International Service

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Thailand

In October 2010, a group of six students will be selected to represent Ermitage at the Round Square International Conference being held at the prestigious Regent's School in Pattaya, Thailand.  As a precursor to the week-long conference, Ermitage will be participating in the Baan Maelid Hill Tribe School Pre-Conference Project in Mae Hong Sun.  Including Ermitage, the team of 40 brave volunteers will be working hard to construct a new female boarding block at the back of a school.  The project has been initiated to support the community within the Hill Tribe, to enable access to the school facility for those who travel upwards of 5kms on foot to attend classes.

We expect this experience to be unparalleled and truly offer students an opportunity to showcase their international teamwork skills.  For more information on the Round Square International Conference in Thailand and this specific service project, please visit the pre-conference projects page.

India

ICU2 Eye Camps

ICU2 is committed to contributing to greater intercultural understanding between the peoples of this world through international service learning projects.  ICU2 strives to provide children and adults with a screening exam, prescription eye glasses, or further eye care when necessary.  It does this with the help of secondary students in partner schools, local partners, including schools of optometry, eye hospitals, opticians, and community support.

Ermitage has developed ICU2 in conjunction with Round Square partners, and has been successfully hosting the eye camps throughout India for the past 8 years.  The trip is an exceptional opportunity for students to explore rich culture, face challenging conditions, and quickly build an international team.  Hosted in Indore, India with the help of Daly College, the students connect with their peers to explore local villages, learn to communicate across languages, lend a helping hand to the less fortunate, and adjust to other differences, such as with the climate, when traveling so far from home.

In 2010, 17 Ermitage students contributed to the outstanding performance of the ICU2 camp, where 3600 villagers from underdeveloped villages in rural India received eye care.  This included 2200 visitors who received free glasses and more than 280 patients who received free surgery for cataracts.  The Ermitage and Daly College students concluded the 2010 Eye Camp with a formal presentation for both our team and the Daly College student body. 

To see slides from the closing ceremony, please view here:

ICU2 Eye Camp Presentation 2010

See below for our 2009 ICU2 Photo Presentation.

Cultural Exchanges

Students spend a total of two weeks in India, where they also live with host families from the Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai.  The experience in Mumbai is a complete contrast to the week of service in the more rural city of Indore.  Here, students experience home-life with their new correspondents as well attend classes and explore the city.  Service work is also encourage throughout the students' time in Mumbai, including various projects with a day-care center, which cares for and encourages learning of very young Indian children.  The children who attend this program have a unique opportunity, as they would otherwise not be cared for during the day.  As space and resources are limited, this day-care facility is hosted in a bus which has been repurposed as a space for young children.  Ermitage students were inspired by the children, engaging in games, creating art projects, and conducting small lessons.  The students bonded so much with the project, for 2010, the school has been renamed as "L'Ecole de Bisous!"

These new friendships, between Ermitage and the Dhirubhai Ambani School, continue to grow beyond the trip, when our school warmly welcomes the Indian delegation to Ermitage for one week - to be hosted in students' homes, visit Paris, and engage in the school community.