July 26-August 3, 2008: Making his third trip to the Islands to help Galapagos ICE, Paul Gunn of Tennessee led a group of seven volunteers who accomplished repairs and improvements to Delia Ibarra Elementary School in the highland town of Santa Rosa, Isla Santa Cruz, in addition to performing work on the Santa Rosa Community Center.
“Galapagos ICE gave us great opportunities to make a difference in a remote part of the world,” says Paul. “It is a privilege to serve with the organization.”
Among the volunteers in this group were five University of Tennessee – Knoxville students: John David Carver, David Flowers, Ashley Bowman, Molly Choate and Daniel Shedd. Also in the group were Molly’s father, Bill Choate, and Callie Palmer of Texas.
Daniel arrived in the Islands one month before the rest of the group, to teach English as a Second Language and accomplish school repairs. “The students taught me more than I could ever teach them,” he said of the experience. “I’m not done yet,” he added, expressing a wish to return next summer for more volunteer work.
During their stay, the volunteers constructed tables for the school, installed a large Spanish-language world map in the cafeteria, distributed donations of school bags filled with supplies, and conducted music lessons for students using donated musical instruments: 2 guitars, several recorders, and a large set of shakers and hand bells.
Callie and Molly are Special Education student teachers and both spent time visiting with special needs children during their visit. On Callie’s first trip volunteering with Galapagos ICE in 2007, she met a young girl with Down Syndrome named Genesis. On her return trip, she brought donations of books especially suited for Genesis’ developmental needs.
