MKA Students help build homes in Guatemala

Eighteen students and four faculty members from the Upper School spent over a week of their spring break working on the Habitat for Humanity Alta Verapaz project in Guatemala.
Assigned to three homesites, the group, comprised of ten seniors, four juniors and four sophomores, helped to dig a foundation, build cinderblock walls, mix cement, shape steel rods and haul dirt and rocks, all without the aid of power tools.  In addition to their manual labor, the students and their four faculty chaperones also explored some of the country, traveling to Antigua, the second historic capital of Guatemala, and climbing to the 1500-meter summit of the Pacaya volcano.
“This was one of the greatest trips we’ve ever been on,” commented trip leader and Spanish teacher Laura Doto, “the students were thrilled to be helping other families and the camaraderie that they developed from 10th through 12th graders was a witness to the friendships and bonds that can develop as all work with purpose and generosity.”
Habitat Guatemala was established in l979, and since then volunteers have constructed more than 25,000 homes, housing 140,000 Guatemalans.  The MKA volunteers were faculty members Laura Doto, Brian Kelly, Marianne Burke and Paul Cunningham, seniors Alyse Amato, George Benavente, Danielle Donatiello, Laura Dudek, Kelly Froelich, Jeremy Kauffman, Giri Nathan, JT Todd, Rachel Weller and Kaan Yarar, juniors Rebecca Bauer, Korbin Felder, Jake Perl and Kanu Uwakaneme and sophomores Julie Emra, Anna Glaessgen, Amar Patel and Claudia Pepe.

Click here and view the Curricular Enrichment folder to see photos from the trip.