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Reach Out Opportunities
Become a 2009 Reach Out Trip Leader
The Reach Out trips are a fundamental part of Reach Out, which seeks to build a sense of global responsibility among students, while continuing an open dialog about international development. By participating in these trips, students gain an initial experience with a developing country, from which they may pursue further interests and take away a greater sense of cross-cultural sensitivity and an awareness about global concerns.
Reach Out trips are service-learning experiences, which means that students engage in hands-on service with local NGOs while exploring questions of development – this includes examining economics, politics, local leadership structures, issues of race, education, environment, water supply, and countless other concerns. These trips are necessarily limited by their timeframe; however, they are meant to begin a dialog that will continue when students return to Yale.
The service component is a vital aspect of the trips, though also limited by what students can provide in a short period of time. The trips do not intend to “save the world” or to fix a root problem in the span of two weeks. Nevertheless, by working closely with local grassroots organizations, students gain a first-hand experience of what it means to tackle issues of poverty, poor infrastructure, environmental degradation, health concerns, and other social problems. Through this experience, students build a personal connection to existing struggles that may foster a future commitment to international cooperation and service.
As Reach Out continues to grow, we hope to build long-term relationships with the communities that we visit, and to engage in continued meaningful dialog about what it means to live responsibly in our world today.
Leader qualifications
There is no single set of qualifications that makes for a good leader, and most people have the potential to be wonderful leaders with the right mix of dedication, vision, experience, organization and good common sense.
We encourage students to lead in pairs, dividing the responsibilities and providing an extra resource in case of emergency. Co-leaders should be well-acquainted with each other and have a clear vision for how they will divide up the work.
The following qualifications are necessary for Reach Out trip leaders:
experience within the destination country (though not necessarily extensive, at least one leader must be comfortable traveling safely through the country, and have in-country contacts should they be necessary)
time to carry out logistics for travel, plan and hold group meetings, distribute educational materials, and make other necessary preparations for the trip
organizational skills to deal with the travel arrangements for a group of participants
level-headed flexibility to deal with unexpected situations as they arise
strong language skills in the language of the destination country
Other qualifications that we look for in leaders:
strong interest and dedication to international social justice
clear vision of what participants will get out of the experience
enthusiasm and energy
academic knowledge of destination country and issues surrounding international development
previous leadership experience
prior travel experience
Please
contact cristina.costantini@yale.edu, zhaoyu.li@yale.edu or daniel.seifert@yale.edu
with any questions or suggestions you might have regarding Spring Break Trips.
Please contact
andrew.dean@yale.edu with Summer Trip inquiries. We look forward to working with you!
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