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intd 288: global service learning in el sauce, nicaragua

This is a unique service-learning experience that combines cultural immersion and volunteerism to enhance students' education and benefit a small community in Nicaragua.

Fast Facts

 

Program Type: Host institution/on-site director
Term/Duration:Interssion: 2 weeks/Summer: 4 Weeks
Intersession 2012/2013 Dates:December 31, 2012 - January 17, 2013
Summer 2013 Dates:June 18 - July 16, 2013
Credit Hours:Intersession: 2/Summer: 3
Application Fee:$20
Estimated Program Fees:Intersession: $2200; Summer: $2600
Intersession Tuition:$464 NYS Residents; $1236 Out-of-State Residents
Summer Tuition:$696 NYS Residents; $1854 Out-of-State Residents
Application Deadline:Intersession: October 15/Summer: March 1

 

Intersession Program

This unique program provides students the opportunity to apply their spirit of volunteerism and their education in an economically disadvantaged community in Nicaragua.  Program participants are guided and supervised by Geneseo's on-site program director as they live and work alongside residents of El Sauce.

Several service learning opportunities are available during the intersession, including: computer education, economic development, ecotourism development, English classes for beginners or advanced adults, English classes for children, health services, marketing, small business development, youth education, and youth recreation.

The program includes one weekend field trip to another part of Nicaragua.  The trip is designed to enrich participants' experience by highlighting different aspects of Nicaragua, including its natural biodiversity, colonial past, pre-Columbian heritage, religious tradition, and political history.  Students will witness the beautiful landscapes that range from the Pacific Ocean beaches to the chains of volcanoes and mountains that run through the country.  Past excursions have included volcano boarding, zip-line tours, trips to the Colonial cities of León and Granada, visits to coffee plantations, and swimming in rivers and lagoons.

Summer Program

This course will provide an introduction to Nicaragua and examine the historical, political, and socioeconomic forces at work in this region.  Weekly sessions in the spring semester will focus on various aspects of Nicaragua's history, culture, and environment, as well as other topics including the effects of socioeconomic status on development.  Any students wisheng to travel to El Sauce, Nicaragua in the summer are required to complete these sessions in the spring semester.

During the summer the course will culminate the service learning component in El Sauce, Nicaragua.  There are a number of different service sites available for placement including: schools, health care clinics, teaching English and computer classes, economic and ecotourism development, and marketing and small business development.  The service work will educate Geneseo students using 'real world' experience to foster civic responsibility and complement their education.  In addition, this service work is meant to be reciprocal in nature by providing basic needs to El Sauce residents to hopefully make a real difference in their lives.

Intersession 2012/2013 Program Costs

Summer 2013 Program Costs

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The Setting

The town of El Sauce is the capital of a municipality of the same name located in the department of León.  A four-hour drive northwest of Managua, Nicaragua's capital, El Sauce is a small town of 10,000 residents.  It has a nigh illiteracy rate, high unemployment, is primarily agricultural, and has growing opportunities for economic development.  El Sauce is characterized by its rural, small town atmosphere and friendly people.  Amoung the brick-lined streets are shops, restaurants, and internet cafés.  Geneseo has established and operates its own office year-round in the center of El Sauce.

Housing

Students will reside with Sauceno families who are carefully selected to match the housing needs of program participants.  Living with host families facilitates full immersion in Nicaraguan culture.  All housing is within walking distance of each other and Geneseo's office.

Eligibility

Students must be in good academic standing with no prior or current disciplinary record.  Proficiency in Spanish is not required to participate in the program, but is strongly encouraged and recommended.  The program is open to students in all majors but is especially relevant to students studying psychology, biology, Spanish, business, geography, international relations, history, urban studies, and Latin American studies.

Geneseo Personnel

On-site Directors

Mr. Kellan Morgan, SUNY Geneseo Economics graduate and Phi Beta Kappa inductee, has lived and worked in El Sauce, Nicaragua, since 2006 as the program's resident director.  He is fully experienced with the most pressing needs of El Sauce and has created multiple links with community partners willing to work with the program.

Ms. Yacerely Mairena Dávila is a contracted employee from Managua.  She is professionally fluent in English and assists Geneseo with the program.

Faculty Administrator

Wes Kennison, Faculty Fellow for the Office of International Programs, is the faculty administrator of Geneseo's service learning program in El Sauce, and teaches Geneseo's Humanities II program in El Sauce.  Wes has taught Humanities at Geneseo for two decades and has travelled abroad with students many times in his teaching career.  He may be contacted at kennison@geneseo.edu.

Application Deadlines

Intersession Program: October 15

Summer Program: March 1