THE ROAD TO ROCHA


ALUMNI REVISIT NICARAGUAN COMMUNITY TO CONTINUE SERVICE PROJECT T


en years ago, Sara McGue ’07, then a non- traditional history major, couldn’t pass up a chance to take part in an archaeological dig in Central America. That one trip changed her world view and ultimately her life.


“This trip allowed me to look outside of myself and take a more humanitarian understanding of the world. It impacted the way I’ve educated my students within my classroom as well as my two sons,” said McGue. The former teacher and education consultant discovered her passion for helping at-risk students during this journey abroad – and she’s not alone.


Indeed, what began as a one-time service-learning trip for Professor of History Ginger Williams and her students has expanded into a long-term outreach program for the small, impoverished Nicaraguan community of Rocha and the people involved in the Rocha Project. Over the summer, Williams and seven Winthrop alumni — all part of the initial trip to Guatemala and Nicaragua — returned to Rocha to revisit the community, reconnect with its residents and view the dramatic changes that have taken place.


“We want to reconnect our alumni to Winthrop and something valuable they did during their time here as well as inspire people to contribute to future projects in Rocha,” said Williams. “Service-learning has informed these graduates’ lives, and it does play a major role in how they live their lives today.”


Since 2007, when Williams led the first trip to Rocha, the project has continued to assist the residents in rebuilding the community ravaged by civil war in the 1980s. In the project’s early years, Williams helped raise money to build


the Winthrop School, a one-room schoolhouse, for Rocha’s children, and provide much-needed school supplies. In addition, the Rocha Project has provided a dental clinic for residents; planted two community gardens; offered English lessons; reconstructed deteriorated roadways; and, in the last four years, constructed a new water system and 30 latrines.


Each service project has had a dramatic impact that reaches far beyond Rocha’s borders, noted Williams. For Elizabeth Folkens Dinndorf ’07, seeing the Winthrop School bustling with students eager to learn demonstrates the importance of sharing education with the world.


“Every child deserves the chance to receive an education, but we often forget the privilege that we in the U.S. have to go to school. As a society that understands the value of knowledge, we should help spread the chance to receive that power,” said Dinndorf.


Adam Hypes ’05, ’07, an academic advisor at Central Piedmont Community College, said that he plans to stay involved with the Rocha Project in his professional and personal life.


“The Rocha Project has been beneficial for the hundreds of children who have gone to the school as well as every single person who has participated in this project. I plan to continue to fundraise, work with local businesses for donations, donate personally and travel to Nicaragua when possible,” said Hypes. “Nicaragua has a special place in my heart.”


To learn more about or contribute to the Rocha Project, contact Williams at williamsv@winthrop.edu or 803/323-4680.


Students in Rocha gathered in the Winthrop School, a one-room schoolhouse built with funds raised by Williams.


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History Professor Ginger Williams took seven Winthrop alumni on a return trip to Rocha, Nicaragua, to see the progress made since the Rocha Project began in 2007.


The residents of Rocha attended a community meeting.


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