Reflections from Trek: Erick in Malawi

Erick is a New York City Park Slope Collegiate student who went on a buildOn Trek in Malawi in July 2013. He has been involved with buildOn for the past two years and is very dedicated to service. Now, as the student VP of the buildOn afterschool program,  he continuously recruits students and is a leader among his team.

When Erick was about to go on trek, he was unsure about leaving his family for two weeks to go to a totally new place. However, he quickly adapted to life in Malawi and was sad when it was time to leave. Read some of his reflections below, and the rest of his story here.

While working at the work site, I was shocked when I realized that the work was actually really heavy and difficult for me, it was something that I’ve never done before and it was also something I wasn’t really used to doing. I couldn’t understand how the villagers could push heavy wheelbarrows full of cement and actually be able to run while they were pushing it. I was amazed how women were able to carry a heavy object on their head without struggling meanwhile they were also carrying their young child on their backs.

As the days passed, I was getting used to the hard labor and the community, I felt glad that I went because it not then I wouldn’t have had the chance to experience something  new in my life, to experience a new culture and to interact with a different community.