It doesn't take a meteorologist to see that Araruna is located in one of the driest regions in Brazil, and it doesn't take an economist to see that it is also in one of the poorest. In a city of roughly 20,000, the infrastructure is limited, investment is nonexistent, and the unemployment rate is extremely high.
At buildOn, we believe the power of our programs lie in the direct connection between U.S. inner-city students and community members in rural villages around the globe. While U.S. students work to rebuild their neighborhoods through service, villagers around the globe are contributing volunteer labor to build schools for their children. And through buildOn's Trek for Knowledge Program, these two seemingly different groups of people are joined together in one goal: to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education.
