8 minute read
THE VISION TO SERVE
Global Vision Program Funds
Life-Changing Experiences
By Jace Uchtman, Public Relations Undergraduate Student
Students working hard to afford their higher education may only ever dream of traveling abroad. But at the University of Central Missouri, those who dare to dream can have that transformative opportunity without incurring a single expense, thanks to one anonymous donor’s vision.
Since 2015, UCM students have been traveling across the globe to help lift up impoverished communities through the Global Vision Endowment. Thanks to a $5 million estate gift this past year from the donor whose generosity has funded the program, Global Vision will expand to multiple trips annually, sending more students to volunteer and changing more lives.
Global Volunteers is an international nonprofit that helps facilitate service learning trips connecting volunteers to communities in need of assistance. In partnership with Global Volunteers, UCM’s Global Vision program finances the service learning trips for students, covering 100% of their expenses, including airfare, housing and meals. The generous endowment provides an extraordinary opportunity for students who might not otherwise have the means to travel abroad.
“For many of our students, this will be their first time to ever leave the country, and for some the first time to go on an airplane,” says Michael Sawyer, dean of UCM’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. “It is so impactful for them to see that even prior to graduation, they can use the skills they have right now and get out and make an appreciable, meaningful difference.”
The Global Vision program has sent more than 100 UCM students to serve in St. Lucia, Cuba, Peru and Tanzania. On average, about 10 students are selected for each trip, with at least one representative from each of the university’s four academic colleges: the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; the College of Education; the College of Health, Science, and Technology; and the Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies. All full-time UCM students — including undergraduate, graduate and international students — are welcome to apply, regardless of their major.
With increased funding through the estate gift, nearly 50 students will participate in a total of three trips this academic year. In addition to the annual trip to Tanzania,East Africa, students will be volunteering in Nepal and Peru.
“I’ve been in the Midwest most of my life, so I thought that this opportunity would be a really good experience, both helping others and also helping myself grow,” says Kaitie Correll, a Speech-Language Pathology graduate student from Gretna, Nebraska, who volunteered on the May 2023 trip to Tanzania. Correll serves as a graduate assistant in UCM’s Office of Outdoor Education and was excited to see the African wilderness on a trip that included an excursion to Ruaha National Park.
Making the World Your Classroom
A Global Vision trip is a transformative experience that leaves an unforgettable mark on each participant. It exposes students to different cultures, valuable lessons, opportunities to forge new friendships and the chance to create lasting memories.
Beyond the classroom, students can apply their academic knowledge while volunteering, thereby enhancing their existing skills and capabilities.
“The whole idea is that you are learning some key transferable skills, communication of cultural sensitivity, and new languages — but also honing your skills,” says Henry Wambuii, a UCM professor who serves as a faculty advisor on the Tanzania trips. “I’ve had a nursing student help deliver a baby, so that’s a key transferable skill that will benefit her career.”
Wambuii was excited to return to Tanzania in May after a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the beginning of this latest trip, the UCM volunteers were invited to help name a baby girl who had just been born in the village. The mother wanted her daughter to have an English name, and the students suggested several. The mother chose Sydney, which was the name of two students on the trip.
A native of Kenya, Wambuii has served as a professor of Political Science and International Studies at UCM for 18 years. He teaches a one-credit-hour hybrid course that helps Global Vision participants prepare for the trip by teaching them basic conversational Swahili, background on the region’s culture, safety measures for traveling abroad and generally what to expect.
Traveling to Tanzania is no easy task. In total, it took the group four different flights, three days, two countries and one bus to arrive at their destination. For the next two weeks, students educated families on hygiene and nutrition, planted EarthBoxes to efficiently grow food and taught English to schoolchildren.
In the Tanzanian classrooms, one of the ways UCM volunteers taught children English was by singing songs like “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”
“We sat down with our group leaders, using the limited resources that we had, to brainstorm and create interactive sessions to engage the students,” says Trevor Martin, a senior Airport Management major who participated in the trip.
At home visits, villagers openly shared their hardships with the volunteers and sought advice. These interactions were bridges, connecting the volunteers and villagers and forging meaningful bonds. Not only did UCM students give advice, but they also learned countless life lessons in return.
Evelyn Neal, a senior Social Work major, used knowledge from her program of study and her self-taught art skills to give back to the families in Tanzania. During home visits, she was able to uplift parents by introducing them to positive affirmations and reading to their children the book she illustrated last year titled “The Toddler Life: Big Emotions in a Big World.”
“It was definitely life-changing,” says Neal. “Each summer I want to keep going back, because not only was it impactful to other people; it was impactful for me.”
Making a Lasting Impact
During the Global Vision trip in May 2022, a dozen students and two faculty members traveled to Ancón, Peru, where they volunteered at a school and orphanage. Students experienced a different culture, learned through service and made lifelong connections.
“It was very difficult to leave Peru and especially leave the children behind — the relationships that you formed within a week, you would be surprised,” says Jessica Miller, an undergraduate student from Sedalia, Missouri, majoring in International Studies. “But what’s best about the experience is that they gave things to remember them by. For example, a kid gave me a drawing of himself and wrote to me to always remember him. And I plan to.”
Global Vision volunteers in Peru not only forged bonds with the locals, but also with their peers.
“The students definitely have a collective experience,” says Robynn Kuhlmann, an associate professor of Political Science who twice has accompanied students to Peru on the Global Vision trip. “They’ve gone through seeing hardships together. They have experienced something very unique. And the bonds they make there definitely will last a lifetime.”
Similar to the Tanzania trip, volunteers conducted home visits to educate mothers and families about proper nutrition, breastfeeding and sanitization. Students helped bottle clean water, build and repair structures, till and fertilize the sandy soil in gardens and beautify the village to help boost the community’s morale. Intrinsic to all of these projects is helping natives learn English — a skill Kuhlmann says is vital so they can communicate with tourists and earn a living.
“I think what’s underestimated is teaching English,” Kuhlmann says. “Most of the students engage in teaching English as a second language.”
UCM is taking further steps to foster a culture of service among its students. Plans are underway to sponsor a student organization focused on recruiting participants for the Global Vision program and organizing annual food-packing events on campus. This would be in partnership with Rise Against Hunger, an international humanitarian nonprofit organization providing additional opportunities to make a positive impact, both locally and globally.
Through the Global Vision Endowment, an anonymous donor’s generosity will live on, impacting many lives. More trips are now possible for more UCM students every year — trips that can change their perspectives, their career trajectories and their lives. In addition to the three international trips, UCM hopes to add a domestic destination by 2025.
Wambuii encourages any full-time UCM student to apply for a trip through the Global Vision Scholarship at UCM Scholarship Finder.
“Let’s go see the world and make a difference,” Wambuii says. “Let’s go learn new things, new cultures. But while there, let’s make a big difference in people’s lives.”
Learn more at ucmo.edu/globalvision
