An experience in South America may have altered the future trajectory of one Lampman student.
Carley Greening knew she wanted to get involved with Free the Children the moment she attended the Me to We conference in Saskatoon last year. Immersed in the arena with thousands of other students, she took in the messages of the motivational speakers and musicians who spoke and performed at the conference.
After attending the event, she was particularly inspired by speaker Molly Burke and wanted to get involved with Free the Children in a deeper and more hands-on way. That ultimately meant going to Ecuador to help build a school this past summer.
"I thought that would just be a huge thing in someone's life," said Carley of building the school. "My friends actually went to the Dominican with another organization, and they came back, and I could totally tell that they changed and got all these new perspectives."
The now Grade 11 student flew to Ecuador in late July for the 16-day trip. Carley was one of two Saskatchewan girls who went to Ecuador. The pair met at the Regina airport and flew to Toronto together, spending the night in the city with the rest of their group and flying to South America the next day.
"We got really close, closer than most of the people in my class," said Carley of her short time with her new friends.
They spent their first couple of days in Quito, Ecuador's capital, acclimatizing to the increase in altitude because they would be working in the mountains.
Arriving in the village at the site of the proposed school, the team of students got to work building the first stage. Another team would come in after them to build the next phase.
"We put down some of the flooring, about halfway. We got to see the kids walk on the floor for the first time. That was the moment when you realized how big of a project it was (to them)."
Carley and her group finished more than what they were expected to. The next group was supposed to begin work on the floor, but her group completed some sanding on the floorboards.
"We weren't supposed to be thinking of the floor yet. Our foreman was pretty happy," she said.
The schools in the area are made mostly of stone, and Carley said they had more of a feeling of a "prison." The structure they were building had a wood frame.
The Ecuadorian community raised 10 per cent of the costs for the school, so the community can feel some ownership over the building.
"It gives them a lot more respect for the school. They can say 'this is ours, too,' instead of it being something that they don't own," said Carley of the initiative that will educate more than 150 students each year.
"I got to see all the kids that were in the school. They played soccer with us a lot."
They did have some time to sightsee as well, with the guide convincing Carley during a nature hike to allow a scorpion spider to be placed on her face.
"It's the size of my hand, and I was so scared. But you can't freak out because then it will bite you," she said. "We learned a lot about the culture. We did a day in the life where we went to a farmer's house and learned how he grew corn, and we went with the women and saw how she washed clothes in the river."
She sampled grubs and guinea pigs while there. Guinea pigs are raised for food rather than as pets.
We Day is going to be held in Saskatoon for the second consecutive year at the Credit Union Centre on Nov. 6. Carley and a couple of her classmates are volunteering for the event this fall, and Carley will be continuing her efforts with the Free the Children organization when she goes to Kenya next summer as part of an alumni trip, which will include another building project.
Carley said her involvement with the organization going forward is something she is going to be taking seriously, and could potentially lead her into a career.
"I'm pretty sure I want to be with (Free the Children). It seems like the best career choice I could possibly pick," said Carley about her future options. "All the people I talk to who work there are just so happy."
She said the experience has changed her and her interest in humanitarian work has only increased since her return.
"I definitely feel like I've changed. My parents can tell, too. A lot of the things I used to complain about, I don't complain about anymore. I've become more open to everything, I realized how much time we spend on our phones."
