Hayley Milliman is an accomplished student in her second year of university. A member of Amnesty International and Habitat for Humanity, Hayley’s interest in global and community service developed years ago. In 2007, Hayley took a trip with BuildOn (formerly known as Building with Books) to Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world. For sixteen days, Hayley Milliman and her team lived in a village called Banko and built a school that children and adults in the surrounding area could attend. This school consisted of three classrooms, blackboards, books, and supplies.
In her own words, here is more of Hayley’s adventure:
“A typical day consisted of two main parts. We’d wake up in the morning and have a communal breakfast which consisted of “rice porridge” (basically white rice in water). We’d try to add chocolate powder or sugar to make it taste a little better. Then, our group split in two. Half of us would go to work on the school. They would do tasks such as mixing cement from scratch to make bricks, packing the bricks, moving the bricks, digging trenches, sifting sand, bringing water from the well, etc. The other half would have a cultural activity to learn more about the society. We met with the councils who ran the villages and heard about their lives. We also saw women making clothes, saw the village gardens, and even saw some crocodile homes! Then, we’d meet for lunch (which was mostly more rice with a type of sauce) and then the groups would switch roles after lunch. After the afternoon shift, we’d have dinner (more rice!) and then hang out with our host families in the evening. We brought them games and toys to play with. We also tried to help out with chores.
It’s hard to explain in words what I got this experience. It completely changed my life. I think about my time in Banko every single day and I hope to go back. There is an inexplicable joy and meaning in changing people’s lives while living with them. While it’s really great to donate money from home, it’s a totally different experience to go to another country and see the fruits of your labor. Our group impacted the lives of that village forever and they impacted ours as well.
Now, I’m busy balancing college and work. I’m a member of Amnesty International and Habitat for Humanity. I hope to embark on an alternative spring break trip this year to a location in the US. After I graduate from school, I plan on applying to ‘Teach for America’, as well. I really believe that every person can make a difference. Every little bit of help counts!
As a parting, funny anecdote: We had a day off from work during one of the weeks. Our translators wanted us to see the local market that all the villages brought their goods to. They told us it was a short walk to the site. It ended up being nine miles away! By the time we got there, we had to turn around so we wouldn’t get lost in the dark. Luckily, the market had a stand with cold waters so we were able to hydrate ourselves before turning around. It was definitely not the easy day off we thought it would be!” –Hayley Milliman
Hayley’s experience is a wonderful example of how you can change the world. As she said, donating money is one way to help, but the real experience and impact comes from getting involved and immersed in the project.
It’s not just about encouraging change, but making change.
Jessie Ampofo
Blog Writer 2009-2010, Change Tomorrow’s World
