Calvin Students Off to Southeast Asia

When he is in Indonesia this summer, Kevin Van Harn will try to remember not to point with his finger.

"It's very disrespectful," said Van Harn, a 21-year-old Calvin College senior majoring in secondary education. "Always point with an open palm," he explained, demonstrating with one hand, then the other.

Van Harn, who will be working in a summer enrichment program, also plans to keep his head down (another sign of respect), and to refrain from touching children on the head.

"The head is where the spirit dwells, and you never touch the head," says Corrie Poelman, a 21-year-old junior philosophy and sociology major, who will teach English in Malaysia.

Van Harn and Poelman are two of the 13 Calvin students who are preparing to do service-learning in southeast Asia for 10 weeks this summer. Four students, including junior Kait Botma and seniors Ben Shoemaker, Katy Carlson and Van Harn, will be working at Sekolah Pelita Harapan, a Christian school in Indonesia.

Six students, including sophomores Emily Clark and Amanda DeVries and seniors Maria Geleynse, Nicole Lenko, Alyssa Massey and Jordan Wood, will work at Mother’s Choice, a Hong Kong-based, non-profit organization that provides support to young women during crisis pregnancies. And three students, including Poelman and sophomores Emily Granger and Emily Larson, will teach English at The Language Studio in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"They're going to get a real experience of working with these organizations," said Calvin director of off-campus programs Don De Graaf.

Click here Service Learning to read the entire story by .