Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - These days more and more people are given the opportunity to study abroad and experience other cultures through academic programs, sports events, music programs, or other events. Rarely do people decide to travel abroad to serve others who suffer from poverty and injustice. But from June 23 to Aug. 11, five University of Wisconsin-Platteville students will travel with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to Dhaka, Bangladesh to do exactly that.

Immersing themselves in another culture, the students will consider ministry to the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh's capital city. The group begins with a weeklong orientation in Los Angeles on June 23, after which they will travel to Dhaka. Once in Bangladesh they experience urban health care, education, urbanization, justice, ethnic conflict, and poverty. The objective of their trip is to walk alongside the poor in these cities and begin to understand how urban settings are transformed.

UWP students participating include Sarah Anderson, Jacob Crase, Craig Rabe, Matt Seib, and Ben Wood. Also traveling to Bangladesh will be InterVarsity staff member Kori Cherney and volunteer Kelly Tucker.

Said Cherney, "We're going to have our world flipped upside down. There will be no daily comforts, no showers, a lower quality of food than we're used to, sleeping in mosquito netting, and hot weather with 100 percent humidity."

Added Anderson, "Women are not allowed to express the same freedoms in Bangladesh. It's not a country of equality. It will be interesting wearing a dress or skirt all summer, and seeing how these women live their lives."

The participating students are required to read over 500 pages of material in health related topics, business, economics, etc. in order to prepare for the trek. Said Cherney, "We go as learners to experience their culture. We are going with humility and a willingness to be taught."

Commented Seib, "I intend to use this trip to understand what the U.S. is not. I want to know what it means to live in poverty with millions of other people. I want to experience the injustice that is rampant all over the globe, and I want to offer what I can to help remedy that injustice."

Added Rabe, "We will be the minority. As educated college students this type of atmosphere and living conditions are the furthest thing from our minds. To put things in perspective, the literacy level is about 37 percent."

Various members of UWP InterVarsity expressed interest in serving outside the country in missionary experiences this past fall, which is how the idea for the trip originated. "As this is the first trip of this magnitude ever taken to Bangladesh, it will be owned by UW InterVarsity students," said Cherney. There are 10 Wisconsin students participating from UWP, River Falls, Madison, and La Crosse.

"This will be a test of heart to see if I can handle the challenges of third world countries," said Wood.

Added Seib, "I've never been out of the U.S., or on a plane for more than two hours. Through this trip I will have a major international learning experience and am grateful and deeply honored to be participating."

The group has been meeting every week to prepare for their journey through intense planning and fundraising. In order to raise the necessary funds they have written letters to churches, friends, and family members. A car wash is planned for May 2, at the Platteville Wal-Mart parking lot. Please contact Cherney at (608) 348-5522, or via e-mail at kori_cherney@ivstaff.org, with questions regarding monetary donations. Concluded Cherney, "Who knows what kind of long term effect this experience will have on this group of college students, especially upon graduation as they seek to use their education to make a significant contribution to the world?"