A Volunteer Humanitarian Aid
and Sustainable Development Organization
Our Mission:
To provide worldwide humanitarian relief and development programs
in order to reduce vulnerability, alleviate human suffering, and
restore the self-sufficiency and livelihoods of disaster-affected populations,
while fostering cultural understanding and volunteerism through
International High School Mission (IHSM) programs.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." (Gandhi)
May 2005 Newsletter
We extend our sincere gratitude to so many of you who have and continue to
support our work. Because of your generosity, 2005 is off to a great start! We hope you enjoy
this issue, and we hope that you will continue to be inspired to help us in our efforts to serve
the poor throughout the world and foster youth volunteerism!
2005 Ongoing Appeal!
We continue our efforts to raise much
needed funds in order that we may build and expand our programs in serving the poor, and we depend on your
generous support. If you would like to make a donation,
please click here to be automatically directed to
our secure on-line donation page. We ask that you kindly give as generously as possible, and please
encourage everyone you know to match your donation! We also want to assure you that at least
90% of all donations received is spent directly on our development programs.
Mir Pace International is a Massachusetts 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization. Your charitable contribution is deeply appreciated and is tax-deductible to the full extent permitted
by the Internal Revenue Code.
Mir Pace's Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Craig Comins and John Cuozzo to its Board of Directors.
Criag is Chief Development Officer at the Scleroderma Foundation. Prior to joining the Scleroderma Foundation, Craig served in development and fundraising capacities at Special Olympics Massachusetts, Radcliffe College and Bates College.
John joins Mir Pace's Board of Directors as Treasurer. He is a Vice President with
JPMorgan Chase in Boston, MA. Prior to his current assignment, he has held financial and managerial positions
in the company for more than 20 years. John also participated in JPMorgan's annual Global Days of Service
program and numerous other community volunteer efforts.
Mir Pace International joined Oxfam America in order to help broaden and expand Oxfam's reach for much needed donations, as they transition from emergency relief to recovery and reconstruction, following the earthquate and tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004. In January of 2005, Mackenzie Holway, Lauren Rizotti, Teddie Straughn, and Nicole Whitney, all seniors at Cohasset High School, began planning a fundraising event to benefit Oxfam's Asia Earthquake Fund. These four remarkable seniors focused their energies on organizing a dance for the lower grade school in Cohasset. To read more about the event, please click here.
Mir Pace was blessed with an extraordinary and very special group of volunteers who participated in our April IHSM program. We are grateful for the sacrifices they and their families made, and we applaud each and every one of them for their cooperation, tireless efforts, and unremitting exuberance. They came together in truly inspiring ways! We will remember many things about this mission, and we will especially remember their patience, laughter, and deep compassion for the people of Tamahú. To read about our IHSM program that was conducted in Tamahú, Guatemala, please follow the "next" link at the bottom of this page. We hope you enjoy what our young volunteers have to share!
During the week of February 19 - 26,
IHSM volunteers will travel to the Dominican Republic to work on development projects in the village of Costanza.
Please watch our web site as news about this very exciting and rewarding IHSM program will be posted soon.
During the week of April 14 - 22, IHSM volunteers will assist the Missionaries of Charity Fathers and the local community in a weeklong program that includes building a cinderblock home for a mountain family, assisting a collaborative of local weavers in improving and expanding their products and sales, preparing and serving meals at a day shelter for the elderly population, and visiting the local schools. Knowledge of the Spanish language is helpful, but not required.
From August 2 through August 16,
IHSM volunteers will work in the northwest region of Tanzania, the Kagera region, assisting local
communities in the construction of water harvesting and sanitation systems, interior repair and improvement
projects at a rural medical clinic, assisting at a shelter for street children, and visiting the local schools.
Knowledge of the Swahili language is NOT required!
For more information about being a part of these rewarding experiences, please visit our
Mission Locations page.
by Alissa Doherty, 2005 IHSM Volunteer
Guatemala
is clearly one of the most beautiful countries in the world, but
even more glaring is its poverty. After years of brutal civil war and lack
of a stable government, Guatemala reels from the effects of corruption, violence, and
poverty. No aid group advertisement, documentary, or
newspaper could have prepared us for seeing this third-world atmosphere for
ourselves. Eileen Weisslinger organized a very unique humanitarian-aid
organization to combat the suffering in this, and other, third world
countries. While the Peace Corps and other relief groups ask for volunteers
of experience and age, Eileen's International High School Mission (IHSM)
brings high school students without necessary work experience to help these
impoverished peoples. She targets this impressionable age group to give
them memories that will last a lifetime and hopefully affect the way they
look at the world and their future. As a member of her first official student group to
Guatemala, I can speak for every one of us on the trip when I say that this
experience touched our lives in a way that we will never forget nor repay.
Our group of 18 arrived in the hot, sticky airport at Guatemala City on
April 14th. We had prepared for the weather, but we hadn't prepared for the
cultural shock. At the airport, we felt a little uneasy by timid
onlookers, reluctant to meet our gaze. The children took our bags, but would
not greet us. We were informed that as white people, we represent a long
history of oppression, first by the Spanish colonizers, then civil wars, and more recently,
by white people who, although not always aware or with intent, have
illegally adopted stolen children. The years of suffering that the Guatemalan
people have experienced is seldom talked about in the U.S. media, so to see the
effects of what they have experienced, firsthand, was an
eye-opening experience. We were brought directly to our hotel to stay
overnight, before setting out for our final destination, the remote village
of Tamahú.
We boarded the bus taking us to Tamahú in the early afternoon on April
15th. Already aboard were villagers who had come to the city that morning
and we were quickly relieved by their warm smiles and welcoming
countenances. In our broken Spanish we made small talk with the men and
women wondering if everyone in Tamahú could possibly be this friendly.
Exiting the city, we were amazed to see the poverty along the busy streets in
the daylight. Houses were poorly built and if one word describes the urban
atmosphere, it would be "dirty."
The bus ride was unexpectedly long and, at times, we weren't
quite sure if we'd make it up the next hill. However, the awe we felt in the
city was dwarfed by the majestic mountains and valleys of the countryside.
There is no sight quite like the mountains of Guatemala and no picture that
can really encompass their size and beauty.
We arrived in Tamahú under the dark, firefly lit sky, and cooling rainfall.
Waiting for us were smiling children and our friends and hosts, Father
Belisario and Sisters Rita and Marisala. With our bags unloaded, we stood in the
courtyard of Tamahu's large and beautiful church built by villagers and
missionaries years ago, before the war began. Our group was elated to find
out that we would not be split up to stay with separate host families but, rather,
we would stay as a group. Following a generous dinner at the food kitchen we would
eat at for the rest of our stay, we were shown to our separate houses (girls in one,
boys in another).
The next morning brought absolute shock to the group. We had not realized
in the dark rain just how incredibly beautiful Tamahú is. There are no words
to describe the mountainous rainforests surrounding the village. They seem
only as far as your fingertips when you gaze at them, but at the same time,
their awesomeness is as intangible as the sky. Even more touching was the
immediate acceptance of us by the villagers. The children clamored to have
their pictures taken and the mothers smiled shyly from behind their babies.
Along the narrow streets of Tamahú a greeting is requisite to nearly every
passerby. Within the first 24 hours of our stay, Tamahú had already
connected with everyone in a way none of us could forget.
It was indeed our intention to work, and so we set out the first morning to
begin on the cinder-block house we would be building for a family of ten living on the mountain.
In the village, each of us was handed a large flour sack that we carried to the foot of the mountain.
Whether it be lack of communication or the secret knowledge of our organizers, the group was informed of
what they would be doing in a very amusing way: we weren't told until we were doing it. We soon found the
bags were meant to be filled with cement gravel. The task didn't seem too bad, after all it was just a little
dirt and the family couldn't live too high up, could they? After one minute of carrying too-heavy bags up
the steep path we soon discovered what it meant to work. The hot trail seemed like it would drag on forever,
and after roughly 45 minutes, we reached the foundation of the house already in progress.
We gladly put down our loads and marveled at the unflinching Guatemalan men who
had carried twenty-times our weight without stopping. The yard surrounding
the home was essentially carved from the mountain. There was absolutely no
room for the entire group, as well as the Guatemalan workers, to stay at the
house. And so we took our flour sacks and went back down for more. Over the
rest of the week we took to the house in shifts, and while 4 or 5 kids helped
construct, another 4 or 5 would lug the cement bags up. It was
uncompromisingly grueling work, but each evening we could lay in our beds and
enjoy the satisfaction of really making a difference.
While about half of us worked at the home site, the rest visited local schools. The
children were so eager and excited to have visitors it was almost overwhelming. The young ones hung off of
our necks and arms and the older ones grinned widely while eyeing us with curiosity. The children acted as
if there were no better reward in the world than a hug from one of us. In the classrooms we not only
taught English to the students, but also learned Spanish from them. Even the non-Spanish speakers connected
easily with the school kids, either through sign language or playing cards. Though we could not stay too
long, we made an impression on the kids and they certainly made and impression on us.
On Sunday we were asked not to work and our group was invited to visit a Mayan village
high in the mountains outside of Tamahú. We all loaded into the bed of a pick-up truck and drove to the
foot of a huge mountain. The hike up was an experience that seemed almost unearthly in itself.
On all sides we were surrounded by valleys and mountains; it was difficult to tell what was up or down.
The rainforest was unimaginably beautiful, and though we struggled against the hot sun,
even the driest patches of the mountain were majestic.
After a three hour trek, we reached the small village. This
particular group of people have lived in this same spot for centuries - as far back
as the 15th Century, at least. Their first contact with the outside world was no more
than 15 years ago, and the village is unfathomably poor. One of the most
touching experiences was after our distribution of shoes to the families. An
aged woman received a pair of simple white shoes, and as she stood amidst the
whole village and our group, her wrinkled face fought back tears of joy. As
we raised a camera to take her picture, she straightened her face to a somber
stare befitting of a woman her age. We watched as tears, streaming down
her face, belied her serious expression.
Though we were informed before reaching this village that the mountain people were far
poorer than any we had met yet, nothing could have prepared us for visiting their homes. Virtually made of
sticks and with no modern amenities to speak of, the homes looked as if they were straight out of ancient
history books. Though we were shocked at their living conditions, they were happy to share with us what they
had. We learned a valuable lesson through our encounter: to give from very little is a far greater gift than
to give from much. We left the mountain reluctantly, but with a better sense of human dignity and resilience.
By the end of our stay, Tamahú felt so much like home that we did not want to leave. The
community simply enveloped us and the love, gratitude, and generosity of the people transcended race and
socio-economic status. We made a small difference in the lives of the people who live there, but they made
such a huge difference in the course of our young lives that there is simply no way to repay their kindness.
Each of us walked away with a better sense of the world surrounding us and a better sense of who we are.
This opportunity and experience has meant so much, and we can only hope to one day emulate the sense of
community and strong spirit that the people of Tamahú possess. Thank you to everyone who made this happen
and together we can all continue to make a difference in the world.
IHSM Volunteer Reflections
Nicole Campion
"My trip to Tamahú was inspirational, personal, and wonderful. It is definitely a
life-altering trip (for the better!) and my thoughts and images of the trip will forever be with me. It
wasn't just a work all the time kind of trip, but a learning experience and I definitely appreciate
everything I have now. I encountered a new spirit in Tamahú -- one that is forgiving and accepting of all
people and is not judgmental on your socio-economic status. Tamahú was an amazing trip, and definitely
something everyone should experience."
Ngoc Pham
"I never thought, since I started High School, that I'd ever travel to another country to
help others. After returning from Guatemala, I realized that before I'd been concerned with a lot about me,
and now there's just so much more that I can do. Before we all went to Guatemala, when I signed up for the
program, the truth was, I thought about how Guatemala would benefit me, not how I can benefit the people.
During the trip though, I met some amazing people! When we went to the village in the mountains, I saw a
different kind of happiness I never saw before. Growing up in the U.S., you see people get happy when they
receive a materialistic item, but in Tamahú, these people seemed just so happy to have us be there and to
have us care. The feeling completely touched me, and that's when I realized I want to do more."
Nerissa Duchin
"Going to Tamahú was such an amazing experience. I really enjoyed visiting the school and interacting with
kids around my age. The kids were so curious about English and what the U.S. is like, and it was so neat to
connect with them and just chat. The people of Tamahú are so welcoming, and I was so touched by the fact
that the people are so poor, yet they are always smiling, and they are so generous. This experience has
really changed how I view the world, and it has made me realize how little my "problems" matter. Going up
to Mt. Sequib and seeing a woman practically in tears after receiving a pair of shoes is a moment I will
never forget. I think that for the rest of my life, I will always have the people of Tamahú smiling in the
back of my mind whenever I forget how lucky I am or get worked up about something stupid."
Cayce Lannon
"It was absolutely amazing. Everywhere I looked I saw beautiful mountains and beautiful people...inside and
out. I learned so much on the trip that will stay with me forever. Words cannot express what I experienced
in Guatemala, but I know that I will never forget Tamahú and the people whose lives we touched. Building
the house was a lot of hard work, but it was so worth it because it was such a huge improvement for the
family, and it really felt good to know how much of an impact we had on the people. Just our presence in
Tamahú was a blessing for them, and it was wonderful to see the smiles on their faces amid the terrible
conditions that they were living in. My experience in Guatemala opened my eyes to so many new things. It
made me realize how much good there is to be done in the world and how much one person can do to make a
difference."
Seth Ragosta, IHSM Leader
"Thousands of high school students give many thousands of community service hours every year. No doubt they
do wonderful things for others, but very few sacrifice greatly for these often-required projects.
Mir Pace takes students to the places forgotten by others, and serves at a level I truly did not expect. I
am proud of the effort given by our group for people who have no relation or identification with them. They
gave more than I could ask, sometimes when exhausted after a week of a foreign place and no familiar home
comforts. Every single time I was certain that I would look back and find the trail empty, 4 or 5 smiles
looked back always close behind (or well ahead.) Never in 7 years of leading youth groups on trips and
retreats have I encountered an experience that could impart such positive outlooks or a group so engaged in
tackling it.
My experience with Mir Pace in Guatemala is highlighted by one exchange: the foreman at the work site
began the week clearly feeling that the students and our group in general were on vacation and unlikely to
do much other than get in the way. Finding us trudging back up the mountain each morning began a change in
his attitude. On our departure after a week he stopped me and told me that most people come, lay a brick,
take a picture and go play with the kids in the village. Our group did not. He thanked me, and asked me
to come back. The Priest in the village later told us that this was a particularly rare and poignant piece
of praise from the usually taciturn foreman.
I believe the students found a simple appreciation for the vast gap between our lives at home and what
millions suffer every day. I am humbled to have had that experience with them, and proud to say I was along
for the ride. Books and school can only impart knowledge; wisdom comes from experience. Mir Pace provides
an opportunity to grow as a person that far too few of us ever have a chance to experience. I have traveled
across the country and world, and never left a place with a sense of accomplishment and edification as
strong as that coming from Tamahú, AV, Guatemala.
Thank you Mir Pace. Thank you Nickie, Maeve, Alissa, Jack, Nerissa, Sam, John, Cory, Lexa, Cayce, Rosie,
Conor, Ngoc, Stephanie, Kara, and Zach."
John Fortin, IHSM Leader
The 2005 trip was a huge success in many ways. With only one visit per year from outside organizations such
as Mir Pace, the villagers in Tamahú were overjoyed to see the school bus arrive with a group of young and
energetic volunteers. The biggest positive impact, however, was on our young volunteers.
It was quite amazing to observe such a young and diverse group grow together emotionally, spiritually and
physically. While the majority of their peer group vacationed, these kids broke out from the norm, stepped
up to a unique set of challenges, and at the end of the day, will reap the rewards over a lifetime. A trip
like this requires everyone to quickly adapt to daily challenges, minimize hardships and pull together and
operate as a team. It was amazing to see the radiant desire to help those who have nothing and the joy that
it brought to everyone's face. I have truly been blessed to have been a part of such a successful and
rewarding experience. Many thanks to our other leaders, Eileen and Seth, and to my new friends for living
the inspiring words of Gandhi - "be the change you wish to see in the world."
