is an daily truth for numerous people in this country.)
Throughout this entire journey, the group took part in everyday reflections. They shared their experiences, discovered from one another, as well as bonded over exactly how they’d altered throughout the trip.
Joshua, a sophomore who had never even left California before this trip, stated that the most significant lessons he’d discovered were: “Do not take the things you have for granted. Do not be scared to try new things. Finally, don’t be frightened to discover about new people.”
Waldo, who is a junior, shared that, “we ought to be open-minded about other cultures as well as people ’cause we may discover some similarities between us as well as them. We shouldn’t judge a people or culture based on their past alone.”
These new experiences not only shifted their mindset, however they likewise made the trainees believe about their future as well as goals. Yasmeen told us, “I have a great deal of dreams. There are so numerous benefits in the US, as well as I’m not going to squander my time. I ought to travel much more as well as discover about different cultures.”
In addition to the understanding that she gained, Veronica shared that her “goals are to assist my neighborhood with any type of of the work that I do. I believe this trip is going to assist me accomplish that since I’ve realized exactly how similar my neighborhood is with the neighborhood of Cartagena. We can utilize other cities from different countries to assist each other with the problems we are going through.”
Similarly, Ronald, a trainee who was thrilled to relay his experiences with his stepmom (who’s from Colombia), shared that “this trip made me open-minded to different cultures as well as makes me suggest solidarity within neighborhoods in Oakland.”
And, in a quote I particularly love, Darrilyn stated of her time in Colombia: “My really hopes as well as dreams are to be a political analyst as well as to travel the world. This trip showed me there is no worry to travel.”
This is why FLYTE exists: to produce moments as well as lessons such as this for trainees so they can see the world outside their borders as well as dream big.
The experiences these trainees had in Colombia left an indelible mark on them. many of them had never been on a airplane before their trip to Colombia. Not only did they discover about the culture as well as history of one more country however they likewise found exactly how a neighborhood can increase up in times of adversity.
On the last days of their trip, the trainees started planning exactly how they’re going to take action back home. one of their concepts was to produce a mural, much like the ones they saw in Colombia, to inform others about exactly how Oakland continues to conquer its struggles.
Because of this trip, these youth now have a bigger comprehending of the world as well as the power they each have to modification it for the better.
***
And, so, our objective continues!
I want to say thanks to you for assisting make this happen! It takes an entire network of passionate individuals as well as companies to run one of these trips, as well as we wished to celebrate a few of our partners who made this trip such an unforgettable experience for our students:
World Nomads, which contributed all of our travel insurance. understanding that they had us covered for any type of unforeseen circumstances, like lost luggage, provided us such peace of mind.
Selian Hostel in Cartegena for offering trips as well as breakfast for the trainees totally free of charge.
Javier from MYGHT travel, who made the daunting process of booking flights for a group of 20+ a seamless as well as stress-free experience.
Context Travel, which dealt with us to craft unique, immersive experiences (at a discount!) for our students.
Alex Rocha from Experience genuine Cartagena for opening up his neighborhood to us as well as offering us with a deep connection to the fantastic people of Barrio San Francisco.
Bluffworks, one of our newest business partners, which covered the costs of three trainees to take this journey of a lifetime.
Allyson as well as the team from wikiHow, who highlighted us on their platform as well as sponsored one trainee on this trip.
The worldwide TEFL Academy, for contributing 50% of the proceeds from its instruct Abroad film celebration to FLYTE.
Lo & Sons, for matching donations during our wildly successful #GivingTuesday campaign as well as sharing our story with their audience.
Lia from useful Wanderlust, who paid her own method to join the trip as well as caught so numerous amazing pictures as well as videos. She was likewise the mastermind behind FLYTE’s IG stories during the trip! We like exactly how she was able to file the students’ experiencepå ett så autentiskt, kraftfullt såväl som påträngande sätt.
Sist, men definitivt inte minst, många tack vare det otaliga du som bidrog till Flyte. Din generositet genom åren har skickat 70 praktikanter på livsförändrade resor utomlands. Effekten av dessa resor sträcker sig utöver bara dessa ungdomar. Sedan av er kommer vågen av positiv modifiering att krusas med sina stadsdelar såväl som världen i stort. När de tar ledningen förstår jag utan en fråga om att vår framtid är ljus. Säg tack till er alla för att du har gjort en så oändlig inverkan!
När världen utvecklar väggar hjälper vi att riva dem och visa en ny generation att det finns mycket mer som förenar oss än att riva oss isär.
Om du vill upptäcka mycket mer om Flyte och exakt hur du kan hjälpa till att skicka mycket fler praktikanter utomlands, klicka här för mycket mer information.
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Hitta en billig flygning genom att använda Skyscanner. Det är min föredragna bläddringsmotor eftersom den söker på webbplatser såväl som flygbolag runt om i världen så att du alltid förstår att ingen sten lämnas omvänd.
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SafetyWing (bäst för alla)
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