PANORAMA SERVICE EXPEDITIONS, INC.
MIAMI, FLORIDA

“Changing the world, one break at a time,” is the mission of alternative Breaks, FIU’s largest, year-round, service-learning program offered by Student Affairs’ Center for Leadership and Service. Close to 160 FIU students will spend their time helping others through their participation in FIU’s Alternative Spring Break program. Panorama is one of the greatest international partners I have EVER worked with. There model is both sustainable and ethical. Our students felt empowered as partners with the community. Panorama does an excellent job of making sure that the students understand the great strengths and assets of the community. I would recommend them to any institution wanting to serve in truly a powerful and empowering way! When our plane landed in Nicaragua, each student had their own expectations of what our community development project would entail. We needed to work with limited time and resources to create a sustainable library system at Instituto Diocesano de Monte Tabor and we welcomed the challenge. The students and teachers cheerfully accommodated our team and offered their help along the way. I remember every student’s name (that I met and understood) and the impression they left on me. Their kindness and unique characters were refreshing and although I went to Nicaragua to help them, they helped me even more. Since I've returned to Miami I have made changes to my life to incorporate more community service, send donations to Nicaragua, and spending less money on things that aren't important. I hope the school continues to grow, the students and community deserve it! On July 13, 2015 I boarded a plane bound for Managua, Nicaragua. As part a service learning trip to help the community members of Santa Julia become more sustainable and help change the way they live, I was not sure what to expect, but I knew I wanted to help these poor people. The landscape, weather, and even the smell of the air I Santa Julia was beautiful, but we were there to plant coffee plants that had been wiped out in the drought of 2014. We worked hand in hand and side by side with the community and planted 3, 500 coffee plants on the side on steep mountains in the jungle. This was some of the hardest work I have done, yet the most rewarding. I went to help people in need and was taught so much, about how blessed I am and how important friends, family, and community are. Today my "morning coffee" is a time to be grateful for what I have and how I can do more to help others. “Changing the world, one break at a time,” is the mission of alternative Breaks, FIU’s largest, year-round, service-learning program offered by Student Affairs’ Center for Leadership and Service. Close to 160 FIU students will spend their time helping others through their participation in FIU’s Alternative Spring Break program. Panorama is one of the greatest international partners I have EVER worked with. There model is both sustainable and ethical. Our students felt empowered as partners with the community. Panorama does an excellent job of making sure that the students understand the great strengths and assets of the community. I would recommend them to any institution wanting to serve in truly a powerful and empowering way! When our plane landed in Nicaragua, each student had their own expectations of what our community development project would entail. We needed to work with limited time and resources to create a sustainable library system at Instituto Diocesano de Monte Tabor and we welcomed the challenge. The students and teachers cheerfully accommodated our team and offered their help along the way. I remember every student’s name (that I met and understood) and the impression they left on me. Their kindness and unique characters were refreshing and although I went to Nicaragua to help them, they helped me even more. Since I've returned to Miami I have made changes to my life to incorporate more community service, send donations to Nicaragua, and spending less money on things that aren't important. I hope the school continues to grow, the students and community deserve it! On July 13, 2015 I boarded a plane bound for Managua, Nicaragua. As part a service learning trip to help the community members of Santa Julia become more sustainable and help change the way they live, I was not sure what to expect, but I knew I wanted to help these poor people. The landscape, weather, and even the smell of the air I Santa Julia was beautiful, but we were there to plant coffee plants that had been wiped out in the drought of 2014. We worked hand in hand and side by side with the community and planted 3, 500 coffee plants on the side on steep mountains in the jungle. This was some of the hardest work I have done, yet the most rewarding. I went to help people in need and was taught so much, about how blessed I am and how important friends, family, and community are. Today my "morning coffee" is a time to be grateful for what I have and how I can do more to help others. Panorama Service Expeditions (PSE) is a nonprofit organization focused on grassroots sustainable social and economic development projects in Nicaragua. To achieve this, we develop short and long-term development goals and projects with the community, and we integrate each service group into these ongoing PSE community projects.