Two decades ago, a group of students from Brown University drove to rural West Virginia for our spring break. I was the leader and was accompanied by friends Murtuza Gunja, Ja-Yun Cho, Ben Sigelman, Suraj Gorkhali, Jenny Partivit, Margaret Sweitzer-Hamilton and several others. It was a week of trying to repair houses while learning about rural poverty. There was one fatal flaw – we didn’t know much about fixing houses. I certainly didn’t know anything, and hadn’t done much preparation.
But we did our best, climbing ladders, cleaning out gutters, and trying to help with other projects. We certainly saw a different side of America than we were experiencing in the Ivy League.
The Brown Daily Herald, the University’s student newspaper, published a supportive article about our efforts. What I said in the piece was true – we were grateful to the West Virginians who had opened up their homes to us, and tolerated our (my) bumbling.
In our down time, I enjoyed playing fiddle with my friend Ben, an excellent fretless banjo player. For the rest of my life, I’ll wonder why I was wearing bunny ears in this picture.
Learning about poverty in West Virginia led me to the Mississippi Delta later that year, again with Murtuza Gunja. After college graduation, I went to Guatemala, and later to the Dominican Republic, Botswana, Mozambique, and other countries. Poverty and health has been the focus of my life’s work.
But probably the biggest impact of the West Virginia trip was Murtuza and Ja-Yun. The trip kindled a spark, leading to a relationship, and are now they are married with two kids in California! So the spring break trip was definitely worthwhile.
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Philip A. Lederer 
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