What happened over Spring Break

For many high school students, Spring Break means relaxation, rejuvenation and time to lounge at the beach or by a pool. Milton students, however, use this time to explore the world outside of their own and touch the lives of those that need help.

Organized by Milton’s Community Service Program, 21 students, faculty and parents traveled to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for Milton’s second annual Community Service Break Trip. The group helped repair several houses in various stages of recovery from the disaster wrought by Hurricane Katrina. In one case, they laid the gravel driveway, regraded the yard to avoid flooding, assembled a storage shed and dug a long trench to house pipes that will connect the home with town water. This work resulted in the house passing final inspection so its owner could finally move back in; a highlight for the group was meeting this owner who had returned from her temporary situation in Alabama.

The biggest test of teamwork came in gutting the inside of a house that had not been touched since the five-foot deluge of water and mud swept through it one and a half years ago. The group moved every piece of furniture and personal belonging out onto the street, and then demolished and removed all the drywall, carpeting, and electrical wiring, as well as the kitchen and bathrooms. Witnessing the change in the owner's face, from depression to renewed hope, was tremendously rewarding. The group ended their trip with sightseeing in New Orleans.

In another part of the world, 12 Milton students, escorted by history faculty member, Joshua Emmott, and art faculty member, Anne Neely, explored the ancient cities of India. During their adventure through New Delhi, Jaipur, Pushkar and Jodphur, the group visited the Jama Mosque, survived an elephant ride to the Amber Fort, shopped the streets Pushkar, and toured the Ranakpur Jain Temples.

Another group, including 28 Milton Academy jazz students and 15 adults, traveled to South Africa to perform in six cities, including Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. The group visited with and played for South African students and adults at township music schools, high schools, at a university and at a jazz club. Highlights included one concert with the Siphithemba Choir at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal and another as part of the Amy Biehl Township Jazz Festival in Cape Town. The group delivered $19,000 worth of music materials to needy township schools; the gifts came from 16 corporations who were solicited during preparations for the trip.

Students also visited the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg; the infamous Robben Island, which was used primarily as a prison from the mid-1600s until 1997 when it became a museum; the Hector Peterson Museum in Soweto, named for one of the first students to be killed during the 1976 student uprising in the township; and two game reserves, Pilansberg and Robberg.

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