Paulo Freire, in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, wrote about North American higher education from the perspective of South America. He raised the concern that students in North American classrooms hear answers to questions that they, as students, never asked. ECM Alternative Breaks seek to remedy this. Questions arise out of the participant’s experience with different cultures and settings.
As a participant in last year’s ASB commented, “I found that learning of the community and helping the community was most important – I didn’t know that culture like this existed in the U.S.”
All alternative breaks include an orientation on culture, reflection on the experience, volunteer service, conversation with local residents, and support of an “exploring spirit." Participants with the inclination are encouraged to explore and find appreciation of their own spiritual/faith perspective.
Thanks to grants, fundraisers, individual donors, Community Mercantile fundraising jars and ECM support, these alternative breaks strive to be affordable. They are open to all who are interested and strive to be intergenerational. They are also open to persons who identify with a religious/spiritual tradition and those who do not.
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Current Spring Breaks
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AppalachiaMarch 17-25, 2012
Participants will travel to Appalachia, Virginia — a small coal mining community in the Appalachian Mountains — to work and volunteer with the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and other local organizations. Trip goers will delve into the history of resistance native to the Appalachia region through locally-led, skills-based workshops, while learning about grassroots organizing as a strategy for social change in all communities. The experience will also include a captivating look into the region’s cultural heritage through its rich traditions of music, storytelling, food and art.
Program Goals:
To be introduced to Appalachian cultures in Virginia.
To learn about the various issues that have propelled community organizing.
To reflect on the activism around mountaintop coal removal in context of other health and development issues.
Trip Cost: $325 BUT scholarships are available
What to expect: Light construction work, lots of hiking, exploration of a different culture, and building community with folks in Appalachia and here.
What to bring: Sleeping bag, pillow, clothes, hiking shoes, open mind, open hearts
Coordinator:
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An opportunity for up to 18 participants to experience a community of folks exploring the question, “What do I want my life to say?” Beyond that the New Mexico Alternative Break is a chance to learn about the unique natural environment, culture, history, and lifestyles of northern New Mexico and to take steps toward becoming a person more environmentally and interculturally aware. That can happen experientially through hiking, silence, being in the high desert and forming open relations with others.
Program goals:
To share perspectives on the theme and to experience a sense of community.
To learn about the unique natural environment, culture, history and lifestyles of north central New Mexico and to begin to become a person more environmentally and interculturally aware.
To experience the natural environment of north central New Mexico.
Physical Work A Ghost Ranch liaison will arrange service projects. In the past these included:
Maintenance on-site for Ghost Ranch (e.g. painting, "yard" work, etc.)
Clearing acequias, an important task in the cultural tradition of New Mexico
Blazing trails at Abiquiu Lakewith U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' associate
Gathering Together We will meet in a large group at least once a day in discussion of what experience in Abiquiu have shown us about ourselves. These discussions continue in smaller "base" groups which are formed upon arrival at Ghost Ranch.
Personal Reflection Multiple opportunities arise for reflection, whether it be on a hike up Chimney Rock, in morning meditations, or on a long car ride. These opportunities will have spiritual elements but not in connection to any specific religion. All people whether atheistic, religious, spiritual or otherwise are invited, welcomed, and affirmed!
Ghost Ranch
Ghost Ranch is a national adult study center of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and, at 6200 feet above sea level, is similar in altitude to the Arizona trip. It is located in a high desert where American artist Georgia O’Keefe resided and completed many of her paintings.
We also hope to set aside one day to hike the Temolime Canyon Trail to the 9,862 ft. peak of the Cerro Pedernal mesa. This is a 7-mile trail, which ascends 1,900 ft, and is ranked as a class 3-4.
The trip coordinators are Nick Benson (
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) and Nick Michael (
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) and the Resource Coordinator will be Thad Holcombe at
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.
Participants will travel to a Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona to stay on the farm of a Navajo family. They will spend time living and working with Ida, a Dine’ (Navajo) elder, and her daughter, Rose. The two reside in Star Mountain Valley, once a prosperous Navajo community. They have refused to move off their native lands.
The Clinton family, a Navajo family, has been living and working on their native land for generations. Through land partitioning and forced relocation, the Clintons and many other Navajo families have faced land disputes with the Hopi people. Additionally, Peabody Coal Company and its mining projects have greatly depleted Black Mesa of its resources.
Program goals:
To learn from traditional indigenous life ways.
To explore issues that threaten indigenous cultures.
To participate in projects aimed at assuring cultural survival.
For more information contact the coordinatiors,
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or
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, or Thad Holcomb at
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.
The value of sustainability as a way of life goes far beyond its environmental implications. On this alternative break, students experience the way in which a rich sense of community can be built through sustainable living. During a week-long trip "off the grid" to Narrow-Ridge Earth Literacy Center in Washburn, TN, students engage in a combination of service-learning and community-building exercises centered around a lifestyle of eco-mindedness. The schedule for this alternative break will be tailored to meet the particular needs and interests of those who sign up. Lodging is on-site at the famous Straw Bale Lodge.
Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center is a non-profit organization established in the 1970s to study, teach, and demonstrate sustainability. Narrow Ridge is dedicated to providing experiential learning of Earth Literacy based on the cornerstones of spirituality, sustainability, and community. Narrow Ridge protects 500 acres of rural land including over 150 acres of Appalachian wilderness and 35 home sites. For more information about the facilities at NR click here.
Cost: to be discussed Dates proposed: March 17th-23rd (We return on Friday March 23rd, providing the weekend for students to get back and finish break assignments)
Coordinator:
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Winter Breaks
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Chicago January 7-14, 2012
KU students will travel to Chicago, IL, to work with The Mexico Solidarity Network (MSN). The overarching focus of MSN is primarily immigration reform, but the organization also provides Mexican immigrants in the U.S. acclimation programs and transitional services. Trip goers will assist with these services—including ESL and childcare—while observing how the U.S. immigration process plays out in daily life. Program goals:
To be “immersed” in immigrant culture through home stays with immigrants.
To begin understanding the reasons people migrate to Chicago.
To begin discerning the role of the faith community and Mexico Solidarity Network in addressing issues of migrants, both undocumented and others
Coordinators: Amy Thompson,
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.
Trip Coordinators Honored as KU “Women of Distinction” in 2009
ECM Alternative Breaks were fortunate to be recognized by the selection of the four women as "KU Women of Distinction" for 2008-09. They were coordinators for the following trips: Juarez, Mexico- Jenn Gapetz, El Salvador- Sara Birmingham and Heather Wurtz, New Orleans- Haley Masterson. Pick up a 2008-2009 poster at the ECM and visit the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center website (http://www.etwrc.ku.edu/~etwrc/calendar/wod-0809/index.html)
The El Salvador partnership continues from its initial trip in 2006. Originally initiated by Nyana Miller, a KU student, it has been spun off to a new group: Kansas Salvadoran Solidarity Action. It is now assisting in organizing 2-3 delegations a year, with the support of ECM and Peace Mennonite Church. Weekly meetings are held to enable opportunities to be in solidarity with those in El Salvador who struggle for social justice. A strong connection is nurtured with El Pappaturo, a village in northern El Salvador and a Sister City with Lawrence through CISPES.
More information is available through Sarah Birmingham (
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), a senior in Art, and Robert Blum (
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) with Peace Mennonite Church.
Juarez
Juarez no longer offered as an Alternative Break. This trip has been postponed due to the increased violence in the city. For more information on the situation there, visit http://www.elpasotimes.com/
Ecumenical Christian Ministries sponsored five Alternative Breaks (ABs) in 2009 and will sponsor more in 2010. ABs are ways to explore other cultures and one’s faith while being involved in service.
How does an AB partnership work?
You and a student are matched up before the trip (You can choose a specific student or request a student from a specific trip)
You meet 2 times before the trip to talk about ideas, expectations, and life in general (Or more if you want)
After the trip, you meet again to talk about experiences, new ideas, and life! (Picture sharing and hilarious stories to be expected)
We ask that you contribute financially to their trip from $50-$200
Why be an AB partner?
Young adults are attempting to grow in a way that will change our community and our world, and you can be a part of it
You don’t have much time or energy to travel but want to learn about another place and culture
You want to support a young adult who is actively seeking challenging experiences and intellectual, spiritual, and personal growth
You want to be a mentor to a student who is learning about the world in new ways and share questions
Alternative Break Trips
Purpose of ECM Alternative Breaks
