Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Giving of themselves

WEEKEND EDITION

July 19, 2003

To take her first trip out of the United States, 20-year-old Melinda Robison worked three jobs and saved her money for a year and a half, while taking 18 credits at UNLV and maintaining her B+ average.

She didn't go to Cancun or Tahiti for two weeks of sun and fun, nor to the great cultural capitals of Europe. Instead Robison went to Santarem, Brazil, a poor city near the banks of the Amazon River, to help build a better classroom structure for schoolchildren.

"It was the hardest work I ever had to do, but it was worth it," she said. "It was ... a great opportunity to serve those less fortunate than me."

Without any experience in construction, Robison and seven other young people from Idaho, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona left June 14 to complete a project started by another youth group last summer.

Last summer's youth group built a classroom shelter. This year's group constructed walls to surround the outdoor classroom.

The volunteers took down a wooden fence with the help of Brazilian workers, volunteers and group leaders in order to construct two stronger brick walls designed to last at least 20 years. Without the strong walls, Robison said, the shelter was vulnerable to vandalism by gangs late at night.

The trip was organized by the nonprofit group Alliance for Youth Service, which was founded by Glenn and Elisabeth Bingham, to give youths ages 16 to 20 the opportunity to do humanitarian service. The organization is not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, but the trips promote the beliefs and standards members of the church live by. They are open to youths of any denomination.

Volunteers pay their own expenses -- about $2,400 -- through jobs or donations from local businesses, family and friends. The cost covers airfare, food, lodging and labor of the Brazilian workers who helped the teens lay bricks and mortar.

In August a new group will fly to Peru to construct a bathroom for elementary schoolchildren in Cusco.

Sara Luce, 18, of Overton has waited three years for an opportunity such as this one. She will be attending Dixie State College in St. George, Utah, as a freshman majoring in art history this fall, but before she goes, she's traveling to Cusco.

"I really like to serve people so I found this, and I really wanted to do it," Luce said.

Luce's group will first meet in Atlanta, then fly to the country, stopping along the way to see the jungles of Puerto Maldonado and the ancient ruins of Machu Pichu.

The Moapa Valley High School graduate saved her money from her job at a local pizza place and received donations from local businesses to fund her trip. Luce said she was excited she has the opportunity go but nervous her Spanish may not be up to par.

Before Robison's project began, the group stopped in Rio de Janeiro for two days forsome sightseeing before flying north. They shopped, went to the Copa Cabana beach and visited Mount Corcovado, the site of a Christ statue.

The students worked on the walls eight days between 8 a.m and 5 p.m., but the long day was broken up by a two-hour lunch break and a small snack break.

About eight 10- to 12 year-old schoolchildren volunteered to help the Americans, and Robison says the children knew more about construction than they did. There were no sophisticated tools here, Robison said. Instead, the workers used old-fashioned tools and whatever they had to put together something they could be proud of.

"Any opportunity to do service, I'll take it," Robison said. "Any human who has the ability to help others, should."

Children from the surrounding neighborhood also came by to meet the youths. Robison became very close to one 11-year-old with whom she still keeps in touch through one of the volunteers at the school site.

She learned a little Portuguese and used that and hand gestures to communicate with her Brazilian co-workers. The construction workers demonstrated what was to be done in the building process and the students followed suit.

They lived in a dormitory that was like a first-class hotel compared with the conditions the citizens lived in, Robison said.

The walls of the room she shared with a roommate were seafoam green and there was no air conditioning, so they slept with the windows open, and at times lizards slipped into the room. Fish, beans and rice were staples at dinner. She even took a dare and tried cow's heart. It didn't taste like chicken; more like rubber, Robison joked. But those experiences were pieces of her adventure in the country, she said.

On the weekends the youths attended local church activities, visited the homes of the children's families and took the children on boat trips. While on the Amazon, the group saw blue dolphins and tried piranha fishing. They didn't catch any.

Robison said some of the families lived in small homes with many children, but were content with their way of life.

"They don't have what we have, but they are happy with what they have," Robison said.

She returned June 30 with more than just a suntan and dozens of pictures. She also came back with an appreciation of the country's culture and people. "They love you regardless of who you are or what you have," Robison said. She says she learned to "love unconditionally and not worry about materialistic things."

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