The average high school summer goes by in a whirlwind of friends, jobs and camps. For junior Cerena Karmaliani, however, this summer presented her with a unique opportunity: the chance to volunteer with a program called Global Encounters that specializes in international missions and aid.
There were several factors that encouraged Karmaliani to apply to the program. “The mission statement aligns with a lot of the things I’ve been looking at.” She pointed out its focus on leadership and its value of understanding different perspectives. “It’s a really good chance to meet people from all over the world and then while doing it, do something to give back to a local community which you could take back and do back at home. I’m really into service learning, and then a lot of their service projects have to do with the youth, which is something I’m very interested in,” she said.
The mission Karmaliani participated in was based in Mombasa, a coastal city in southeast Kenya, where she and fellow high school attendees from over 23 countries stayed at a boarding school. Karmaliani’s work there was specific, as each attendee was assigned to a different project. Karmaliani ended up at Port Reitz school.
“My group in particular got assigned a school in Mombasa. It was an integrated school for disabled and non-disabled youth, meaning that the curriculum and stuff like that should be able to work for both groups,” she explained. “So my job was to work specifically in a third-grade classroom with a teacher…for a total of two weeks, approximately three hours a day…And for those two weeks, we refined the curriculum to make it more inclusive.” Refining the curriculum was a multi-step process. Karmaliani and her group looked through the books provided to the school, interviewed students about their school experience, and demonstrated handwashing and other methods of accessible hygine for them.
This wasn’t the first time Karmaliani had spent time with children. Previously, she had worked in an early childhood setting that provided her with useful experience. “I think a valuable lesson when interacting with anyone – but especially kids – is that you [sic] are impressionable and that you set an example, as well as [that] you can be in a position of power but you are also there to learn from the kids who also have valuable experiences and perspectives.”
Karmaliani’s favorite part of the program was the people she got to spend time with. “So I think getting to build relationships was probably my favorite part, whether that be in the school or with the people I went to camp with,” she said. Karmaliani and her group spent time with the young students, worked with outside organizations to supply materials to build water-resistant classroom shelving, and acquired moveable rugs for the kids in order to make the classroom a safe and conducive environment for children to learn regardless of their ability.
Karmaliani learned plenty from the experience: “One thing that I really took away from this is that when you want to make a difference, you want to have open communication and build relationships first. I think getting to be with that one teacher for two weeks before I did anything to help really helped put things in perspective of, like, what can actually make a difference and making sure it’s long-term and sustainable.”
Additionally, she learned the importance of keeping an open mind when making connections, especially with people from different backgrounds. “I think keeping [communities in mind] was like an eye-opening thing for me. I talk very fast, [so I was] being more conscious of the speed of my English because English was not a first language, and being conscious of the way I dress because of cultural norms too – like, that was such a cool thing and I think it’s something I should bring into life. To just be aware of your surroundings.”

One valuable takeaway for Karmaliani? Recognizing her own learning privilege. “I learned to make the most of what I have,” she said. The experience gave Karmaliani greater appreciation for the educational advantages she grew up with in contrast with the children she was assisting and the far less affluent environment they were growing up in. “That was a lot. It was very humbling,” she said. At a private school like SPA, all students have a degree of privilege when it comes to education. It’s important for students to recognize the privilege they possess and, like Karmaliani, use that privilege for a good cause.
One particular example stood out to Karmaliani – her interactions with a nonverbal boy. “He was one of the smartest kids I’ve ever met. And so I was like, oh, I should help this kid with, like, figuring out ways to communicate because that’s what I’m here for. But he had his own system. He had, like, four or five bracelets on one arm to convey how he was feeling and he would point to them [to tell you how he was doing]. He had a bracelet on his other arm with his name… And then he was really good at math. He was an amazing artist. He just didn’t speak. And so I came in with this, like, mentality that I’m here to contribute to this person. Well, this person contributed a lot more and really didn’t need my help.”
Karmaliani may have gone to volunteer to help others, but it turned out that she learned just as much from them as they did from her.