As many of Fountain Hills High School teacher Claire McWilliams’ students have attested, it’s impossible to fully tell the tale of their 2010-11 service project, “A Place Called Home.”

Combating displacement both locally and abroad, a year’s worth of fundraising, donation drives and education recently culminated with a trip to Fountain Hills’ Sister City of Ataco, El Salvador.

A group of 60 Family, Community and Career Leaders of America (FCCLA) students and chaperones made this two-week trip, spending their days covered in mud and sweat to deliver much-needed items to the people of Ataco, as well as help construct 20 homes their efforts had raised the funds to build.

“I’m not even sure where to begin,” McWilliams said when asked to talk about the trip.

McWilliams said the group’s previous trip to Uganda was planned and organized by an outside group.

For the FCCLA’s trip to Ataco, she said the responsibility fell squarely on her own shoulders, as well as those of Ataco Mayor Oscar Gomez, brothers Enrique Melendez and Carlos Araujo and local Sister Cities President Sharon Morgan.

Melendez is a former Town Council member and honorary consul to El Salvador, while his brother, Carlos, is a businessman in El Salvador.

“They all worked and worked to make this trip possible,” McWilliams said.

“I think everyone fell in love with Oscar. He made us his family while we were there and did everything he could to make this trip a success.”

In the end, she said it was all worth it, as she knows every member of Team Ataco was changed by what they experienced.

“Some of our kids were like machines while others didn’t adapt to the work as well,” she said.

“But all were challenged and had to come out of their comfort zones for this trip. It was dirty, hard, manual labor, and some have never experienced that.”

Many lessons

McWilliams said she wanted the kids to be exhausted every night, and that’s exactly what she got.

“This trip showed that an idea can turn into something amazing if you have the courage to try,” she added.

“Our goal was to raise the funds and help build four houses, and we walked away with 20 thanks to all of the support of so many people. This project was so much larger than ourselves.”

McWilliams said that service is deceiving, something the trip to Ataco truly highlighted for her students.

“You go in to give, but you get back so much more,” she said.

“People with far less than we have heaped blessings upon us time and time again. We’ll never forget how beautifully they treated us.”

As for the story of Ataco, McWilliams insisted it was one the students tell themselves. It’s impossible to include everything, but the students were happy to share their experiences with the rest of the world.

Will Aker began, explaining how the X-ray machines at LAX were down the evening of Team Ataco’s departure, making for a long process of checking in thanks to the bags upon bags of donations the group had with them.

After an even longer flight, Aker said the first of many stomach bugs showed up nice and early.

“We rushed off to immigration and customs while poor Kevin Madden won the prize for the first to get sick on Team Ataco,” he said.

“After his yack-attack at the Compoala airport, his signature rosy cheeks returned and he was much better the rest of the day.”

Many surprises

Upon arriving in Ataco proper, Kaylee Shields said Mayor Gomez revealed his first of many surprises -- a massive party to welcome the Fountain Hills team to the city.

“We realized the entire town had come together to welcome, thank and celebrate our arrival,” Shields said.

“All of us were overwhelmed from the warm, joyful welcome we were given. The hard-working Melendez/Araujo brothers worked so hard to prepare for our arrival and we were honored that Consul Chacon came to greet us as well.”

Shields said she and her classmates felt honored when Gomez finished a welcoming speech looking directly at the team, saying, “We hope you will find Ataco to be your ‘Place Called Home.’”

On day three, Mariah Brown said several team members attended service at the Santa Maria Catholic Church in the town’s central square.

“Getting there at 8 a.m. on the dot wasn’t the smartest idea because, by this time, the church was standing room only…with the ‘standing room’ on the outside of the building,” she said.

“Even though I didn’t understand much, I loved experiencing religion through a different culture.”

Special place

Haley Rippy summed up day three with a statement that was likely on everyone’s mind.

“There is something so vibrant and special about this community. I am so glad I had the opportunity to come on this trip,” Rippy said.

“Tomorrow is the big day. Our first day of work in Fountain Hills. Colonia Fountain Hills, that is.”

The area in which Team Ataco would be working had received its name as an homage to the town that helped make this project possible. The next morning, the whole area was abuzz with work.

“We were all given tasks to do and, within 10 minutes of our arrival, we were all covered in dirt and sweat,” said Ellen Diemer.

“Kylee Shields said, ‘I didn’t know my eyelids sweat.’ I was working like a madwoman with the hoe, working with a team to break down earth and level ground behind one of the homes.

“We had limited tools, and John Dzurka noted that every function had to be prioritized because of that, and the speed of doing tasks we take for granted in the U.S. was made far more difficult and slow in these conditions.”

Megan Engler perhaps summed up the experience best.

“People say you don’t appreciate hard work until you’re the one doing it,” Engler said.

“After working in Colonia Fountain Hills, I am a firm believer in this statement. Rotating between digging and shoveling piles of dirt, to cleaning tons of grass and jungle to make way for more houses, made for a very full work day.”

The work, and play, continued, and just a few days in, the kids from Fountain Hills were truly starting to feel the effects of their labor.

“The past three days of work has been very sweaty and hard, and most of my muscles are aching,” said Bryce Kunkel in one of the daily Internet updates posted by the group during the trek.

“Yet, even though it has been so strenuous, the experience here is wonderful. You can tell it means so much to the people here. I’ll never forget the smiles on their faces and wish that we could stay longer.”

As the final work day approached nearly two weeks later, Bryn Groetken said, comparing the worksite from day one to the final day, she would say the team put a serious dent in the project and accomplished much of what they went to do.

“I’m proud to say I was a part of this project, and I’ll be sad when we leave El Salvador, but I can’t wait to see the final outcome of our hard work.”

Preparing for the official dedication of the site, Zac Lusk said he was happy with what Team Ataco accomplished.

“The official sign is now up, hiding under a tarp for the big reveal tomorrow,” he said the evening before the dedication.

“The murals are finished. There’s a flat place to build two homes where once there was a steep hill. All in all, it’s safe to say that we walked away from the worksite tired, dirty, and more proud than we could have ever imagined.”

Following their final day in Ataco, FHHS 2008 alumni Josie Groh took a moment to reflect on the entirety of the project.

“This morning we took our last trip to Colonia Fountain Hills for the dedication ceremony,” she said.

“Mayor Oscar faced Team Ataco and said this wasn’t goodbye because he knew we were all taking a piece of Ataco with us, and that we will always be in their hearts.”

U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador Mari Carmen Aponte spoke next, leaving a lasting impression.

“[She] described how so many people live their lives in auto pilot and how we will remember our trip to Ataco as truly ‘living’ while giving the gift of ourselves and making a difference to people who really needed it,” Groh said.

“Many teared up as Mayor Oscar directed our attention to the ledge of houses above us. The smiling faces of 20 families who will receive the homes looked down at us.

“Laughs were shared and tears were shed, but we all came together to celebrate our hard work over the last two weeks.”