Benicia High School sophomore Olivia Andrade plans to volunteer in Ghana this summer as part of Global Leadership Adventures. (Photo courtesy of Erin Andrade)

Olivia Andrade just started her sophomore year at Benicia High School, but she is already looking forward to the summer where she will be embarking on a volunteer trip to West Africa as part of Global Leadership Adventures (GLA).

GLA is an organization that offers study abroad programs for high schoolers to provide them service skills in such nations as Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Indonesia, South Africa and more. GLA has twice hosted events with Archbishop Demond Tutu in South Africa to discuss the lasting impact of apartheid, and in 2013 then-President Barack Obama recognized GLA founder Fred Swaniker in a speech.

Andrade’s family has resided in Benicia for generations. In fact, she is the great granddaughter of former longtime Benicia High teacher, administrator and coach George Drolette.

“It’s honestly very interesting and cool to go to the high school he taught at years ago and watch football games in the stadium dedicated and named after him,” she said.

Since she was in seventh grade, Andrade has always wanted to travel abroad for studying or volunteering. Over the summer, she saw an advertisement on social media for teenagers traveling abroad. She decided to do a Google search for “Teenage volunteer abroad” where she waded through information on several different programs before deciding GLA seemed the most interesting.

“They seemed to have the most credible source by having videos, student and parental information, itineraries, and stories from actual people that have participated traveling abroad with Global Leadership Adventures,” she said.

Andrade and her mother Erin became connected with people on Facebook who had volunteered with GLA and shared stories about the different countries they had visited.

“The kids who have gone said that this opportunity has changed them in a extremely positive way, and a piece of their heart will always be with where they traveled to,” Andrade said.

This July, Andrade will be part of a volunteer crew visiting Ghana where some of her responsibilities will include tutoring children at a village primary school, helping rebuild and refurbish school facilities, discuss current social issues impacting the women and children of Ghana, shadow nurses at a maternity and neonatal health clinic and building a composting toilet for a family to help prevent the spread of disease and keep girls in school. Altogether, she will have amassed between 40 and 60 hours of community service. Additionally, Andrade’s group will go on trips to beaches, a local outdoor market and coastal slave forts.

Andrade will be in Ghana from July 9 to 22, 2019. The fee for the program includes meals, lodging, travel medical insurance and in-country transportation but not airfare. Because of the high travel costs, Andrade is hoping to raise money to be sponsored for the trip.

Andrade hopes the trip will provide her with further philanthropic opportunities.

“I am hoping that this experience will broaden my horizons and make me more passionate about doing work for others coming from my own heart,” she said. “I would also like to gain more communication, group work, and leadership skills from this upcoming trip.”
Moreover, she also looks forward to visiting a new continent and gaining a new worldview.

“Africa is full of colorful, beautiful culture and traditions that I will be introduced and taught about to give me a different taste of global perspective,” she said.

Those wishing to provide money for Andrade’s trip can donate at experiencegla.com/contribute/MjQxMjM/. The tuition deadline is Dec. 31.

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