Defining Service {lma}

Approximately 17 days ago, another DukeEngage student and I arrived at our volunteer site in a small village called California in Trinidad and Tobago. We learned that we would be working under the supervision of a retired female individual who, to my knowledge, is not affiliated with a government body, a nonprofit organization or any insitution connected to volunteer or service work. We have been completing the assignments she has assigned us in our homestay. In the span of approximately two weeks, we have finished approximately 8 interviews of community members she has arranged for us to speak with. To my knowledge, these interviews will be complied into a report that myself and another DukeEngage student will submit to her. It is unclear to me at this point who will read this report other than those affiliated with the DukeEngage program.

During our training for this project, in a three-day program known as DukeEngage academy, we were often asked to define “service.” Given the experiences of the past two weeks, if what we have been doing is to be called “service,” then I would define “service” as, “an arrangement by which one individual is utilized as a means to achieve the ends of another individual or individuals.”

To follow the experiences of the six students of this DukeEngage project, please visit http://devilsintrinidad.tumblr.com/. To follow my personal adventures and opinions, please visit http://lengagestrinidad.wordpress.com/.