Wow! Our students rock.

This year, the Alzar School led a group of students in Chile. While there, we enjoyed the amazing rivers and geography, but the students were mostly amazed by the warm people. They made great friendships with our Chilean students, instructors, and supporters.

On February 27th, Chile was rocked with a magnitude 8.8 earthquake, the 7th largest ever recorded. Over 500,000 people were left homeless, and 700 died as a result of the earthquake. Coastal towns were hit hard by tsunami waves that hit after the event. This was on the heels of the extremely devastating quake that hit Haiti and caused over 200,000 deaths. Because of the stability of Chile's government and the more modern building codes, Chile was able to survive the quake with fewer deaths. But the country was still reeling from the effects.

It was amazing to see our Alzar School students respond to the news. Before I had even woken on the 28th, our East Coast students were messaging us on Facebook to ask about our contacts there. They were also directly contacting the friends they met down there. And the theme that was repeated in all communications was "How can I help?"

Teenagers can make a difference in the world. That is one of the central beliefs of the Alzar School. We could have never anticipated an earthquake would rock Chile so soon after we left, but we spoke many times with our students about the chance for them to give back to the communities they belong to. When they learned the news, they jumped to action, putting their leadership training to use. Different ideas poured in from all over. Lizzy, from NC, organized an event called "Chili for Chile." She invited tons of friends over and raised awareness for the quake, bringing in over $100. Olivia, from Boise, collected supplies at her university. Other drives are still going on. In another week, Kristin and I will shuttle these supplies down to Chile and distribute them on behalf of the students.

We can only imagine what other projects these leaders will take on. We can't wait for the day when the Alzar School is full-time and has the ability to train these young leaders for months on end. We will be able to take an opportunity like this, and immerse the students in the process of impacting change on the world. With an even longer stint in a place like Chile, we are sure that they will grow an even deeper appreciation for the importance of being a global citizen, and will continue to respond to emergencies like the quake in Chile.