On the second day of the conference, we headed out in small groups to spend the morning at primary schools. Arriving at the schools, we were greeted with smiling faces and warm hugs. We spent an hour with individual groups of ten children cutting out pictures from magazines and creating personal artwork for them to bring home. The boys enjoyed gluing pictures of motorbikes, while the girls had a blast adding glitter to the cutouts of dresses and models they had stuck onto their bags. It was great seeing their smiles as they held up their own unique pieces of art.

Once the classes were clean, we celebrated our visit with games, dances, and songs. There was a feeling of nostalgia as we sang the words to songs like “London Bridge” and played “Simon Says.” The children were fascinated by our cameras and asked us for group pictures. They were so excited to see their faces on a screen.

The memorable events of the morning were sadly coming to an end as the students from the primary school sang a few of their favorite songs from their culture. Hugs and kisses were offered when we said our last goodbyes. We felt a sense of community and warmth from the children and their smiles and affection. Although we did not leave having given a large sum of money or supplies to the schools, we look back on our visit with hope that the feeling was mutual.

That night, the Jump! Foundation led two hours of icebreakers and personal development activities. Not only did this allow us to meet a range of new people but it also taught us respect for other cultures and opinions. Those who were courageous stood up and voiced their points of view; their confidence was praised with a loud cheer by the delegates screaming “ROCKSTAR!”

The impact of the days memorable activities were recognized at the end of the trip, as almost all of us marked this day as one of the trip’s high points. — Sabrina Aberman ’13