By WILLIAM STEVENS
Staff writer
Some Titusville High School students will share their recent experiences in Ecuador at a community gathering tonight.
The group spent seven days on a mission trip in the South American nation, and they’ll have some interesting stories to tell during the program, which starts at 7 p.m. in Colestock Auditorium at the high school.
The service expedition was made possible through the actions of Christopher Wig and Kai Skinner.
Wig is the director of the student chapter of the United Way of Titusville Region and the Rotary Interact Club, and Skinner is the president for both organizations.
Wig said the experience was “really different.”
“Some of the biggest changes we had to think about was the food and climate,” Chris Wig said.
“When we would walk around down there, you’d get tired just from walking up a flight of stairs,” Wig added.
Both Wig and Skinner had already been planning a trip to Ecuador when they were approached by local business owner Joe Gionti.
Gionti owns and operates Gionti Catering in Titusville and is also involved in the local Rotary Interact Club.
“The kids were involved in a Rotary meeting,” Gionti said. “During the meeting, they mentioned the possibility of taking a trip to Ecuador.”
“I’ve been to Ecuador about 19 times and we bring mission trips there,” Gionti continued. “I’ve gone to Ecuador with nine different churches.”
However, Gionti did not intend for it to be “a real heavy mission trip.”
“I remember saying to the students, ‘my goal is not just for you to have fun’,” Gionti said.
“‘I want you to experience the country and the culture.”
Originally, the group of students, known as the “Sole Patrol,” had set up a GoFundMe page. When the page didn’t garner the desired response, the students decided to raise money through fundraisers.
“All of the money was raised the old fashioned way,” said Terry Wig, chief professional officer for United Way and mother of Chris Wig.
“They had a soup and dessert dinner, and they held a car wash.”
“They also sent out solicitation letters to different people and service organizations,” Wig added.
Overall the students raised $15,400, which fully covered the cost of the trip, Wig said.
As part of the expedition, Gionti and the students provided service to the poor areas of Ecuador’s capital city of Quito.
“For part of a day, we washed kids feet in a poor area and gave them new shoes and socks,” Gionti said.
The next day the group obtained reading glasses and gave out around 60 pairs, Gionti said.
Lastly, the students and chaperones prepared food, which was used to fill 45 care packages, Gionti said. The care packages were delivered by the students to homes in the area.
The remainder of the trip was spent doing fun activities with the students, Gionti said.
“They went zip lining, visited the equator and went to the mineral baths,” Terry Wig said.
Since the trip was a “great success for the kids,” Terry Wig said United Way is planning to invite students to take the trip every other year.
