"Once anyone allows themselves to let go of the walls they have created, and allow their true heart to be exposed, the joy and the growth both for the giver and the receiver is unequal to anything else. While in Guatemala, I was able to experience honest love between me and the people I was serving. Never have I been apart of something so pure and beautiful. I thank HELP International for the opportunity to change my life, and in the process, bless others. I shall never forget the lessons learned and the experiences had while in Guatemala."
- Kate Hubrich, Guatemala 2007 |
Be the change you wish to see in the world -Gandhi |
| Mission and Vision |
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HELP International provides participants with a life-changing experience through service. Every summer HELP International, a Utah-based nonprofit organization, trains college-age participants to design and implement sustainable development projects in Belize, El Salvador, Fiji, India, Thailand, and Uganda. Partnering with locally-based non-governmental organizations (NGO), HELP participants create projects that promote self-reliance. As a key part of their experience, we train participants to become lifetime social entrepreneurs, using innovation to solve social problems. Participants receive over 20 hours of training before serving in-country, enabling them to organize and carry out their own projects.
HELP International is committed to training participants to improve community mobilization in developing countries, while having a life-changing experience themselves. The most effective development projects are initiated and embraced by the local community, leading to changes which benefit the local population for years after the HELP International participants return home. Likewise, the best experience a participant can have is to learn how to be actively involved in positive social change for the rest of their lives.
Participants engage in a variety of different types of projects based on their skills and interests. Some activities past participants have initiated include: building and repairing water systems, working with HIV positive community groups, teaching family garden and stove construction, and teaching basic business classes. Regardless of which activity participants choose, each teaches the nuance of the native culture, the essential principles involved in collaborating with local leaders, and how to implement solutions to fight poverty. |