Hillary Merwin
Hillary Merwin
Colombia 2013
VIEW FINAL REPORT
Hola! My travels are taking me to Bogotá, Colombia where I will be spending six months volunteering with a community development organization called Fundación Comunidad Viva by tutoring children in after-school programs, planning community events, leading camps and much more. Join me on this adventure! Read More About Hillary →

Prep time

These past few weeks have been all about planning. Any free moments we had as a staff team, we were seated around a table discussing lessons, crafts, games, decorations, and schedules for one of the biggest programs put on by the foundation–SuperVacas!

It’s been a great experience getting to be on the other side of the action for once. Though this will be my third SuperVacas with the foundation, it’s the only one that I’ve actually helped plan. I’ve always seemed to arrive in Colombia just in time to participate as a volunteer but never to be part of the planning process.

I definitely appreciate all that goes into designing a week of structured activities and lessons–completely from scratch. Down to the very last detail (like how many toilet paper rolls we would need for the kids to make telescopes or drawing and coloring over 50 paper fish for decoration), we did it all.

The theme for the week is the ocean. God is the captain and we are the sailors–the teachings will revolve around what qualities make a good sailor (a clear mind for thinking and making decisions, an open heart, and hands for serving others).

Needless to say, we had a blast decorating the room. Our team clocked about 15 hours this past weekend making a huge boat to go on the stage, blowing up balloons to look like bubbles, cutting out life-size waves to put on the wall...and I could go on. What I love about the foundation and Jorge’s leadership is that he always wants to make the programs the best they can be. While this often requires extra work on our parts–revising plans, changing ideas at the last minute, late nights of planning–I also have no doubt in my mind that this week’s SuperVacas will be the best we’ve ever had.

We also had fun passing out flyers to literally the entire neighborhood. It was great getting to know more kids in the area and such a fun time seeing familiar faces in the street and realizing that I’ve become a part of this neighborhood. There are few things more rewarding than walking to work and having one of your kids from tutoring run up to you, yelling “profe!” and giving you a big hug.

One this is for sure...it’s going to be so incredibly hard leaving this neighborhood and these beautiful kids and families I’ve come to know and love so dearly. Community is truly a special thing and I’m so excited to get to know more of these kids during SuperVacas week!!

Experimenting with a boat craft

Experimenting with a boat craft

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Getting creative with balloons

The beginnings of the boat

The beginnings of the boat

Finishing touches

Finishing touches

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Finished!

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