This winter break, Fordham University Global Outreach (GO!) offered several enriching service trips for students to participate in across North America. From Morganton, N.C., to Puebla, Mexico, students had the opportunity to foster cura personalis through programs centered in social justice awareness, collaboration, service and community engagement.
According to the Fordham Global Outreach website, “Projects allow students to directly connect with communities in the United States and around the world while learning about systems of inequality and focusing on anti-oppression and anti-racism work.” Further, “Projects [run] on three cycles: winter, spring, and summer. Each project is led by a team leader and has ten spots for participants. In addition to the team leader, teams will be accompanied by a project chaperone. Teams will undergo a sustained formation process prior to immersion, co-created by CCEL staff and the global partner, to lend to holistic spiritual, academic, and ethical learning and developmental growth.” The website also states that “Global Outreach projects are driven by Fordham’s Jesuit mission of cultivating diverse leaders in a global society.”
The five programs offered this January were located in Puerto Rico, Arizona, California, North Carolina and Mexico. Each trip is distinctly unique and offers students the opportunity to give back beyond the gates of Fordham as global citizens.
The GO! Puerto Rico team was hard at work in the beautiful Las Marias. On the GO! Instagram the group shared, “We feel so honored to have been a part of the nonprofit organization Panorama Farms and help them with their mission to raise money for Puerto Rico’s sustainable future.” At Panorama Farms, student volunteers were able to learn about sustainability and environmentally conscious farming in Puerto Rico while also having the opportunity to plant coffee trees themselves.
Another winter trip was on the Nogales, Ariz. border. The GO! Arizona team shared that they “had the opportunity to walk along the Sonoran desert, a trail many migrants have passed through during their journey to the U.S.… The hike provided a first hand experience and understanding of the conditions migrants encounter during their journey North.”
The third GO! trip was to Los Angeles. In the Golden State, students collaborated with Homeboy Industries, which is the “largest gang rehab and re-entry program in the world.” On their social media, team members reflected, “We went to Homeboy Industries and Silkscreen where we learned about transformation post-incarceration and rehabilitation. We listened to Homeboys talk about their lives in prison and their journeys towards becoming better persons for themselves and their families.” Following all this hard work, students cooked meals for the Guadalupano Homeless Project, which allowed for students to further collaborate to help those in need. Ashli DeMaria, FCRH ’24, said, “It was just a place where everyone who was there wanted to be there. There was intention with everything… They have such a rich foundation and the ‘homeboys’ and ‘homegirls’ are constantly pushing them in a forward direction.” DeMaria also said, “Ultimately, I thought it was a great place and we need more places like Homeboy Industries.”
The fourth GO! trip was unlike the others, as it was a requirement for the Honors Program. Participants shared in a post, “The team toured Opportunity Threads, a worker-owned, cut and sew textile plant in Morganton, North Carolina observing their impressive business operations. Earlier we received hands-on experience on industrial sewing machines at our host, The Industrial Commons.”
Finally, the last GO! trip this winter was in Puebla, Mexico. On this trip, students “spent the week at the farm of Enlaces Comunitarios Internacionales in San Jerónimo Tecuanipan. We have helped tend to the land by weeding, planting lettuce and avocado trees, and harvesting beans and corn. We have also helped to create gardens and plant trees at the houses of neighbors in the community. Through these experiences, we have been learning about permaculture and the importance of community organizing, water preservation, eco-architecture, and holistic sustainability practices,” according to the program’s Instagram. In addition to all of this hands-on learning, students traveled to Apizaco, Tlaxcala, where they visited a migrant center.
Students interested in attending the next cycle of GO! trips can join the on-campus organization, find more information about the programs through Fordham’s website or follow their Instagram, @fordhamgo.
