We all wish to help people in need, but as a college student, you may feel powerless and unable to help. With the foreign nations deprived of common necessities or even the cultural necessities that Americans have, reality can be depressing. A Plymouth state student can help, at least partly. The Nicaragua club is a club that works to help the urban and rural communities of Nicaragua. Nicaragua club promotes the mission of cultural exchange between American and Nicaraguan people and strives to create a sustainable community. Students who take part in this club, participate in a mass fundraiser. They use that money in order to be able to go down to Nicaragua for ten days in May, in order to do service projects to aid the community.
The club itself was created in 1993 by Ash Eames in Wentworth, NH. It was originally crafted in order to help people from La Primavera, a poor district of Nicaragua. The program was a small, nonprofit organization (and still is). The organization has since expanded and taken hold in Plymouth, State. The students who take part in this project will gain considerable aid in various aspects of life, such as an appreciation of the things Americans take for granted and considerable skills. ” They will gain knowledge of what is good to eat, instead of microwaved food.” said Brianna Gualco, president of PSU Nicaragua Club, “They will gain knowledge about the agriculture in this part of the world. Students will gain love and respect for their fellow human beings, we are all placed on this earth and we might as well help out neighbors when we can. A sense of community is a huge take away from this trip.” The average student will be able to learn things, both practical and humanitarian, and aid a community that could definitely use it.
“My friend Nicole had informed me about the club and asked if I would be interested in go to a meeting with her.” said Gualco, “Last year was my first year at PSU and I thought that this would also be a nice way of meeting people. I have always wanted to give back to a community. It did not have to be in the United States. Honestly, seeing a different part of our world was a huge deciding factoring for me.” This club allows the individual to join something that is bigger than them. To see the world and create bonds with people from wide expanses and join in on a community that isn’t their own. If that isn’t enough, this club is also extremely social, allowing individuals to get to know people from their own nation, although perhaps a bit of a ways away. The student here, is not here for themselves, but here for something a bit more. “What I think students will gain if they join the club is to learn a way to give back.” said Shannon Haughey, “Even though Nicaraguans don’t have as much as we do they live each day to the fullest and have the biggest hearts.”
To the student who wishes to join this club, meetings take place at 7:00 pm on Wednesday nights in Hyde Hall. If you have any questions about this club, please contact Brianna Gualco or Nicole Chaplin.