SHe designed for young, Mormon singles

PROVO, Utah — Singular Humanitarian experience (SHe) is basically a new help-the-world organization designed for young, single Mormons.

They will be the ones volunteering and traveling to third world countries to dig ditches, train midwives and build schools. They will also be the ones reaping the rewards that come from selfless service, says one of the founders.

Scott Porter, speaking during a lunchtime forum at the Economic Self-Reliance Conference at BYU Nov. 5, said he and a group of friends were looking for "something more" to do than travel and spend their discretionary income on themselves.

They didn't know how or exactly where but they wanted a way to harness their skills and passions to help their brothers and sisters worldwide through meaningful, sustainable projects. They came up with SHe and then decided to partner with an experienced group — Choice Humanitarian in West Jordan, Utah — to accomplish their goals.

"This is our little offering," Porter said, "predominantly for LDS singles in their 20s and 30s."

So far, 90 people with SHe have journeyed to the Polochic Valley in central Guatemala to help 6,000 villagers. (They looked specifically for a place that was relatively close to the United States but remote enough that the help would be unique and valuable.)

They built a secondary school, a water system and a library. They held workshops on budgeting, sanitation, nutrition and economic cooperation. They brought books, basic medical equipment, crayons and soccer balls.

They taught 14 midwives to deliver babies safely and showed 34 teachers ways to more effectively reach their many students.

They saved a baby in distress and helped 10 villagers with critical medical situations.

"We didn't have any idea of how great this experience was going to be," Porter said, "how profoundly it would impact us, individually and collectively. This really was a spiritual journey for us. It was a week of joy."

Next year they plan another trip to Guatemala and one to Nepal.

Volunteers who go along pay their own way as well as enough to make it possible to bring along supplies for the various projects. They leave their cell phones, BlackBerrys and Internet behind so the focus can be entirely on the tasks at hand.

"Every part of everyone was there," Porter said.

Lindsey Ashby, one of nurse volunteers, said she realized how important it is to serve in person rather than just send money.

"The purpose is to break down barriers," Ashby said.

Another volunteer, Steve DeGraff, told about comforting with a scared, little boy awaiting a tooth extraction and who spoke no English. "It was a spiritual thing," DeGraff said.

"We really struck a chord with our demographic, a group often portrayed as self-focused," Porter said. "It's all about the people."

Porter related a day when he was in a ditch with a fellow volunteer who turned to him and said, "I think we're the service project."

E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com