KNOXVILLE, TN (September 19, 2012) – A new leadership initiative through Covenant Merge Ministries will bring together 15 high school students with counterparts in a developing world nation.
Through the Global Student Leadership event, participants will engage in discussions and then develop sustainable projects that can be continued by the youth groups in the host countries, said Dale Lusk, executive director of Merge. “These students will learn from each others’ different perspectives on leadership.”
Trip organizers also will share about leadership but will act more as facilitators. Students will be given a budget with which to work in developing an outreach and will then implement the plan.
The organizers will have no say in what projects are done. “We don’t even want to give them ideas,” said Lusk. “Learning to come up with ideas and work within a budget is part of leadership.”
To further enrich the experience, students from North America will stay in the homes of the local youth groups, Lusk said.
“All the international youth groups are so excited about the whole leadership training,” said Lusk. Different sites will host the leadership opportunity each year.
The experience is open to students ages 15-19. Following are the sites that will host in 2013:
- Santiago, Dominican Republic, March 23-31
- La Villa de San Antonio, Honduras, June 8-16
- Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic, June 29-July 7
- San Luis Colorado, Mexico, July 6-14
- Tome, Chile, July 19-29
Lusk says additional information on the trips will be posted on the ministry’s website area. For more information or to download applications, click here. You may also email Lusk or Tanya Constanza.
