Conclusion

Abstract

How in the end can we fashion short-term service trips to Central America in ways that empower our students, our community hosts, and ourselves to be agents of change in our own and others’ lives? How can we replace the ethos of the rogue volunteer with one of solidarity, revive the ancient laws of hospitality, and learn from the remarkable successes of grassroots movements in the region, as Bill Westerman and Jeff Boyer urge? How can we recover a sense of hope and purpose amid the rising violence, corruption, and impunity that Boyer and Ellen Moodie identify? How can we harness our colleges and universities to the complex project of promoting social equality that our Central American partners propose?.