Better Lives hosts trips for students to experience service work, cultural exchange, development activities and discovery. We do this because we believe citizens and leaders with global understanding will help build a better world. Students get the opportunity to work alongside community members abroad, develop global citizenship and leadership skills, and expand their creativity.
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Who We Are
We are an community development organization that facilitates “communities helping communities.” Our coordinators collaborate with local partners who in turn collaborate with families to facilitate life improvement initiatives and host student groups.
Coordinators
Better Lives coordinators work closely with both your school trip leader and our local partners to design a trip that meets your objectives and has a meaningful impact on local families.
Local Partners
Local partners coordinate with families to plan immersive opportunities for service, education, and discovery. From village goat roasts and traditional dancing to building organic vegetable gardens, our partners arrange opportunities you won’t find with traditional travel companies.
Families
Families prepare themselves to work shoulder-to-shoulder with visiting student groups and are present throughout the service part of your trip. Visiting students enjoy meeting and collaborating with families.
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Why We Host
We create trips that are enjoyable, encouraging, and beneficial for all involved. Visiting students represent their own communities to the local families they visit. They also provide memorable training opportunities to families and learn how families are improving their lives.
Mutual Benefit
Better Lives hosts student groups because we believe in “Communities Helping Communities.” Student trips are mutually beneficial for visiting students and local communities. Ultimately, mutual understanding and respect lead to a safer, more prosperous world.
Knowledge Sharing
We create opportunities for knowledge sharing between students and local communities. Students learn leadership practices like Plan, Do, Check, Act from our local partners. In turn, they create events to teach procedures to community members. For example, visiting students may teach local students safe hand-washing procedures.
Project Support
Visiting students contribute time, energy, and funding towards productive assets. These assets move our partners and the communities they work in towards sustainable self-reliance. The groups’ arrival is a special event in the community and provides a unique opportunity to build community support for a project in a memorable way.
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Where We Host
Better Lives currently facilitates trips to visit partner communities in East Africa and Southeast Asia. We are working to start collaborations with communities in Central and South America. Current opportunities include:
Africa
Tanzania
Mount Kilimanjaro with Lishe Bora
Utete with KCM Success Group
Kahe with Tupendane
Uganda
Kikondo with Wamukisa
Asia
Cambodia
Battambang with Healthy Life Reinforcement
Siem Reap with Peaksneng Thormacheat
