MCDS trip to Nicaragua a huge success!

A group of fifteen families traveled to Leon, Nicaragua over Spring Break to take part in a variety of community service projects in the rural community of Goyena.  Children ages 7 to 16 and their parents participated in projects ranging from earth construction to classroom furniture building to environmental art.  Afternoons were spent touring the city of Leon with its many churches, museums and cultural sites, in addition to hiking, an afternoon at the beach and an afternoon swimming and relaxing at a horse farm.

The community service projects are part of an ongoing development plan by ViviendasLeon to support the community of Goyena in its effort to improve their standard of living.  Information on the work being done in the community can be found on our website, www.viviendasleon.org.  MCDS is already planning another family trip for next year!
Click here to view photos.

Current trips:

High School Student Trip, July 8 - 22, 2009.

Join students from around the Bay Area on a unique opportunity that combines travel with community service, cultural exchange and Spanish language immersion. Participate in an authentic rural development project, stay with a Nicaraguan host family in Leon and explore the cultural and eco-diversity of city and country, develop lasting friendships and have fun.

Click here to go to the sign up page and submit your information. We will contact you.

ViviendasLeon Alumni Trip, August 9-16, 2009.

If you have been on a trip in the past, come see everything we have accomplished! Join this group for one week, participate in our current projects and re-connect with communities in Leon.

Click here to go to the sign up page and submit your information. We will contact you

Marin Academy becomes a new Global Education partner!

Students from Marin Academy traveled to Leon for two weeks in July, 2008 to participate in the start of construction of a new community center in Goyena. They worked along side students from the University of San Francisco Architecture and Community Design department, as well as community members, to lay out and construct foundations.

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ViviendasLeon was thrilled to have a group of students and teachers travel to Leon from Sonoma Academy in Santa Rosa this January, 2008. The group participated in the completion of the rammed-earth pre-school we have been working on for the last two years. They built sidewalks, helped install doors and windows, and painted an incredible mural that covers the entire length of the school, designed by the group and children from the community entitled “The Rights of Children”. Click here to view photos.

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Our Summer 2007 delegation was the biggest group we have had to date! A total of 12 high school students from around the U.S. traveled with us in July to participate in our Rural Construction Program. They were an eclectic mix of motivated and interesting students. There were plenty of challenges, and I believe it is safe to say that each of them came away from the experience a changed person. Several faced first-hand the difficult realities of life, poverty and first-third world relations. They rose to the occasion and gave the experience their all, letting it happen organically and really trying to experience life outside of their comfort level.
To see photos from this trip click here
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ViviendasLeon is thrilled to bring its first school group to Leon from Drew School in San Francisco! There were 12 students and two teachers. We stayed with families in a neighborhood of Leon for 8 days. The project was to continue the construction of a preschool building in the rural community of Goyena. Everyone worked very hard and contributed so much to the project. They also had time to visit historic sites around Leon, hike the volcano Cerro Negro and spend an afternoon at the beach. Click here to see pictures of the trip.