Ashland Resident Takes Trip of a Lifetime
By Matthew S. Tota/TAB Correspondent
Ashland -- During a trip in January to Veracruz, Mexico, Hugh McIntyre, an Ashland resident, didn’t spend his time as one normally would in a tropical location.
Rather than kicking back on a hammock, sipping some beer and learning to surf, the 21-year-old rebuilt a home for a poverty-stricken family, painted orphanages and gave young students scholarships that will help keep them in school.
And McIntyre, a senior marketing major at Lasell College, could not have been happier.
“It was my first trip out of the country,” said McIntyre, an Ashland High graduate. “It was not a resort. I loved that my first experience was not that. I could not even imagine going on a cruise. I wanted to see the real Mexico.”
More importantly, McIntyre wanted to help. So when he first heard about Ninos de Veracruz, a non-profit organization founded 10 years ago by Lasell students, he immediately joined. Every year, the group, consisting of nine or 10 students and two professors, travels to Coatepec and Orizaba, cities in Veracruz.
The group spent one week in Coatepec, where, McIntyre said, they worked with a family in one of the local communities living in particularly dire circumstances.
The students tore the family’s ramshackle house down, which McIntyre said was made with walls of trash, and built them a new one.
“[The family] didn’t have a floor and their ceiling leaked,” he said.
For assistance, the students hired day laborers. And McIntyre added local villagers often joined in the rebuilding process, making it a complete community effort.
At the end of the first week in Coatepec, the group gave out $200 scholarships to local sixth graders, selected by their teachers. McIntyre said even though education for the children is free, the money goes a long way. He said families there cannot afford the extras like uniforms, books and supplies.
“Just by giving them the scholarships, [we] give them a chance to continue with their education,” he said.
Some of the students who received scholarships in the past have gone on to college.
“They now come back and help us build or setup fundraisers; it’s a multiplying effect,” he added.
For the second week, the group traveled to Orizaba. There they trekked to an orphanage in need of renovations and the students repaired and painted it.
McIntyre said the second week was more spread out, giving him an opportunity to take in his surroundings and reflect on the poverty he saw each day.
“The [homes] that we saw were usually one or two rooms,” said McIntyre. “They were made of cardboard boxes and tarps, things you could find in a dump.”
While on the trip, McIntyre bunked with two separate foster families. Despite a language barrier, he bonded with the families, and soon they were as close to him as his own.
“We could barely communicate, but somehow, I had better conversations with them than I have with people at home,” he said.
McIntyre said he still keeps in touch with one of the families, and they are now Facebook friends.
One image that will stick in McIntyre’s mind forever is that of a young girl he met while touring one of the poorer villages. He remembered playing with the girl, using a toy ball, and discovering later that she was severely ill.
“We found out that she was sick,” he said. “The family did not have money to help her.”
At that moment, McIntyre had to pause and take a step back.
He does not see himself starting his own non-profit organization; but he wants to work for one, raising money needed to continue helping. And he hopes to return to Mexico next year.
“It was a life-changing experience,” he said.
Click here for the original article.
Ashland -- During a trip in January to Veracruz, Mexico, Hugh McIntyre, an Ashland resident, didn’t spend his time as one normally would in a tropical location.
Rather than kicking back on a hammock, sipping some beer and learning to surf, the 21-year-old rebuilt a home for a poverty-stricken family, painted orphanages and gave young students scholarships that will help keep them in school.
And McIntyre, a senior marketing major at Lasell College, could not have been happier.
“It was my first trip out of the country,” said McIntyre, an Ashland High graduate. “It was not a resort. I loved that my first experience was not that. I could not even imagine going on a cruise. I wanted to see the real Mexico.”
More importantly, McIntyre wanted to help. So when he first heard about Ninos de Veracruz, a non-profit organization founded 10 years ago by Lasell students, he immediately joined. Every year, the group, consisting of nine or 10 students and two professors, travels to Coatepec and Orizaba, cities in Veracruz.
The group spent one week in Coatepec, where, McIntyre said, they worked with a family in one of the local communities living in particularly dire circumstances.
The students tore the family’s ramshackle house down, which McIntyre said was made with walls of trash, and built them a new one.
“[The family] didn’t have a floor and their ceiling leaked,” he said.
For assistance, the students hired day laborers. And McIntyre added local villagers often joined in the rebuilding process, making it a complete community effort.
At the end of the first week in Coatepec, the group gave out $200 scholarships to local sixth graders, selected by their teachers. McIntyre said even though education for the children is free, the money goes a long way. He said families there cannot afford the extras like uniforms, books and supplies.
“Just by giving them the scholarships, [we] give them a chance to continue with their education,” he said.
Some of the students who received scholarships in the past have gone on to college.
“They now come back and help us build or setup fundraisers; it’s a multiplying effect,” he added.
For the second week, the group traveled to Orizaba. There they trekked to an orphanage in need of renovations and the students repaired and painted it.
McIntyre said the second week was more spread out, giving him an opportunity to take in his surroundings and reflect on the poverty he saw each day.
“The [homes] that we saw were usually one or two rooms,” said McIntyre. “They were made of cardboard boxes and tarps, things you could find in a dump.”
While on the trip, McIntyre bunked with two separate foster families. Despite a language barrier, he bonded with the families, and soon they were as close to him as his own.
“We could barely communicate, but somehow, I had better conversations with them than I have with people at home,” he said.
McIntyre said he still keeps in touch with one of the families, and they are now Facebook friends.
One image that will stick in McIntyre’s mind forever is that of a young girl he met while touring one of the poorer villages. He remembered playing with the girl, using a toy ball, and discovering later that she was severely ill.
“We found out that she was sick,” he said. “The family did not have money to help her.”
At that moment, McIntyre had to pause and take a step back.
He does not see himself starting his own non-profit organization; but he wants to work for one, raising money needed to continue helping. And he hopes to return to Mexico next year.
“It was a life-changing experience,” he said.
Click here for the original article.