Eagle Scout's Efforts Extend to Guatemala

by KRISTEN ARMSTRONG, Staff Writer

(Friday, July 18, 2008 10:14 AM EDT)

Think planning an Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project is difficult when you're executing it at home? Try doing it in Guatemala.

Tom Mosher, a member of Boy Scout Troop 638, sponsored by Little Falls Presbyterian Church, traveled to Vuelta Grande, Guatemala, for his project and had the experience of a lifetime.

“It felt like an adventure!” he said.

Sixteen-year-old Mosher, a rising junior at Yorktown High school, took the trip with about 30 people, and was connected with La Union, a local language school, which provided home-stay families for the visiting volunteers and helped Mosher organize his project.

Mosher focused on education and literacy for his project, donating books and building bookcases for a local school.

“I think literacy, learning and knowledge is important,” he said. “I don't know if they have the same opportunities as we do [in the United States], and I wanted to help.”

As an avid soccer player, Mosher sought to incorporate the sport into his project, so he also donated numerous soccer balls to the school. He was even able to play a game of soccer with some of the local students.

Mosher had never been to Central America before, but with two years of high school Spanish under his belt, he was able to communicate relatively easily with the locals.

Even though Mosher encountered many new things during his trip to Guatemala, he was struck by how similar people are no matter where they come from.

“Everyone in the world is the same,” he said. “They want to achieve common goals.”

Mosher still has some more work to do before he becomes an Eagle Scout, but with what he's learned from his project in Guatemala, it seems like he has an edge.

“Seeing what issues there are in the world has given me a better perspective,” he said.

Tom Mosher, a member of Boy Scout Troop 638, traveled to Vuelta Grande, Guatemala, as part of his Eagle Scout project.

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