The Oregon Hillel Foundation, a member of the University of Oregon's Religious Directors Association, took 10 UO students to Guatemala over the recent spring break to volunteer and help build a school entirely from recycled materials.
“It was an absolutely life-changing week and we did the entire Duck family proud,” said Andy Gitelson, executive director of Oregon Hillel.
Oregon Hillel serves as the center for Jewish campus life at the University of Oregon. Hillel's mission is to allow students to explore and develop their Jewish identity, build leadership skills, practice the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and empower Jewish students at the UO to become active leaders in the greater campus community. Hillel is also committed to serving the U of O as serves as a center for diversity on campus and throughout Eugene.
Funded in part through grants from Repair the World and Hillel International, Oregon Hillel traveled to Guatemala to volunteer with Long Way Home, a non-profit group that encourages the use of sustainable materials to build self-sufficient schools. The efforts are intended to educate and empower local communities to provide a better future for themselves.
“It is wonderful to see so many students making commitments to repairing the world through our organization and the alternative break trips offered through the university," Gitelson said.
The UO volunteers worked in Comalapa, Guatemala – a rural village two hours north of Guatemala City – to help build a school with what Gitelson described as "100 percent zero waste." Along with volunteering with Long Way Home, Oregon Hillel teamed with UC Santa Cruz Hillel and another non-profit, One Million Lights, to raise the funds necessary to purchase 150 solar lanterns for the children, teachers, and staff at the school in Comalapa.
The school will serve 300 K-12 students when completed and will also house a vocational school, designed to educate adults about green building techniques and recycling.
"I have seen just how much of help we were this week, creating so much progress on the new school building as well as bringing the lights to the students and staff," said UO junior Jenna Barasch.
For more information about Oregon Hillel or Long Way Home, contact Gitelson at andy@oregonhillel.org.
- by Sarah MacKenzie, UO Public Affairs Communications intern