I realized halfway into the course that LACS 20 was not just teaching me about poor communities in Nicaragua or how to get ready for the CCESP trip, it was mostly helping me be a better world citizen. Part of being a good citizen means being well informed. I learned about the issues that Nicaragua faces like deforestation and land land exploitation (logging, agriculture and mining etc.). I also never knew that within one small country the size of Illinois, there would be so many difference among the regions like the RAAS, RAAN, and major cities like Managua in the west. Geography plays a crucial role in defining the customs of people. More people face poverty in the autonomous regions that are occupied by indigenous communities. These people lack access to clean water, proper medical care and a good education (it would take me forever to list what poor rural communities lack). Coming from a developed country, I think it is important for me to know these things so that I can be of better service to these communities.

I’m really glad that we got to talk with Nicaraguans like Hugo, Eva and students from the URACCAN. I feel that these talks through Skype really filled in the holes that our in-class reading assignments couldn’t fill. It was nice hearing from their perspective because there is no better way to learn about Nicaragua than from Nicaraguans themselves. I’m also really glad that we had guest speakers like Dr. Jim Saunders come in to speak to us about volunteering under-developed poor countries in Latin America. It thought that this really tied together what we were learning in class with actual problems in Nicaragua’s society. I learned that whenever I go into a service project, I cannot expect to be the teacher because then I will have a miserable experience. I need to be open to trying new things and learning about Nicaragua’s culture since after all I will be in their country. It is important to respect their ideas and understand that we are coming from very different places but there is beauty in that because this creates the opportunity to learn from each other. Service is a two-way street and this is something I learned in LACS 20. Sure, volunteers help communities by building latrines or providing a water source, but service should also be a humbling experience for volunteers where they see that there is a lot they can learn also.

Going on any service trip is a big responsibility. Just because we are going to a poor country does not mean we can settle for mediocre service. We need to make sure that, for example, the medical team is properly trained and capable of serving the community that they are going to. It is not enough to simply show up to “help”. We must realize that this help needs to be proper help coming from people who have received preparation, like the CCESP team who has been preparing/training for a long time to visit Nicaragua. All of these things fall under the 7 sins of humanitarian medicine that we discussed during class. I think that these 7 sins are vital to anyone going on any service trip. The purpose of a project is always to help and learn and sometimes stumble along the way, but I think keeping our goal in mind will help us avoid these seven sins altogether.

LACS 20 has been unlike any other class I have taken at Dartmouth. I like that I wasn’t concerned about writing a 10 page paper about what I learned. Instead, I could actively use the readings and class discussions for my blog and even my personal knowledge about service overall. I definitely think that more students should take classes like this one because it teaches you to think about political, social, and cultural problems through a real life lense. As I was learning about mining, deforestation, women’s rights, poverty and other issues in class, I was constantly reminded that Nicaragua and other countries are experiencing this right now. All of this has definitely sparked up my interest to work in a poor Latin American country when I am older. If I am ever on the fields trying to provide a clean water supply for a certain community I will definitely remember LACS 20 and the importance of being a good volunteer to provide proper and sustainable service.