Service Learning: Making the Global Service Experience Work

Hello, readers! Last week, Drs. Tina Butler and Jennifer Eames helped us lay the foundation for responsible international service learning: understand what kind of experience you're creating, establish a relationship with a reputable local partner, give yourself plenty of time to prepare, train your students, and approach the community ready to learn as well as serve.

Now comes the practical part: money, supplies, travel, and making the experience unforgettable. I'm handing you back to Drs. Butler and Eames.

Start Funding Early

International service can be expensive. On one of our trips to Peru, for example, it cost about $3,000 per person. That's a substantial expense for students, so funding shouldn't be an afterthought. Start thinking about it from day one.

We've used a variety of approaches over the years. Students can organize fundraising events such as garage sales and bake sales. Restaurants and other businesses may offer profit-sharing opportunities. Online donation sites can help students reach friends, family members, alumni, and others who want to support the project. Look for grants and scholarships, too.

Depending on your institution and how the experience is structured, there may also be possibilities for incorporating some costs into program fees or tuition.

There isn't one right funding model. The key is to start early, be transparent about costs, and give students time to plan.

Finding the Supplies You Need

What are you taking with you? Your local partner should be helping you answer that question. Don't begin by collecting whatever medical supplies happen to be available and assume they'll be useful when you arrive. Find out what is actually needed.

Certain organizations can also help programs obtain appropriate donated medical supplies. We've worked with resources such as Blessings International and Americares, which can help connect organizations with medications and supplies for humanitarian work.

Look within your own community as well. Hospitals, clinics, health care organizations, businesses, and individuals may have appropriate items they're willing to donate.

But remember: donated doesn't automatically mean useful. Know what your partner needs. Know what you're permitted to bring. Be thoughtful about medications and other regulated supplies. And remember: sometimes the things we take for granted can be lifesavers when those luxuries aren’t so common.

Getting It There

Obtaining supplies is only half the challenge. Now you have to get them where you're going!

Shipping internationally can be expensive and complicated. Depending on the destination and airline, checking additional luggage may actually be the more practical option. We've packed supplies into suitcases and transported them with the team.

But before you do that, talk to your in-country partner. Find out what can legally enter the country and what documentation you'll need. Your partner may be able to provide donation forms or other paperwork that explains what you're carrying and why.

Keep copies with the supplies themselves, and when appropriate, have the documentation available in the local language.

Because you don't want to figure this out for the first time while you're standing at customs! We learned that lesson from a suitcase full of eyeglasses. The glasses had been donated, but some still had tags attached. A customs official saw the tags and assumed we intended to sell them.

We didn't, but suddenly we had some explaining to do. That experience changed how we prepare. Now we're much more careful about documentation and making sure the appropriate forms travel with donated materials. Tiny details can become very large problems at an international border.

Make a Schedule

Once you've arrived, organization matters. We recommend deciding how responsibilities will be divided before the trip. Students can rotate through different duties and take part in different parts of the work, rather than having everyone try to do everything at once.

Be sure to schedule a set-up day to ensure everything is ready to go before any activities related to a service. Depending on the length of your trip, you might want to plan one or more rest days, including a rest day to help people acclimate after a long travel day. Don’t jump right into work after a 16-hour flight. Acclimating to climate or altitude is another consideration. You want your team able to work, not sick and exhausted! And of course, leave time for travel home.

But don't become so attached to the schedule that you can't respond when circumstances change. International service requires flexibility.

Expect the unexpected. Or, as we sometimes say: Semper Gumby: Always flexible.

Know When to Stop

Flexibility doesn't mean continuing indefinitely. On one trip, we intended to serve everyone who came for care, so we kept going, and going. After about 16 hours, it was 10 p.m.—and people were still waiting outside.

Eventually, we had to stop, and you will too. Establish reasonable benchmarks ahead of time. Decide when you'll stop accepting additional patients. Set boundaries that let your team provide good care without pushing everyone past exhaustion.

Serving until nobody can function isn't better service.

Leave Room to Experience the Place

Finally, don’t schedule every minute around service. You're asking students to travel to another part of the world. Give them opportunities to experience it.

Build in rest days. Allow time for cultural activities. Let students learn about the people, history, food, traditions, and places around them.

That isn't time taken away from the trip's purpose. Rather, it’s part of the learning.

Those experiences can give students perspective and help them understand the community beyond the particular service they're providing. They also give the team time to decompress, build camaraderie, and create memories together.

Next time…

Thanks again to Drs. Butler and Eames. The next blog will conclude our service-learning series by asking one final question: Who benefits?

The answer may seem obvious. But as Drs. Butler and Eames have discovered over years of local and international service, the people who set out intending to give often come home surprised by just how much they've received.