[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1498687025991{background-color: #f8f5ef !important;}”][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][vc_column_text]

The German International School of New York learned a thing or two about sustainability on their Squad Abroad experience in Costa Rica. Volunteering at Manos de Jesus elderly center provided an opportunity to relay messages of global health while contributing to a valuable hands-on project.

Earlier in the same month, the High School of Health Sciences worked at the same center building hydroponic garden beds, which would allow seniors in wheelchairs to not have to get down on the ground to access a bit of garden therapy. They worked hard to get them built before leaving, but ran out of time to get the planting started. That’s where GISNY came in! The student volunteers from GISNY took the beds that the other school had built and finished the project by adding the soil and planting the seeds, which will eventually turn into adult plants that the seniors can nurture, providing many mental health benefits to this partner program.

When taking a Squad Abroad, it’s important to remember that we are all part of a chain, working hard to secure our link, but feeling hopeful that when our time has come to a close, someone else will be there waiting to add their contribution to the chain of impact.

After a hard week of volunteering, the students and educators took a much-deserved field trip to the acclaimed Monteverde Cloud Forest where they enjoyed an exhilarating canopy walk and zipline adventure. Coming face to face with the wild natural side of Costa Rica was an unforgettable experience made all the more memorable with a double-rainbow finale![/vc_column_text][mk_gallery images=”486,482,485,483,484,487,491,490,493,492,488,489″ order=”DESC”][/vc_column][/vc_row]