Jun 3, 2007

Crystal Springs Uplands student headed to Brazil

Teen going to South America to help the poor

By Mark Abramson / Daily News Staff Writer

A student at Hillsborough's Crystal Springs Uplands School is heading to Brazil this summer -- but she won't be doing much sightseeing or soaking up the sun on the beach.

Ariane Fisher, 17, of Portola Valley, is traveling to South America with the Santa Monica-based Global Leadership Adventures group from July 15 to Aug. 4, to continue her volunteer work helping impoverished Brazilians who live in shantytowns known as favelas.

While in the northeastern coastal city of Forteleza, she will volunteer at an after-school center for poor children, learn about the culture, take Portuguese classes and possibly help build a playground, officials with Global Leadership Adventures said. She will be one of 35 students from around the world participating in the program.

"We are giving the kids a crash course on global issues and letting them have an experience volunteering abroad," said Andrew Motiwalla, the group's executive director.

But volunteering overseas is old hat to the high school junior. Fisher said she has helped build a community center in an Ecuadorian village and has done volunteer work in China and Thailand. Her family is footing the $4,395 bill for the Brazil trip.

"It's community service," Fisher said. "I personally enjoy learning about other cultures. I'm not the kind of person who likes to sit around, and I will learn so much more about the country. I like to be hands-on."

The price of the trip was set to cover expenses such as insurance; teacher stipends; and meetings with dignitaries, including a former Brazilian congressman. The cost also will cover travel within the country. If someone can't afford the price, Global Leadership offers financial assistance, Motiwalla said.

"It is more than just going to the country and doing volunteer work," Motiwalla said.

Fisher learned about the Brazil program after she and some of her classmates organized a "Global Action Club" with the help of the San Francisco-based nonprofit, Youth Philanthropy Worldwide: New Global Citizens.

The Crystal Springs Uplands School students' club is one of 20 such groups in Northern California that New Global Citizens has helped organize to assist grass-roots causes around the world.

The club has almost reached its goal of raising $5,000 for Luta Pela Paz, a program that teaches children in a Rio de Janeiro the discipline of boxing, wrestling and other skills, in order to keep them out of gangs and away from street violence, Fisher said. Luta Pela Paz means "fight for peace" in Portuguese.

"All of us were attracted to Brazil because we are such big soccer fans, but what we really liked is that it is such a unique program," Fisher said about Luta Pela Paz. "We felt like it has a potential for a lot of success.

"I hope I can bring back some first-hand experience. If I can talk about what I did, then I can get more kids interested," Fisher said.

"This is part of a wider movement that is spreading to other places in the country," said Ouida Chichester, program officer for New Global Citizens. "It is the beginning of nationwide movement of young people who want to take action on global issues."


E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.