|  | | A BwB member on Trek in Mali, Africa. |
Through the Trek for Knowledge, Building with Books offers American high school students in current BwB programs the opportunity to experience rural life in a developing country through travel to a BwB school construction site. Once there, students live in the village and work alongside villagers to build their new school. Students also learn about local language and culture during their weeklong stay.
About the Trek for Knowledge
BwB's Trek for Knowledge has three objectives for participants:
- Help construct a BwB school in a developing country
- Cultural immersion
- Share the knowledge gained upon return to the U.S.
BwB's Trek for Knowledge is offered to freshman, sophomore and junior high school students actively involved in their school's BwB after-school program.
Click here for a list of schools that currently host BwB programs.
Three Treks are offered each year to BwB international project sites;
currently Treks travel to Malawi, Mali and Nicaragua.
The Treks take place during breaks from school - winter and spring breaks and summer vacation. Each Trek includes two travel days and thirteen days in country. BwB students apply and are chosen to go on Trek through their school's BwB program. Each Trek group consists of about sixteen high school students accompanied by two BwB staff members.
One or two BwB members from each school in a BwB region is chosen to go, giving students the opportunity to make connections with other students from their area that they might not otherwise meet.
All expenses are paid by BwB through generous donations by our supporters. Upon returning to their own school after Trek, each participant is required to prepare and deliver eight presentations describing their experiences to fellow students, teachers, and others in their community. If you are interested in going on a Trek for Knowledge but do not attend a school with a BwB program, please read about our "Donor Trek for Knowledge" opportunities by clicking here. Since 1999, more than 500 U.S. high school students and teachers have participated in a BwB Trek for Knowledge.
2008 Trek Schedule - February - four groups of students from New York, Connecticut & Michigan
- March - three groups of students from Pennsylvania, Illinois & California
- June - four groups of students from Michigan, Connecticut, California & Pennsylvania
- July - one group of students from Connecticut & New York
Student Voices: Trek Talk!
Click below to read essays by BwB members after returning from Trek.
- Braulio Acuria, Bronx, NY, went to Malawi
- Amanda Pertierra, New Canaan, CT, went to Nicaragua
Donor Treks for Knowledge BwB's Trek for Knowledge program is available for students currently involved in their school's BwB after-schoolprogram in six major U.S. regions. For those not in the after-school program, BwB offers a "Donor" Trek for Knowledge. The Donor Trek for Knowledge offers the opportunity for groups of people to raise money to build a school in a rural village in a developing country and travel to that village to help build it. It is similar to the offered to BwB students except that donor raise money to fund the building of the schooland pay for their own travel to the country. Click here to learn more about Donor Treks.
Trek Country Profiles
Frequently Asked Questions:
Mali Trek
Nicaragua Trek
Past Trek for Knowledge Sites American high school students in BwB programs have traveled around the world to help people build schools in their communities. Click here to read about past BwB Treks.
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