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"Nothing could have prepared us for what we experienced."
"I can't even express in words how much this trip has changed my life. I learned about them, the project, and myself." These are just a few of the comments from participants in an Alternative Spring Break (ASB) that took twenty undergraduate students, two graduate assistants, and one professor from Florida International University to Thailand to work at one of two sites: a day camp at an elementary school in the Kloy Toey slum district of Bangkok and a state-of-the-art campus of the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women (APSW). Natalia Sturla, Vanessa Fernandez, and Neri Martinez, all members of the International Business Honor Society (IBHS), were among the travelers, as was Robert Hogner ("Dr. Bob"), associate professor of management and international business and coordinator of the College's Civic Engagement Initiative. Sturla served as project leader for the trip. She was heavily involved in the stateside planning and continued to coordinate logistics while the group was in Thailand. Most of her time was spent at Unity Camp with the majority of the students from the College. Teams worked with approximately sixty students in three age groups: five to seven, eight to ten, and eleven to fifteen or so. Activities varied, from coloring and singing among the youngest, to learning English and playing soccer for the older children.
The Unity Camp project was conducted in conjunction with a new College partner: the International BBA Program (and its ToCUsmile Service Club, founded in October 2004) at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University (Chula), the country's premier university. ToCUsmile founder Ketsiree Danpaiboon, a senior, was Sturla's counterpart in Thailand. "Because Chula's spring break did not overlap with Florida International University's, students from our club were not able to be at the camp all day, every day," Danpaiboon said. However, six to eight Chula students did attend daily, serving as translators and providing logistical support. Many of them had not been in the district before and found it as difficult an experience as the Americans did. "The extent of poverty was distressing, as was the pollution," Sturla said. "But even though the area was very poor, the children were proud to take us to their homes." Fernandez, who helped Sturla coordinate the trip, had said that she would never tackle such a huge project again. Yet, by the flight home, she had already changed her mind. "I told Dr. Bob I wouldn't mind doing it next year," she said. "We knew we would see poverty but nothing can get you ready for the emotional parts, such as leaving. Now we can show the next group what we did, what supplies to take, and how to be better prepared."
"Despite the fact that we couldn't bond in English, we developed very strong feelings," Fernandez said. "The children had learned some basic phrases and ran after us as we left, putting their hands on the windows of our vehicle and calling out 'See you again.'" Neri Martinez was one of three students who worked at the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women (APSW), an organization committed to gender equality and to helping women become integrated into the workforce. "Working with women is a passion of mine," Martinez said. "APSW helps women who have been raped or sexually abused, or who have HIV or AIDS, learn vocational skills so they can overcome their problems and be reincorporated into society." The College's students cared for children in the nursery and also worked with administrators to help them develop sophisticated e-mail templates for guest house reservations.
For Martinez, the experience was important because it enabled her to see first-hand what an organization was doing about women's issues in another part of the world. "Gender equality does not exist in Thailand so it was valuable to see a well-run organization-one sponsored by the country's princess-working on the issue," she said. Dr. Bob was just as overwhelmed as the students. "We envisioned the ASB as a community service vehicle for developing the values associated with global citizenship and global social justice," he said. "We never could have anticipated the degree to which the trip could have met these goals. This was a life-transforming experience for all involved." For more information about the Civic Engagement Initiative, visit: http://business.fiu.edu/service/index.htm.
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"Now that I know what is out there, I want to dedicate my life to these people. I want to take our knowledge and resources and help others." 
The Unity Camp contingent returned with a four-foot by forty-foot banner with signed handprints of all the Thai children and staff at the camp and of the College and Chula participants. 
"Renting out rooms is one of the ways APSW raises funds," Martinez said. "Also, we began, and are continuing, another fund raising effort: a catalogue that will advertise the lovely embroidered items, such as pillow cases, shirts, and lingerie bags, made by the women who are at the campus. People abroad will be able to learn about these items and buy them online." 