Though I’d been to Canada, I didn’t actually board a plane and travel abroad until I was in high school. My first trip was to London, England, to play with my high school band in the New Year’s Day parade. I followed that up with a three-week trip to Australia via a leadership program for high schoolers. With that, my love for international travel was a done deal.
I think introducing international travel to students when they are in middle and high school is incredibly important. The world is much bigger than our own backyard, and when students have the opportunity to learn about other people, places and cultures, their perspectives regarding what is important and what is real may change, often for the better.
This came to mind when I learned about Daraja, an international high school leadership program that caps enrollment at well under a dozen students. Daraja’s first trip is this year, when students will travel to Oaxaca, Mexico, for 16 days to partake in skill-building classes, social entrepreneurship and service learning development. I’m intrigued by the potential of Daraja, so I dropped Chris Breitenberg, the brainchild behind the organization, a few questions about what he hopes Daraja will accomplish and his own travel dreams as well.
1. Tell us about Daraja. Why do you believe programs like this one are important?
Daraja is the work of my heart. When I was 16, I took a trip to Mexico that changed my life forever. I met people who lived in a state of material suffering but who had spiritual joy. And I really saw myself, living with material wealth but in a state of spiritual suffering. The contrast was so stark. I had never been so far out of my own context before (growing up in central Jersey) that I had never had any perspective on life, the word, my own thoughts/feelings/actions.
