COURTESY The team from U of L conducted educational programs and dental clinics for Filipino students.

When University of Louisville communication professor Dr. Joy Hart and eight other faculty members and 17 students arrived in Cebu, Philippines, for a service learning trip in early December, they expected a warm reception. What they didn’t expect, however, was a welcome worthy of a visiting dignitary.

“I saw a little boy walking to school with a little Filipino flag in his backpack and I thought ‘How cute,’” Hart said. “Then we rounded a corner and everyone had handmade Filipino and American flags. They sang their national anthem and ours. It’s hard to put that experience into words.”

Hart, co-director of U of L’s International Service Learning Program, and her fellow faculty members and students spent 10 days in Cebu working with children in four area schools providing educational activities. Dental students in the group provided a dental clinic for the students and residents from surrounding villages. 

The University of Louisville International Service Learning Program has taken students to all corners of the globe, including Central America and the West Indies. The program broke new ground last month when it took a group to Cebu.

“Based on the success of past trips, we decided to expand and take the ‘international’ part of our title more seriously,” Hart said.

The program has taken students in the communication, justice administration, education and dental programs to Barbados and Belize in recent years, but program faculty were interested in expanding to Asia.

“We go back to these areas every year, so when we commit to a place, we commit for a few years,” Hart said.

The team, which left Louisville on Dec. 10, spent several days working with students in schools and residents of the surrounding area.

“We worked with three schools in the mountains – rural schools like what you’d find in Appalachia – and one inner city school,” said Dr. Kandi Walker, also a communication professor.

COURTESY  U of L students worked with Filipino students on anti-bullying tactics, critical thinking skills and did science experiments with water filtration.

Students and faculty were broken up into four groups with members from each of the four disciplines and each with a specific focus.

One group worked with students on critical thinking skills, one worked on how to identify and stop bullying behavior and one group helped students conduct science experiments with water filtration.

The group kept a blog detailing their trip.

Communication major Rebecca Hall worked with students on critical thinking skills, teaching them a critical thinking model called STAR (stop, think, act, review).

“We taught students a song about STAR, went through scenarios where they could apply this model to situations in their life and act out the scenarios with the class,” Hall said.

The students were very receptive to the groups’ efforts.

“The students far exceeded my expectations in terms of how engaged they were with all the programs,” Hall said. “I had worried a little that there might be a language barrier or that the projects wouldn’t work well with different age groups, but none of that was true. Our goal was to present projects that were fun and engaging for the students and I think we were successful in doing that.”

Rachel Noble, also a communication major, worked with students on anti-bullying techniques. But she also got some hands-on dental experience.

“I watched children come in with decayed front teeth and walk out with bright white smiles. I defeated my own fears when I pulled two teeth. The children were so brave – I didn’t see one tear all day,” Noble said.

Noble found the experience not only furthered her education, but helped her grow as a person.

“If I could travel each year to visit these schools, I would,” she said. “I left the Philippines with a warm and full heart. This trip has become the jumping point for my own personal mission to continue humanitarian work, inside and outside of the United States.”

Hall and Noble were also humbled by their experiences.

“The people impacted me most,” Hall said. “They were the most generous, humble people I have ever met. They would give you anything they had even if it was miniscule compared to what most people have (in the U.S.).”

“If any person wants the chance to change their life, I would suggest taking a service trip abroad; you will never second-guess your decision,” Noble said. “The (people) we met have taught me monumental life-lessons. This trip has humbled me and helped me realize my blessings.”

Visit islp2009cebu.blogspot.com to read the group’s blog.