Alternative Breaks
Examples of past trips include:
AU Weekly Article, April 3, 2007: Alternative Spring Breaks
HIV/AIDS in Zambia. Click here to view pictures.
On this trip students worked with leading NGOs and learned mechanisms for dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Students stayed in Lusaka working with orphanages and visited rural areas in Zambia where they saw first hand the impact of HIV/AIDS, and spoke with the youth of the country as to how they are dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A short trip to Livingston, home of Victoria Falls, ended the trip.
Guatemala: Fair Trade Coffee
The trip to Guatemala was born out of organizing on campus during 2004-2005
about fair trade coffee. In the end, because of student activism, a fair trade
coffee company, Pura Vida, won the contract over Starbucks. Riding on the
momentum and alliances built, student coordinators organized a trip to Pura
Vida’s coffee plantations in Guatemala. The trip had financial support
from the company as well as Bon Apetit. The on-the-ground logistics were organized
by a group called Bridge Builders who led educational discussions on fair
trade and sustainable development. Students returned motivated to continue
working on the issues.
Honduras: Political Realities
Joe Eldridge, University Chaplain, initiated the Alternative Break program
in 1998 with a trip to Honduras to do rebuilding after hurricane Mitch. He
has extensive knowledge of the region and contacts in all levels of civil
society. Students learned a lot and had transformative experiences in meetings
with government and non-government officials, a visit to a maquila factory,
and volunteer work with a youth empowerment organization.
Economic development in Vietnam
Appalachia: Rural Poverty and Community Development
The trip partnered with the organization Beans and Rice, Inc. who planned
the educational as well as service components of the trip. Students worked
with youth programs and did construction work, while they attended workshops
that lead towards a certificate in community development.
Belize: Garifuna Culture
Two students from Caribbean circle club led this trip. The theme of the trip
was to examine social, political and cultural issues in Belize, focusing on
the Garifuna population in the coastal areas. Student participants reported
having a positive experience and built strong relationships with members of
the Garifuna community. They did volunteer work with community partners in
schools, women’s organizations, and AIDS awareness.
Indigenous culture and Landless workers in Brazil
Civil rights of immigrants in Greece. Click here
to view pictures.
Free Burma Coalition in Thailand
The Thailand trip joined in solidarity with the Burmese democracy movement.
Students critically examined refugee issues, US sanctions on Burma, governance
within the Burmese government in exile and other sociopolitical organizations
within the democracy movement, as well as the role of international institutions
in responding to the complex humanitarian and political challenges to development
in Burma.
Indigenous rights in Chiapas, Mexico
Mexico/U.S. Border: Immigrant Rights
This trip went to Tucson, AZ and towns in Mexico along the border.
Students examined multiple sides of the immigration rights issue in the US
by meeting with human rights groups, vigilantes, border guards, religious
activists and a fair trade coffee cooperative. The students returned invigorated
to work on the issues learned and jumped right in to the immigration protests
that were held in Washington.
Nicaragua: Labor issues & CAFTA. Click
here to view student photos.
Students traveled to Managua and focused on CAFTA and its impact on labor
and trade in Nicaragua. Students met with key players on these issues as well
as spent two days in a rural community volunteering with farmers and school
teachers.
Ecuador: Indigenous Rights and the Environment
Students lived for a week in an indigenous area in the Andes mountains and
a week with an indigenous community in the Amazon. The theme of indigenous
people and the environment was explored through speakers, meetings, talking
with community leaders and being immersed in daily life.
Tibetan exiles in Northern India. Click here
to view pictures.
Women issues in Honduras. Click here
to view pictures.
Cherokee Nation in North Carolina (Organized by AU Methodist Community)
Ecuador: Land Rights in Indigenous Communities
Dates of Trip: August 1- 15, 2007
Student Leaders: Maria Amelia Viteri: maviterib@yahoo.com,
Amanda Seibel: amandakayseibel@gmail.com and Ryan Mahon: rtmahon@aol.com
This trip will focus on the indigenous movement in the culturally and ecologically diverse country of Ecuador. Specifically we will focus on issues of identity and globalization as shaping forces in the struggle for environmental and land rights for Kichwa Indian communities in the Sierra (Andes) region and the Oriente (Amazon) region. Students will learn about nonviolent activism and the methods these communities are using to protect their rights in the face of globalization and development projects. This trip is part of the continuing project to create a documentary film with the Sarayacu Kichwa community in the Oriente that is fighting oil extraction on their land. While staying in Amazon and Andes communities, students will have the opportunity to learn from another culture and open dialogue on issues such as globalization, resource extraction, activism, mobilization and environmental and land rights.
Guatemala:
Fair Trade
Dates of Trip: May 16 – 30, 2007
Student Leaders: Rachel Beistel rlb1023@verizon.net
and Sarah Beistel: or sb0633a@american.edu
This social justice trip will focus on indigenous sustainable development, the positive and the negative aspects of fair trade and eco-tourism, and the preservation of the environment Central America. We plan on staying in several rural, Quechi indigenous communities throughout the two-week expedition, staying in eco-lodges, working in schools and orphanages while exploring the great natural resources of Guatemala. Through community engagement we will explore the social justice themes with hands on interaction and activities with the people of Guatemala. We can experience a small part of their lives, learning about fair trade and sustainable development from their prospective. The trip will prove to be invaluable to make the connection between global trade, US policy and Pura Vida fair trade coffee on the AU campus.
South
Africa: Women’s Initiative in Apartheid and AIDS
Dates of Trip: May 18- June 8, 2007
Student Leaders: Ava-joye Burnett and Janyelle Thomas:
southafricaAU@gmail.com
Faculty/Staff Partner: Dr. Bette Dickerson
The post apartheid era has changed the lives of many South African women and
their families. This Alternative Break to South Africa will focus on the transformation
of the women’s movement from the time of the apartheid to an era where
AIDS is prevalent. Participants will experience how wealth, poverty and health
became determinants in the outcome of the women’s movement. The trip
will travel to Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, visiting & meeting
with NGO’s, women’s organizations, government officials, and volunteering
with orphanages.
Spring Break Trips 2007 (March 10-18, 2007)
Biloxi, Mississippi: Community Renewal
Student Leaders:
Justin Bibb: Justin.bibb@american.edu
and Amy Robandt: amesema414@yahoo.com
Staff or Faculty Sponsor: Lorenley
Baez, Phil Brenner
Students will join Hands On Network in rebuilding areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. Particularly we will focus on social inequalities that exist in urban communities while specifically highlighting the racial and socioeconomic issues that emerged during the aftermath of the hurricane. The group will meet with community activists working in Biloxi to oppose a proposed casino in their neighborhood.
Chicago: Empowering Urban Youth
Student Leaders: Audrey Pernik: AudreySuzy@gmail.com
and Amy Pucino: amypuc@gmail.com
Staff or Faculty Sponsor: Kurt Gunderson
Social justice reflects the way in which human rights are manifested in the
daily lives of individuals. Unfortunately, the United States does not ensure
that all persons are afforded equity in access to rights. Youth under the
age of 18, for instance, have unequal access to material needs. Of all age
groups, youth have the highest proportion of persons in poverty. Children
are also systematically disadvantaged within the education systems, as many
at-risk children are sent to schools that lack equitable financial resources,
practice systematic racism in tracking students into different levels according
to race, or do not have the necessary support systems available. To exacerbate
the problem, children often do not have voice on the issues that affect their
equal access to human rights, as they are not able to vote and may feel limited
in what they can do otherwise.
On this trip students will learn to critique inequality and create societal
betterment through observation and direct work with an organization that works
with youth.
The trip will spend time working with P.E.A.C.E.: People Educated Against
Crime in Englewood. Students will work with children in the after school program
to create an empowering mural with the children. Other organizations include
the Chicago Food Repository and a Hunger Lesson, Urban Youth Journalism, the
Hull House Museum and the Peace Musuem.
San Francisco: Prison JusticeStudent Leaders:
Emily Noll: Emily.noll@gmail.com
and Matt McCoy: Matty848@aol.com
Staff or Faculty Sponsor: Robert
Johnson
The trip will focus on the complexities of the US current retributive justice system and examine the problematic aspects of such a system. Some issues that will be addressed while working in San Francisco are: women prisoners, youth in prison, government response to the system, a prison visit, prison abolitionist groups, inmate art, GLBTQ prisoners, and death penalty eradication.
Community engagement possibilities will include volunteering and/or meeting
with groups such as CA Coalition for Women Prisoners, Legal Services for Prisoners
with Children, Copwatch, ACLU Prison Project, Critical Resistance, Books Not
Bars, and the Prison Activist Resource Center.
South Dakota: The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Student Leaders: Carrie Johnson: cejohnson87@gmail.com
and Zach Baxter: Zach.Baxter@gmail.com
Staff or Faculty Sponsor: Glenn Moomau
The trip will focus on the recognizing the US Federal Government’s
marginalization of American Indians and try and work on solutions to the economic
and living situation on the reservation. The trip will attempt to give trip
participants an understanding of the true history of US-native relations and
policy. Students will learn about the various policy attempts by the US government
to address American Indians, from assimilation policy to land distribution
policy.
Students will be immersed in the Sioux community as much as possible. Service
activities may include: visiting or assisting in various shelters, visiting
a rehabilitation center, working in an Indian Health Service hospital, working
with the Little Wound Elementary school’s Head Start Program, and/or
preparing a one to two day conference for students interested in learning
about how to open up a small business. The trip will also visit key geographic
and sacred sites such as the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, the Crazy Horse memorial.
Washington, DC: HIV/AIDS Policy, Education, and Public Health
Student Leaders: Sereena Hamm: sereenahamm@gmail.com
and Alan Boswell: ab1943a@american.edu
Staff or Faculty Sponsor: Christy Nichols
Approximate cost: $200
This trip will focus on AIDS Policy and Health Practices in Washington, DC. Washington, DC has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate for any metropolitan area in the United States. Members of the GLBT community and of minority groups are highly active in dealing with AIDS issues. Recently, public officials have made calls for universal AIDS testing for all DC residents. In addition to exploring the larger social issues related to HIV/AIDS in DC, the trip will include lobbying the appropriate members of local and federal government about relevant policies pertaining to funding for AIDS education, prevention, and treatment programs in the District. The trip will also focus on service to HIV and AIDS patients in DC.
Some organizations and groups that the trip will meet with and/or work with are: MetroTeen AIDS, Whitman Walker Clinic, DC Congresswoman Norton, DC Department of Public Health, DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, National Minority AIDS Education and Training Center and the Women’s Collective.
Venezuela: Chavez’s Social Reforms
Alumni
Update Article, April 2007, on Venezuela Trip
Global Exchange facilitated this trip that focused on social reforms and changes in leadership in Venezuela today. Chavez has made some radical changes, and the trip looked at the portrayal by the US media and government. We will saw these reforms and changes firsthand through visiting missions (centers for social services) in the countryside and in the urban areas. We were in Caracas and spent two nights in a coastal Afro-Venezuelan community. We exchanged with students at a university in Caracas.
Educational and medical centers set up around the country are called missions. These are very new and are a part of the attempt by Chavez and his administration to spread wealth and opportunity throughout the Venezuelan population.
Other meetings were held with: Telesur, Bolivarian University, Barrio 23 de Enero, Colectivo Alexis Vive, Radio Comunitario Petare, Venezuela’s National Petroleum company, BANMUJER (Banco de la Mujer, the Women’s Bank), and more…
Winter Break Trips 2006-07
Bolivia: Indigenous Rights and the Presidency of Evo Morales
Dates: January 2 - January
14, 2007
Student Leaders: Rosalind Lynam; al1997a@american.edu
and Elena Rubinfeld; elenarubinfeld@gmail.com
or boliviaaltbreak07@yahoo.com
Staff: Joe Eldridge
The main focus of this trip will be the plight of the indigenous people of Bolivia. While Bolivia maintains the same unstable political climate it has since the arrival of the conquistadors, things are beginning to take an interesting turn. Just this year, Evo Morales became the first indigenous President of Bolivia, and like most leaders, he promised his people that he would focus on the national interest of his nation. His pledges, however, were different in the sense that they focused on the national interest of the majority of Bolivians: the indigenous peoples. We would like part of the trip to deal with Morales’ policies and investigate how all aspects of Bolivia, not just political areas have changed during his year in office. We plan on visiting local indigenous groups who are fighting for power and those losing (poorer marginalized neighborhoods). We would also like to meet with government officials to learn their prerogative firsthand. We hope to find an organization which works on micro financing, specifically with indigenous peoples.
Brazil: Landless Peasants Movement (MST)
Dates: December 27, 2006-
January 12, 2007
Student Leaders: Laura Taylor - lauragtaylor@gmail.com,
Casey McNeill; caseymcneill@gmail.com,
and Mike Haack; mike.haack.gmail.com
Staff: Kristina Thompson
This trip will focus on the successful model of community organizing exhibited by the Movimento dos Trabalhadored Rurais Sem Terra (MST). This group proposes a more just and sustainable alternative of social organization to the unjust land distribution of Brazil. Ideally, our trip will include service in helping with the building of the University of the Land, and will emphasize community engagement through dialogue with the members of the MST and their opposition.
We hope that students will be able to gain an understanding of alternatives to the injustices of globalization through knowledge of the methods and values of the community of the MST. We hope that students will be able to take aspects of this model to be applied in their own communities and perhaps on our campus, as the search for alternative socio-economic models becomes more and more necessary.
Thailand/Burma Border: Burmese Democracy Movement
Dates: December 29, 2006 - January 15, 2007
Student Leaders: Tim Renner; tim.renner@american.edu,
Chris Duni; chris.duni@american.edu,
Theresa Miller; theresaLmiller@gmail.com
Staff: Christine Gettings
This trip will focus on the human rights violations facing the Burmese people, including those living inside the country and the Burmese refugees living on the Thai-Burma border. It will also emphasize how the people within the movement are working towards democracy and social equality within their country, and how the international community can act in solidarity with their struggle for a free Burma.
Through various meetings with exiled political parties, women’s organizations, Western and Thai NGOs, refugees, migrant workers, and former political prisoners, we hope students will gain a broader understanding of the socio-economic, political and historical situation of the Burmese people.
If you want to learn more information on the conflict in Burma, check out
the US Campaign
for Burma, the NGO started by AU grad, Jeremy Woodrum.
China: Environment
Dates: January 2, 2007 - January 15, 2007
Student Leaders: Liang Cai; ylpiao1030@gmail.com,
Yang Wang; finalcutfish@gmail.com
Faculty: Albert Cheh
This trip will focus on the environmental issues in China. Students will learn about China's energy system, work with Chinese environmental NGO's, compare the differences between East and West, rural and urban and have the opportunity to speak with local university students.
The trip will also focus on indoor air pollution, which is the leading cause
of death among young children in China. Students will meet with the Partnership
for Clean Indoor Air which address issues such as renewable energy, deforestation,
and health. Students will visit the Nature Conservancy in Lijiang.
Click here to watch student video of China trip.