Service Trips
Ridley College supports and creates opportunities for students to be consumed in service on global service trips, allowing them to broaden their horizons, make a positive impact and create lasting memories while giving back to communities around the world.
Our commitment to service, embodied in our school motto Terar Dum Prosim, is more than just words. Service helps students develop strengths in empathy, compassion, and kindness while emphasizing the importance of giving. People feel a deeper sense of fulfilment and meaning in their lives when they give to others, and our students learn to realize and appreciate this as one of the pillars of a flourishing life.
We create opportunities for students to experience the transformational power of global service trips. We have partnered with the Doppenbergs in Guatemala (DIG) and the Jacaranda School for Orphans in Malawi, among other organizations, to take students beyond the classroom and into the heart of different cultures to give back.
Why Service Trips?
Our service trips enable students to:
- Experience life from a new perspective, fostering empathy, understanding and an appreciation for diversity
- Apply their skills to real-world situations, gaining practical knowledge and problem-solving abilities that will serve them in the future
- Forge meaningful connections with local communities, classmates and dedicated mentors
- Step out of their comfort zones, challenging them to adapt, overcome obstacles and develop confidence, resilience and leadership skills
Service Trip Offerings
Guatemala D.I.G Trip
March
This long-standing service trip to Guatemala is in partnership with the Doppenbergs, a local Niagara family, who packed up their lives and followed their hearts to Central America after witnessing the conditions. Rita and Geoff Doppenberg and their three children now live in Jutiapa, where they work tirelessly with the indigenous Mayan people. The Doppenberg’s main mission is to abolish malnourishment through education and empowerment. Their work is truly making a difference in the lives of Guatemala’s most impoverished citizens, and their kindness and generosity is inspiring.
On this service trip, students will have many opportunities to service the people of Guatemala, with a direct focus on nutrition, health, personal empowerment, and sustainability. Alongside the Doppenbergs, Ridleians will help install new stoves to improve lung health in remote Mayan villages and help with the English program at their school in the afternoon.
For more information, please contact [email protected].
The Jacaranda School (Malawi)
March
Founded by CNN Hero, Marie Da Silva, The Jacaranda School in Malawi, Africa, is a haven where orphans impacted by HIV/AIDS come to realize a better life through access to education, nutrition, and medical care. The multi-building school has more than 400 students enrolled and ever-expanding needs.
For the fourth year, Ridleians have the opportunity to visit The Jacaranda School, where they will interact with its students and teachers while they learn about its unique culture and circumstance. Ridleians and Jacaranda students will participate in collaborative lessons that focus on their passions as well as a core academic subject.
Students will spend time in classrooms or outdoor learning spaces assisting in a lesson or teaching a lesson. They will also get to participate in community service projects in the local villages near the school, renovating a student’s home or helping build a new home for a family. On the final weekend, students will go on a local safari to see some of the African animals in the wild.
For more information, please contact [email protected].
Thailand Service Trip
March
This is Ridley’s first time visiting Thailand for a service trip. We are very excited to offer this opportunity that will provide an amazing chance to participate in global service while also experiencing the history and culture of this beautiful country. Service activities will include cooking traditional Thai meals for the underprivileged communities at the Rescue Kitchen, assisting at the Banteng conversation centre, forest restoration and reseeding in Chiang Mai, cleaning sea turtles and their homes as part of a habitat restoration and visiting an elephant sanctuary to learn more about their animal rescue projects.
In addition to these service opportunities, students will also have many opportunities to visit Thai markets, tour Buddhist temples and experience the majestic landscapes of Thailand.
For more information, please contact [email protected].
