During summer, a group of Bellarmine students had the opportunity to travel to Rwanda for a Courts for Kids trip. This was the first time students traveled to Africa for a service trip.
Service is one of Bellarmine’s institutional values as we believe that “all of our work is grounded in service – to God, to the Church, to our students and families, to one another, and to our community”, and through this trip, students portrayed their servant leadership through their hard work and efforts to help the local community in building a basketball and volleyball court. Their tasks included shoveling sand and gravel, mixing concrete in buckets, and passing those buckets around. The project was accomplished in nine total hours, spread over three days.
Apart from working hours spent at construction sites, the students had a great time connecting with the local community as well as learning about their cultures. They developed friendship through activities such as playing volleyball, tag games, and card games. When asked about their interactions with the locals, especially with the children, Senior Wyatt Acebedo said, “I’d say it was easy to make friends with the locals as everyone was really welcoming. I think it was a part of their culture to welcome everyone. For example, you see someone on the streets and they will say hello even if you don’t know them.”
Similarly, history teacher Liu Johnson said, “The best thing about the trip was getting to know the people themselves. They were trusting and such lovely people and they always had a smile on their face. They don’t have a lot compared to us but it’s not about the things you have, it’s about the things that make you happy, and they have that with the fellowship among themselves.”
The students not only gained experiences of service and knowledge of culture but also formed strong bonds with one another. Senior Sasa Otsuka shared one of her memories from the trip, stating, “I’m not really an outgoing person and I’m not really good at communicating, but without using my phone and being on social media during the trip, I had a deeper connection with not only other Bellarmine students but also with the people in Rwanda.”
Each year, Bellarmine offers two to three Courts for Kids trips during spring break and summer. This year’s spring break trip will be going to Guatemala (March 29th – April 6th) and the summer trip will be going to Costa Rica (July 7th – July 16th). It is definitely recommended as this is an opportunity for students to live out the values of leadership and service while fully immersing themselves in a new culture.