Building an aqueduct in Ecuador or building toilets in Peru, playing with poor children or sacrificing Westport comfort for a week; these are just a few of the many activities that students who participate in Builders Beyond Borders, more commonly know as “B3” get to partake in.
Every February and April break, students take trips to exotic, impoverished countries and spend the week working to help the people there. They not only get to travel and go on a trip with their friends from school but these students, and the teachers that accompany them, explained learn so much from this one week away. This past February break, students traveled to Ecuador to build an aqueduct, a high school, and other essential things for the habitants.
“B3 teaches students things that simply can not be taught in a classroom. I have witnessed more personal growth and learning in the span of a week than I have ever witnessed in my classroom; these students learned more in 1 week than they have probably learned throughout high school,” said science teacher and faculty advisor Michael Aitkenhead.
Students who go on B3 come back to school feeling truly changed having seen a new part of the world, having met new people, and having given up so much for others. Especially coming from Westport, students explained that seeing other parts of the world was eye opening.
“After going on B3, I see how much we take for granted here in Westport,” said Noah Bender ’13. He said that being in a place like Ecuador showed him a lifestyle so different to the one he leads at home. This experience on the trip had the most impact on Bender.
Aitkenhead seconded Bender’s opinion about each trip being “the reminder that there are other ways of living life outside of what we find in Westport. We are often in the most impoverished areas of the globe, absent of nearly all material possessions and conveniences and yet we find pure joy and happiness in the people we visit and help.”
“To me, the best thing about b3 is being able to give someone something they haven’t had before. Since my team built a school, we got to know the kids really well and were able to give them a future. Now they can get a full education, which is a really good feeling,” said Leal Morehouse ’12, a second year B3 member.
Aitkenhead also sees students “realize that the world is bigger than this Westport bubble, and more importantly, they realize that they have within them the power to better our world.”
“It is a great experience because it teaches me great work ethic, helps me develop personally as well as within groups of people, and allows me to make a lasting impact on several people’s lives,” said Jordan Rubin ’13.
Aitkenhead explained that his original reasons for going on B3, being able to travel and experience new cultures, participating in more service work, and being able to work with kids, were “all fairly selfish. However, “After being on my first B3 trip, my reasons have changed. As an advisor, I was able to witness and help foster the most dramatic personal growth in the students that attended,” he said.
All three member of the trip made it clear that the impact B3 makes on students is irreplaceable. Also, students who have gone on the trip multiple times say that despite differences, all the trips have a huge impact on the person.
“I could not say that one trip was better than the other because of their many differences, but I can confidently say that they have both made significant, positive impacts on my life,” said Rubin, who has been to Peru and Ecuador.
Finally, Aitkenhead made it clear that although people go on B3 to help others, the members themselves are changed as well. “We often go to these other countries with the notion that we are helping or teaching them. In truth, the people we visit end up teaching us some of the most valuable lessons in life, and every B3 veteran is a better person because of it,” he said.
