During spring break, 14 students from Baldwin Wallace University participated in a faculty-led study abroad program in Guatemala. The program, called Discover Guatemala, gives students an opportunity to directly engage with local communities.
According to Professor Kelly Coble, who co-leads the program alongside Professor Javier Morales-Ortiz, the course is structured to provide access to the real-world examples of what is learned in class. Coble explained that students contribute meaningfully while also learning about the cultural, political, and historical context of Guatemala.
A central component of this year’s program was a student-led initiative developed by senior Berta Gashi, an international business and business administration double major who is involved in many organizations across campus.
As part of an international service project, Gashi organized a book donation drive that collected “little bit over 1,100 books” in both Spanish and English. The initiative was supported by funding from a Women for BW grant, which helped fund the project’s implementation.
Upon arrival, students partnered with Mission Guatemala, a nonprofit organization that provides health and educational services to the town of Panajachel and surrounding communities.
The group contributed to the development of an early childhood reading program by constructing bookshelves and a learning space. The project involved assembling, sanding and painting bookshelves and reading nooks intended to house the donated books and foster a better environment for learning.
Gashi emphasized the importance of access to reading materials in the region. Gashi stated that most interactions with books that children have are extremely limited. In class sizes of 30 to 60 students, there may only be five books among them.
“This project kind of gives them an opportunity to interact with books, and holding a book still means so much,” Gashi said. The newly established reading space is intended to provide children with greater access to books and encourage continued education beyond the typical sixth-grade level.
In addition to service work, students participated in cultural and historical exploration, including visits to Lake Atitlán, where Mission Guatemala is based, the surrounding region and the colonial capital of Antigua.
Professor Coble stated that students really get to experience “the culture and the reality on the ground” of Guatemala through the program.
The service also contributed to a longer-term initiative by Mission Guatemala to expand their clinic to include a learning center which house the donated books. The organization plans to continue developing the reading space and incorporate it into broader child-focused services.
Gashi described the project as a culmination of collaborative effort and credited community support as key to its success. She said she hopes to pursue similar projects after graduation as part of her goal to make a positive international impact.
