The University of Pittsburgh Collegiate PanHellenic Association raised more than $33,000 to send a team of seven sorority members and two Pitt faculty members to build a school in a small village called Valle de los Liros in El Cua, Nicaragua. BuildOn, an international nonprofit organization that constructs schools in developing countries, coordinated the May 1-8 trip. Although the village has no running water or electricity, there will be a completed, solar-powered school there in eight weeks. The group from the University of Pittsburgh sparked the first week of construction; digging trenches, painting beams, laying bricks, and shoveling during the mornings. Afternoons were filled with cultural activities such as basket weaving and daily reflections to better understand the community they were aiding.

The villagers have been eagerly awaiting the school’s construction and have played a major role in its development. When told there were no streets to transport materials to the village, the community worked together to dig their own road for this project. Additionally, the villagers played an active role in the construction of the building. Upon completion, an equal amount of males and females will be sent to the school based on a “covenant” the community signed.

Pitt Chronicle: May 16. Powerful event at the University of Pittsburgh sparks conversations surrounding diverse issues.

KDKA, May 9–You’ve watched Stephen Colbert. You’ve seen Fallon, and Kimmel, and Corden and Conan. But have you watched Irwin?