Special Interest Stories

Kevin G. McCord's Trip to Guatemala

Twenty five years ago when I started working at the Guelph Police Service (then Force), I had no insight as to what my future career would look like. Truthfully I don't think I cared; I just wanted to be a cop and help people. The reality is that our jobs exist because bad stuff happens and we swore an oath to try to prevent it from happening and catch the people who are responsible. It's a rare occurrence when people just call to say thank you. The other truth is it doesn't matter when they do call, we go.

I recall being asked by supervisors over the years at performance appraisal time; "What are your job goals, where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?" I always had difficulty in answering that question. But what I can say for sure is I never would have imagined that I would find myself working in a high school and having the pleasure of spending all day with up to 3000 high school students. To quote in part Charles Dickens, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..." These past three years as a High School Resource Officer have had me shaking my head, pulling out my hair, smiling uncontrollably, laughing hysterically and wiping away tears.

These kids have given me many special memories. One of which was the opportunity to travel to Central America and the country of Guatemala with 23 high school students. From January 31st until February 9th 2009, we slept in tents worked our butts off and had a blast doing it; because we were helping others. Our time was spent at an orphanage where almost 340 children call their home and family. NPH (Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos) is an incredible facility where children from infancy to late teens live, play, work and go to school. The orphanage offers opportunities to children who would otherwise never have a chance in life. Several children have gone on to University and continue to be supported by NPH while doing so. Others are being taught trades of all kinds, from baking to wood working, from sewing to metal fabrication. All of this while being totally funded by donations from across North America and Europe.

Having travelled to Peru in 2006, I had some idea of what to expect on a mission trip. However what I found rewarding in a way that is hard to measure or fully explain, is the gift of being a part of change and awakening in the eyes and hearts of teenagers. The following words of one of the students from out trip say it best.

"When I was given the opportunity to go to Guatemala I knew I would come back a different person. I was not disappointed. Everything I have done and experienced here has changed my outlook on life. I will never forget these experiences or their affect on me. My life has changed for the better all because of the harsh yet beautiful country of Guatemala."