JustWorks Service-Learning Trips

On this weeklong trip, participants will work with members of the Papaye Peasant Movement (MPP), a UUSC partner, on projects to help former Port-au-Prince residents build new lives in rural Haiti. Every morning, you will work with Haitian peasants to build new homes, construct food gardens from old tires, or contribute to other sustainability projects.

March 10 - 17, 2012 • This trip is fully booked
April 28 - May 5, 2012 • This trip is fully booked

In preparation for "Justice General Assembly" in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20–24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association's (UUA's) Faith Without Borders program (FWB), and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized three opportunities for service/learning trips to the U.S./Mexico border with our partner organization: BorderLinks. All Unitarian Universalists (over 16 years of age) are invited! Get more information.

April 20-23, 2012 • Application deadline: March 10
May 25-28, 2012 • Application deadline: April 10

To register contact Eric Cherry, echerry@uua.org, in the UUA's International Office.

This trip is a chance for donors to witness vital on-the-ground human-rights work and to meet African Unitarians. You will learn about the work of the Tanzania Gender Networking Program (TGNP), a UUSC environmental-justice partner, and be hosted by the Assemblée des Chrétiens Unitariens du Burundi/Assembly of Unitarian Christians of Burundi (ACUB), a UUA partner church. Read more.

May 19-29, 2012 • Reservation deadline: March 18 • Reserve now

For information contact csj@uusc.org or call Sam Jones at 617-301-4326.

UUSC is excited to announce the 2012 JustWorks: Civil Rights Journey, an inspiring youth trip that will take you to visit sites and people of significance in the U.S. civil-rights movement. The trip is specially tailored to young people, ages 15–20, with an interest in the history of justice work in the United States. Read more.

July 22-29, 2012 • Application deadline: March 11 • Apply now

For information contact csj@uusc.org or call Sam Jones at 617-301-4326.

This summer, a select group of youth will come together in Boston, Mass., for a week of skill building, reflection, and service learning. In an experience grounded in Unitarian Universalism, participants will learn about privilege, identity, and economic justice, and will leave with a supportive community and a deeper understanding of themselves and social justice. Read more.

July 7-14, 2012 • Application deadline: March 11 • Apply now

For information contact csj@uusc.org or call Sam Jones at 617-301-4326.

On these weeklong trips, participants worked with members of the Papaye Peasant Movement (MPP), a UUSC partner, on projects to help former Port-au-Prince residents build new lives in rural Haiti. Projects included working with Haitian peasants to build new homes, construct food gardens from old tires, and contribute to other sustainability projects in an ambitious eco-village.

Read more about the experience of this and other JustWorks trips.

The UUA and UUSC formed this special delegation of youth and young adults to work with populist leaders in Haiti and learn about the particular challenges facing rural residents in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.

Participants assisted the Papaye Peasant Movement (MPP), a UUSC partner, with an ambitious eco-village project, which will provide homes and livelihoods for Haitians displaced by the earthquake.

Read more about the experience of this and other JustWorks trips.

UUSC-UUA JustWorks Trip to Haiti for Seminarians
May 24–31, 2011

A collaborative UUSC-UUA JustWorks — a special trip for seminarians to the Central Plateau — kicked off the inaugural rebuilding project of UUSC's Haiti Volunteer Program. Seminarians worked alongside members of the Papaye Peasant Movement, a UUSC partner, to help construct homes in a sustainable eco-village project. The trip also included reflections and discussion on how service work and the shared experience in Haiti connect to the basic tenets of UU faith and ministry.

Read more about the experience of this and other JustWorks trips.

UUSC Medical Trips to Haiti
April 11–16 and May 15–20, 2011

Participants administered health care to Haitians in Port-au-Prince and the Central Plateau, in support of UUSC partners. In a variety of clinical settings, volunteers gave vaccinations, conducted overall health checkups, advised on the nutritional needs of patients, and offered family-planning and trauma-reduction workshops. Together with UUSC partners, they worked to build a stronger, healthier Haiti.

Read more about the experience of this and other JustWorks trips.

Uganda: Witness to a Return Home
November 4–16, 2010

Participants learned about UUSC's unique eye-to-eye partnership with Caritas Pader, which has empowered thousands of people to return to their villages and rebuild their lives after war. Participants also met with the UU Kampala congregation; talked with Ugandan leaders of the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people's rights; and visited the school and orphanage the Kampala congregation supports near Masaka.

Read more about the experience.

Guatemala JustJourney
Guatamala City, Rabinal, Plan de Sanchez, and Antigua, July 16–23, 2010

This powerful JustJourney experience honored the victims and survivors of one of the most infamous massacres of indigenous people by the Guatemalan Army. During a visit to Plan de Sanchez, the site of the 1982 massacre, participants learned how survivors sought justice and set precedent to hold the Guatemalan government accountable. JustJourneyers also met with UUSC partners the Maya Achi Association for the Integral Development of Victims of Violence (ADIVIMA), which works to combat injustice resulting from abuse by the Guatemalan government, and STITCH, a network of women organizing for economic justice.

Read more about the experience.

Freedom Summer: A Civil Rights Journey
Georgia and Alabama, July 10–17, 2010

This year, 24 people embarked on the seventh UUSC Freedom Summer: A Civil Rights Journey. Visiting sites of historical significance in the struggle for civil rights, they walked in the footsteps of great civil-rights activists and heard from some of those courageous figures themselves. They listened to the music and protest songs that helped bolster the strength of these history makers. In the end, participants were surprised, inspired, and moved.

Read more about the experience.