All students in grades 6 through 10 at International School Dhaka (ISD) traveled to destinations around Asia as a part of the “Week Without Walls” program. Overseas Week Without Walls trips are a customized blend of activities, including cultural immersion, outdoor adventures, service learning, and skill-building experiences. Each Week Without Walls experience provides students with a tremendous opportunity for growth, and the benefits of teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving skills carry over to the classroom when they return.
In Bintan Island, Indonesia, 32 ISD students from grade 10 worked to develop wastewater management systems for households and community centers in collaboration with the local organization LooLa Eco Adventure under the Safe Water Garden initiative.
The facility is designed to prevent diseases originating from polluted surface water, contribute to food production, create positive impacts on the environment, save money, and improve the quality of life of the local people.
“Our service project in Bintan created a meaningful impact by helping to improve the local community spirit and also strengthened the bond among students as we worked together collaboratively toward a shared goal,” said Parisah, a grade 10 student on the trip.
In a northern Vietnamese village named Na Chao, 28 ISD students from grade 8 joined the local initiative of renovating a 70-meter road that would help transport products to and from the village and the local city.
Villagers of Na Chao, a developing area, suffered during the rainy season for a lack of modern road connectivity.
An ISD volunteer said, “The tasks were quite challenging as we have never built roads before, but with the support of our teachers and community people, we were able to renovate the road successfully. All of us feel extremely happy to be part of such a great initiative.”
Over 120 ISD students participated in the Week Without Walls program, an excellent opportunity for students to engage with Service as Action, an integral part of the IB (International Baccalaureate) Middle Years Programme curriculum.
“As an International Baccalaureate World School, we are committed to fostering international mindedness and continuously encourage our students to make positive impacts in the local and global community. Week Without Walls exemplifies our commitment to experiential learning and enables the learners to develop skills that they would not acquire within a classroom,” ISD Secondary School Principal Chris Boyle noted. He added that the students’ experiences in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia strengthened their sense of empathy and responsibility and strengthened bonds between classmates that last a lifetime.