By Brian Kaiserman
Staff Writer
While most Mira Costa students spend their summer vacations relaxing, Costa sophomore Geena Radville is taking off to more exotic places, like the Dominican Republic, in search of community service to aid the less fortunate.
For the past two years, Radville has been working with a charity group called Rustic Pathways to improve poor villages across the globe through community service across the globe. The organization sends volunteers over the age of 12 to different countries to complete community service work. The trips involve labor including everything from teaching children to working on construction.
“It is always great to get out of ‘the bubble’ and actually experience poverty instead of reading about it in a book,” Radville said. “The people who live there never have much to give, yet they always contribute everything they can.”
Radville will be traveling to the islands of Fiji this summer for 60 hours of community service. Despite large monetary fees, the trip is worth it in order to help give back to impoverished communities, Radville said. The main focus of the trip is improving education, infrastructure and economic development, in addition to working with the local people to help their community gain easier access to water.
“I’m most excited to build infrastructures for the locals because I am passionate about helping the financially unstable locals,” Radville said. “While I am unsure exactly what I’m working on during the week, I am still really excited to help work like the locals in Fiji.”
Aside from building infrastructure, Radville will become accustomed to the Fijian culture from the local Rustic Pathways staff and native people. She will learn Fijian dances and how to cook a Fijian meal. Radville will also tutor underprivileged students at a local school.
“It is important to be exposed to cultures that aren’t your own since it makes you more well rounded,” Radville said. “On top of being well rounded, it helps to make sure that you are not as ignorant to the world around you and your privileges in Manhattan Beach.”
Last summer, Radville traveled to the Dominican Republic and helped to build an aqueduct and a black water treatment facility because many people who live in the Dominican Republic do not have access to fresh water. Additionally, Radville met the girl she has sponsored for her whole life named Genesis. Radville sends Genesis monetary donations so she can buy supplies that help her live in the Dominican Republic.
“Since my family has been sponsoring Genesis since before I was even born, it makes me have an especially strong connection with her,” Radville said. “On top of the travelling, it is nice to know I made a direct difference in her quality of life.”
While she was in the Dominican Republic, Radville stayed in Jarabacoa and commuted 30 minutes to Manabao every day to create the facilities. To help create the aqueduct, Radville dug ditches where pipes were placed in. To create the black water treatment facility, Radville hand-made cement that was laid on the uneven ground to help create a base.
“I found it very interesting to see the people in the community stop their jobs or whatever they were doing to help us create the aqueduct or make the cement,” Radville said. “The highlight of the work in the Dominican Republic was when these young kids would come over with their small radios and dance with us.”
The trip to the Dominican Republic has impacted Radville in terms of how she views how priviledged her life in Manhattan Beach is, Radville said. Smaller things such as running water and a roof above her head seem like a really large blessing when she used to not be grateful for it, she said.
“Rustic Pathways has helped me realize that I am capable of helping the people in different communities,” Radville said. “The organization has been an awesome experience, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to participate.”
Radville plans to continue her volunteer experiences after high school by attending college and getting a medical doctorate degree. Additionally, she hopes to continue her work through Doctors Without Borders, an organization that helps people around the world who have recently gone through a disaster in third-world countries.
“While I was helping out, I saw this kid who had an allergic reaction, but he did not know how to treat it,” Radville said. “Seeing that really impacted how I viewed life and even further ensured my passion for community service,” Radville said. “I have wanted to be a doctor since I was about five years old, but Rustic Pathways even further enforced this passion.”
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