My name is Mekaila Murray. I am serving as one of VISEDAL's summer interns for 2014! It is such a pleasure to be an intern here in Nicaragua. Before I begin my internship and let you all know what I am doing here, I wanted to introduce myself and share a little bit about who I am and what I am doing here.
On the bus with Ana heading to the Laguna
I am a rising Sophomore at Texas Christian University studying International Politics with a double minor in Spanish and Asian Studies. On my campus I am very involved where I play Ultimate Frisbee, am a part of the Chancellor's Leadership Committee, work with Habitat for Humanity, and have served on a panel for the Intercultural Students. My focus in school all deals with the international aspect of conflict resolution and non-profits. I have been on multiple trips to study other countries cultures and for missions trips. For example, I have been to Mexico, Jamaica, The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and now Nicaragua. I plan to study abroad my junior year and absolutely love traveling and love to learn. I believe that is one of the many things that attracts me to VISEDAL, is their love for the Nicaraguan people and their love for education amongst young people. I am also interested in VISEDAL for the reason that I want to see how an NGO is run and what it entails. I also have worked with kids for a majority of my life. I have served as a children's leader at my church and then a youth leader most recently. I love working with young people and serving them and supporting them in any way possible.
I first heard about VISEDAL at 'The Festival of The Trees' in Maryland, where Gary and Marianne Waugh were selling peppermint bark. I absolutely love peppermint bark but when they began to share with me what the proceeds were for I became extremely interested. I am here because I have a heart and passion for young people around the world. I believe in the power of education and the power of love for people but especially in the lives of young people. I wanted to become involved with VISEDAL because they are unlike any other organization. They focus on forming relationships with the 31 kids in their program rather than a one time visit to different places in Nicaragua. These kids are so incredible and so easy to love and when they see you come back that love is always there and is intensified the more and more they see you. I had the pleasure of coming on the Summer trip this year before I started my internship and was able to meet the kids and am so excited to work with them for a month! I am also already looking forward to coming back next summer as a volunteer to see them again! I am here for a month to continue to forge relationship with the kids. I look forward to the upcoming days and being able to be a part of their lives, love them, help them with english, encourage them about self esteem and self worth, and so much more.
I am so grateful and humbled to be given this incredible opportunity to work with such amazing kids and an amazing staff and organization. Until next time, Have a blessed day!
Soon,
Mekaila Murray
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