Team Tobati's work extends far beyond the borders of Tobati, Paraguay, for this organization is as much about providing life-changing experiences for American students as it is about helping the underprivileged children it serves abroad.
What began as a service project for Connecticut students has become a profoundly influential fixture of the Tobati community: Team Tobati is responsible for funding and helping construct over two dozen classrooms in rural elementary schools, two children's parks, and a large athletic center, to enrich the quality of life for residents. The team also provides essential health resources by facilitating free medical clinics and providing medicines and medical supplies to those in need. These are just a few of the incredible projects Team Tobati is working on all the time.
In this interview, Jared Carroll, the director of Tobati's Macchi School, talks to us about the history of Team Tobati and the amazing impact it has had on one Paraguayan community.
Ariel Gonzales Velasquez, age 19
Interview by Annie Reading
How and why was Team Tobati founded?
Team Tobati began as a high school service trip that raised funds and collected donations to aid those in the poor rural community of Tobati, Paraguay. Team Tobati’s primary focus in the community was to improve the standards of education and medical attention (especially for the youth of the region) and to promote community development through assistance in various public works. As the service trip grew in success, it established itself in the United States as certified 501c(3) non-profit. In 2004, Team Tobati completed construction of their very own educational institute – El Instituto Cultural Reinaldo Macchi, which has developed into the community’s most reputable high school serving gifted students coming from disadvantaged economic backgrounds. Recently, in 2010, Team Tobati joined forces with another well-known charity – The Association of Hole In The Wall Camps, to found the Hole In The Wall’s first ever summer camp program for children throughout the country that are battling cancer and rare blood diseases.
In what ways has Team Tobati expanded opportunities for children in Tobati, Paraguay?
Team Tobati has made the underprivileged and the underserved youth of the community its priority. One of the pillars of our organization has been that education is the key to a better future for not only the youth that we serve, but the community as a whole. Students of the Macchi Institute receive an education of the highest and most rigorous caliber free of charge – the school subsidizes tuition, uniforms, school supplies, meals, and healthcare for each of its 85 students. The students, grades 7 through 12, are known throughout the community for their commitment, responsibility, and hard work. Each year, the school accepts a new class of 15 7th graders – these students are selected from public institutions throughout the community for their academic achievement and level of financial need, attempting to give the opportunity of studying at the Macchi Institute to those who might not be able to complete their studies without such a scholarship. These youths from the community are also given a myriad of experiential learning opportunities: participating each year in accelerated English tutoring, regular community service, cultural exchanges with Americans who continue their involvement in the program, and frequent special events and programs that motivate students to work cooperatively and apply their learning to levels beyond homework and tests.
Maria Vanessa Caballero, age 19
Has Team Tobati had broader effects on the Tobati community as a whole? How about on the communities of its volunteers, back in America?
Team Tobati consistently provides financial support to a variety of other institutions in the community as well. In particular, the Team has provided for the construction of various classrooms in other schools throughout the community, the restoration of public buildings and parks, and the expansion and increased capacity of the local medical hospital. In general, Team Tobati is recognized in the community as an organization committed to the continued growth and development of Tobati’s youth and the community as a whole. In the United States, Team Tobati has unequivocally and irrevocably changed its community of volunteers. For the past 12 years, Team Tobati has given American high school students the opportunity to know and understand a different culture, serve those in need, and develop intimate and lasting relationships between the two communities. Their experiences have been so meaningful that many alumni have returned to Tobati – some to help facilitate the service trip itself, and others to work full-time for the organization, aiding its efforts year-round.
Has Team Tobati changed as an organization since its founding? Has it faced any obstacles? Are there plans to build upon the current program?
Since its founding, Team Tobati has experienced tremendous growth allowing for the endowment of an ever-increasing amount of aid and assistance to more people and institutions in the community. This growth has not been without obstacles however, and the recent economic crisis has caused the program to dramatically scale back its growth and ensure that the foundational programs of the organization remain strong. However, the program has not ceased forward progress by any stretch of the imagination: recent collaborations with the Association of Hole In The Wall Camps mark entry into a new frontier. Team Tobati is now not only serving disadvantaged children in the Tobati community, but children coping with critical and chronic illness, and doing so at a national level – moving far beyond the original scope of impact.
Is there a particularly inspiring story you'd like to share?
In December of 2010, the Macchi Institute celebrated the graduation of its first class of high school seniors. Through the efforts of Team Tobati and the hard work and dedication of two students in particular, we were able to secure two full-scholarships to study at the American University, Mount Saint Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The scholarships were announced only a few weeks before their graduation in a small meeting with the students, their advisors from the Macchi Institute, and their families. Witnessing the realization of these students’ dreams was something I will never forget. Their excitement, their pride, and their hopes for what will be were palpable in the room. More than anything however, I will remember the gratitude and tears of joy from their families as they graciously received the scholarships with their sons. In a little under two month’s time, those students will travel to the United States to begin their freshman year.
Donate to Team Tobati by helping fund one of the two students pictured above! Ariel Gonzalez Velazquez and Maria Vanessa Caballero are both 12th grade students who need $350 to fully fund their education this year. Click on their names to learn more!
20 JUL 2011