[b]Team Mission[/b]
“The mission of Team Tobati is to increase the opportunities offered to poor youth of Tobati, Paraguay and to offer young American students the fantastic experience of working for a greater good in the developing world.” Team Tobati funds service trips for American students to go to Tobati to build schools and help the development of education each spring. Beyond that, Team Tobati provides funding to improve the quality of schools in the region throughout the year. In addition to education, Team Tobati also provides funding for improving healthcare in the area. By improving the standard of living in the region, the people are able to focus more on getting an education, which in turn leads to bettering the community, resulting in an ameliorating cycle.
The Team Tobati volunteers hard at work building infrastructure on their March 2014 trip
[b]Tobati Trip[/b]
Three teams of students from the Kingswood-Oxford School in Connecticut will depart in the middle of March for their annual Service Trip to Tobati, Paraguay. Specifically, the students are affiliated with the Macchi School in Tobati and will work with Paraguayan volunteers at the school. Moreover, these teams will build classrooms, fences, walls, medical outposts, and parks in the 21 villages of the Tobati district during their one-week visit.
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Macchi School students using the new computer lab provided by Team Tobati
[b]Maachi School[/b]
Atop of dirt roads, wooden homes, difficult conditions in the poverty-prevalent district of Tobati stands one of Team Tobati’s proudest works: the Maachi School, funded 100% by the team. The school was constructed in 2002 and 2003, and its most incredible gift to families and youths in the South American district is the opportunity to change their futures. Its principle is that “the education of a single person can have a positive effect on the lives of thousands of people.” As student Joel Unzain, from Punta del Este, now at the University of Pennsylvania, reflects, the school has taught him to “...not stop being a child who wants to learn something new day after day…[and]...efficiently build a better future.” Steve Morgan, who wants visited the school, shared that “most impressive was how proud the students were of their families, and how proud the families were that their children had been accepted to this special school and were receiving a fantastic education.” The school inspired him to help grant full scholarships to two students of the school, Angel Gaona and Ariel Velazquez, to the Mount Saint Mary's University in Maryland.
Team Tobati’s aspiration is to improve the lives of students and families by equipping them with the skills and opportunities to take charge and change their own futures.