Hillary Merwin
2013
Bogotá, Colombia
Community Development in Colombia
Hillary Merwin (2013: Bogotá, Colombia) will volunteer for six months with Fundación Comunidad Viva, supporting various community development efforts and also supported young adults aging out of orphanages at La Cueva.
My name is Hillary Merwin and I am a recent graduate of Belmont University with a degree in English and Spanish. During my time in college, I discovered my passion for the Spanish language and consequently the immigrant population of Nashville. I began teaching English as a second language as a way to get to know immigrants in my community as well as to improve my Spanish.
By working with the local Nashville nonprofit Conexión Américas, I was able to lead my own classes and even coordinate a language exchange program for English and Spanish speakers.
After going on a mission trip to Bogotá, Colombia in 2010, I knew I would someday return. With the support of the Lumos Award, I will be spending six months in Colombia’s capital working with a nonprofit organization called Fundación Comunidad Viva. My responsibilities will include: tutoring children in after-school programs, leading camps, teaching English, organizing community events, and most importantly just getting to know the people of my neighborhood and learning how to best meet their needs.
I could not be more excited about this incredible opportunity and I hope to return with a better understanding of a nonprofit’s role in fostering genuine community in broken neighborhoods as well as improved Spanish skills and a continued passion for Spanish-speaking people!
More about me....
Major(s): Spanish & English
Country Highlights
My Stories
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Leaving home to go back home
This past week was definitely bittersweet. I’m so thankful that I got to begin my journey in the little town of Pacho and
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A quick update
Just a quick update to say we are in Pacho for another week of SuperVacas and wifi is a little sparse. I leave
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Finishing up…
I can’t believe my time here in Colombia is so quickly coming to an end. It feels like yesterday that we started the
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A break
While these past few weeks have been full of afterschool tutoring, planning, meetings with girls in the neighborhood, Pacho English class and movie
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SuperVacas
This past week was SuperVacas!! All of our hard work and planning finally came together in a week full of dancing, crafting, singing,
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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
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Reaching new heights
The reason this update is coming so late is because my life has been extremely busy. I truly feel like a part of
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A very cultural experience
This past week was anything but average. It started with the normal schedule: a time of rest Monday morning, meetings with neighborhood girls
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Week 9
I can’t believe I’ve already been here for more than 9 weeks! Time has truly flown by. It’s hard to even find a
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Busy, busy, busy!
It’s hard to wrap my mind around all that has happened these past few weeks. It’s been such a whirlwind. A beautiful, exhausting,
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Planning
This week I got a deeper look into what Fundación Comunidad Viva is all about–from the inside! Bright and early at 7am, the
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Moving on
This week we finished up our service to the Alturo family. And what an amazing way to end this experience. After battling an
