This past March, I had the incredible opportunity to travel with American Jewish World Service (AJWS) to a poor village in El Salvador. The group I went with consisted of eight of my fellow peers, my school's headmaster and founder, Rabbi Danny Lehmann, as well as another faculty member. The villagers live in small homes for the most part consisting of three rooms: a kitchen, often outside of the house, an eating/sleeping area and a bedroom. Life in Ciudad Romero is far from easy, but the people have an extraordinary way of finding happiness in everyday life.

While getting arrested is the last thing most people want to experience, Ruth Messinger, president of American Jewish World Service (AJWS), sees this as just another part of her job.