This year for Spring Break, I will be going on a service-learning trip to Jamaica with a group of Jewish Undergraduates at Hillel of UCLA. We will be going to a small city called Petersfield in rural Jamaica with an organization called Amizade. Amizade has been dedicated to worldwide service and learning since 1994.

This is not just a regular “spring break trip”. During our one-week stay, we will help in projects and activities that would help better the poor community. Normally on these trips, the students would take part in building schools and houses. However, since many of the citizens in Petersfield are poor and unemployed, they might get angry, thinking that we are stealing their jobs. Therefore, this year, we will be in schools, teaching students from all ages, and doing others acts of service.

I have been looking on going to a trip like this ever since my sister took part in a similar trip to Honduras in 2012. Growing up in a third world country such as Iran, I know how residents can deprived of the most basic human needs. Now that I live in the United States, I feel as if it’s my obligation to help those in need.  

Taking part in a program like this is very costly and I would not be able to participate in it without the financial assistance of my friends, family, and community. It would be amazing if you can contribute and help send me to Jamaica this March!

To learn more about Amizade, please follow this link: https://amizade.org/