I love them so much I’m going again!!

Last summer I heard a friend talk about the work she was doing to help build a library in a small Mayan community in the Yucatán. Curious, I reached out to her and she told me more about Village Book Builders, which was then a fairly new humanitarian organization. I loved what I heard and ended up signing up for that trip. 4 months later I boarded a plane with 20 other very excited volunteers. Our group was a mix of college students, working professionals, teenagers, and even a few families with young children came along. There were volunteers from the US, Canada, and Mexico with us, all with something unique and important to offer the establishment of the 2 libraries we would build over the next week and a half.
I loved my experience with Village Book Builders because it had a real focus on building a lasting relationship with the community we were serving. As I taught art classes, painted the library and met the community, I came to learn that VBB had been working with leaders of these Mayan communities for over a year to get the community ready to have this library. Thus really gave the community lasting ownership over the library and it was amazing to see how involved the parents of school-aged children were in setting up the library.
I had an amazing experience with Village Book Builders. It’s really important to me that I serve with organizations that make a positive lasting impact, and who empower the people they are serving. Village Book Builders does both of these things. As a result, I’ve continued to stay involved with VBB this past year, even with demanding work and school schedules and plan to do two more trips with them in the coming year. It was an unforgettable experience. I highly recommend going on a trip if lasting change and adventure are important to you.