In her arms senior Dorothy Smith, and many others, held sweaters, shoes, backpacks and two pairs of socks for the children in Chamba at the local government school. Because of their extreme poverty, the kids are only allowed two pairs of uniforms per year, so to them, the new gifts were a feast.

“The kids didn’t know what to do with the gifts, they were just so happy and they had the biggest smiles on their faces,” Smith said.  “To me, that was the most rewarding part. To see the joy expressed when we gave them those things.”

Highland Seniors were welcomed with open arms and heavy hearts by those in India this past November were they participated in a humanitarian trip. There, they served for two and a half weeks.

The senior’s were able to venture to India through a program called Youth Making a Difference, also known as YMAD, which is a Utah non-profit organization that launches service expeditions every year.

Students who are apart of the program are trained in leadership skills, fundraising, community service and humanitarian work. Participants travel to India to distribute collected medical supplies and charitable donations. While there, they perform service- related tasks and interact with the children at the various orphanages and government schools.

The program costs 3,700 dollars and its YMAD’s wish to have every student fundraise the money instead of paying it out of pocket. A portion of the money goes toward the participants’ flights and food but most of it goes towards the kids in poverty: their school, uniform, and meals.

Applications are now available and are due at the end of January. For more information, visit www.ymad.org

“It was the best experience of my life and I’ve been so humbled. The kids were so quick to love and India is one of the few places were you can go and be completely emerged in the culture. The society, the food, the religion, you’re just completely invoked in it all,” Smith said.

“Everyday we’d get to the village and be welcomed with huge bouquets of flowers. The kids would hold our hands and they’d sing to us and we’d sing to them. All around there was just so much love from the kids. In their own way, the parents expressed their gratefulness too,” senior Ana Winters said.

“You can’t describe the experience that we had in words. It was the best two weeks of everyone’s lives,” senior Zach Johnson said.