Non-profit org. helps students fight poverty
Many USU students had the opportunity to travel around the world this summer and one way was through the Help International Program, which was created for young adults to serve, empower and change the lives of those in need.
Founded in 1999, Help was created by a group of BYU faculty members and students, who raised $115,000 and spent four months in Honduras conducting humanitarian work after the country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch.
Tim Enrico, the USU campus representative for Help who served in Uganda last year, said students and young professionals of all majors have the opportunity to implement sustainable projects or help with previously implemented projects in other countries through Help.
“We get into a country and there’s typically not so much there except for what (Help has) done in the past,” he said.
Kellie Norton, a USU student involved with Help this summer, said, “Help does sustainable development projects in eight different countries — Uganda, Tanzania, India, Thailand, Fiji, El Salvador, Belize and Peru — every year and focuses on education, public health and entrepreneurship.”
Norton, who spent three months in Lugazi, Uganda, helping marginalized women this year, said the experience was “eye-opening.”
“Most of the girls didn’t have access to feminine hygiene products, birth control if they were sexually active or other basic health items,” Norton said. “A lot of them struggled desperately to find money for school fees. Several girls that I talked to were being pressured into having sex with their uncles or other men that were paying their school fees, with the threat of being kicked out of the house and not being able to attend school anymore if they refused.”
Learning about the people in the area was something Norton said she enjoyed.
Help participants sometimes conduct HIV screenings, support groups and in countries like India, they help among leper colonies and assist in sex trafficking rehabilitation, he added.
“It’s not study abroad,” Enrico said. “You’re never sitting in a classroom, except for when you do your initial training, and when we do training we teach about project management, safety, or other important details, like where you’ll be living in a rural village like Uganda or some rainforest in Thailand.”
Students who are interested and have completed one year of college can apply on Help’s website to get involved. There is a fee, but Enrico said many students do fundraising through letter campaigns to get there.
Although it is a 40-hour work week, Enrico said students get the chance to spend the weekends exploring and enjoying the countries they serve in. Activities include riding elephants, exploring ancient ruins, going on safaris, hiking volcanoes and even bungee jumping in the Nile, Enrico said.
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