Guatemala Service Immersion

Each year, the Benilde-St. Maraget's community participates in a service immersion to Guatemala where students and chaperones help create a home for a local family.

The service immersion provides students with an opportunity to contribute meaningfully by giving their time and talent to help others.

Join us on our journey to Guatemala where you'll deepen your relationship with others, yourself, and God. Immerse yourself in the culture and practice your language skills as we live with host families in Antigua,  working with local host families from neighboring villages to build homes and outdoor kitchens.

BSM teams typically include seven students and one chaperone who will work with a local mason and the recipient family to build a home, an outdoor kitchen, and bunk beds. While the mason guides the process, the students do all of the work by hand. The workday will be approximately from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

As part of the service immersion, participants learn about Guatemala by experiencing the natural beauty and history of the Central American country. Cultural excursions of this service immersion include:

• Antigua – colonial city
• Iximche – Mayan ruins
• Lake Atitlán – volcanic lake
• Pacaya National Park - guided hike

The BSM Guatemala Service Immersion program is run in cooperation with God’s Child Project, a Minnesota based charitable organization helping the less fortunate by providing for basic needs including housing and daily living needs. Over the past seven years, BSM service immersions have helped achieve:

• 211 students have worked with 32 families to build homes
• over $350,000 of construction materials purchased
• over $125,000 of donations including clothing, shoes, linens, school supplies and over-the-counter medications