She Went With Friends, Then Experienced a Build Solo – Q & A with Emily

Emily’s first Build was alongside familiar faces as part of a group, then she decided to sign up for one of our public Builds without knowing anyone else. We talked with Emily about her two trips, found out how it felt to visit the family she had previously built with, and asked her what she hopes to never forget from her most recent time in the Dominican Republic.

Your first experience was on a group Build. Who was that with?
I first learned about Builds from my dance teacher, Kelci Tookey. She has been going to the Dominican Republic with LiveDifferent since 2011 and has been doing Builds ever since. Kelci started her own group called Building Dreams, which I had the honour of joining in 2018. It was a really special trip because not only did we get to help build a home for an amazing family, we also got to help build a dance studio. It was an experience that I will treasure forever.

I am so thankful to Kelci for sharing her passion because being a part of that Build absolutely changed my life. She was very encouraging of me to join a public build and I am so happy I did.

You chose to come back on a public Build and mentioned that a highlight for you was being able to meet people you didn’t already know. Were there any specific moments where you knew you were forming lasting friendships?
I remember talking with Aerin, another volunteer, on the bus ride back to the resort. By this time our group was feeling like a family. We were so in awe of the fact that, amongst people who were practically strangers, we both felt the most at home. We described that while on the Build, we were able to be the most authentic versions of ourselves. We felt completely understood by our peers, which is a feeling we have struggled to find back in Canada. It was upsetting to be leaving a place of such love but also comforting to know that place even existed.

Going back to the Dominican Republic, you had the chance to visit the family that you had previously built for. What was that like?
I was so excited to see the family, and a little nervous. I knew they were not expecting me and I was coming alone without my group. Only one of the oldest sisters was home but as soon as she saw me, she got right on the phone to call the rest of the family. The grandson, who I made a special connection with last year, was at his mother’s house and when I said “¡Hola!” to him on FaceTime, his jaw dropped and the call immediately ended. Minutes later he came bursting through the door and into my arms, hardly able to catch his breath because he ran all the way to the house. There was no better feeling in the world than getting to see his smile again.

What is one thing that you’ve learned during this last Build that you hope your future self will never forget?
Every time I talk about the Builds, all I can say is how thankful I am. I am so thankful that I have learned what I have about myself and about life. I came on my first Build when I was 18 years old, a few months after graduating from high school. It was a time where I felt lost and without a purpose. I didn’t see the value in much of anything and I never felt like I was enough.

The people that I have met and the experiences I have had during these Builds have changed my entire outlook on life. I have been taught so much kindness, appreciation and support, and have been given the inspiration and the confidence to create goals for myself that I would have never previously imagined.

I hope I never forget that no matter how much you have, there is always something to give. I hope I never forget how amazing it feels to be surrounded by people who love you for you. I hope I remember that hugs are always better than handshakes, and that there are so many more important things happening that are not on my phone. I hope I never lose the passion I have right now. I see myself being a part of things like this for a very long time, if not, for the rest of my life. But no matter where life takes me, I hope that I never forget that the greatest thing in life is joy—and that people are the best way to find it.

10 Quick Ways to Strengthen Friendships

Check out this article for some ideas on how to strengthen your friendships:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/friendship-20/201809/10-quick-ways-strengthen-friendship

Kindness Facts

Here are some amazing facts about the power of kindness from the Honey Foundation:

https://www.honeyfoundation.org/research-info/

Happy Family Toolkit

Take your family connections to the next level with some of the amazing resources and ideas that have been provided by Bruce Feiler, New York Time best-selling author of “The Secrets of Happy Families”

Happy Family Toolkit

Here is a TED talk by Bruce Feiler on how he has used some of these ideas.

The Strongest Predictor of How Long You’ll Live

Here is a short clip from Susan Pinker’s TED Talk (full talk here) about the important of “weak-ties” in our lives:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KsExQEx6Wg

Simple writing prompts that will change your life

Here is a very helpful article that provides a number of proven and powerful writing or journaling exercises that will build resilience:

https://www.fastcompany.com/3042247/writing-exercises-scientifically-proven-to-redirect-your-life

Talking with Jade about Fundraising and Life-Changing Connections

There wasn’t a lot of time to pull everything together, but Jade’s determination—and a little help from friends and family along the way—made it happen.

In January 2018, she found herself in the middle of our presentation that was focused on kindness. During that time, she was introduced to the Builds program and received the invitation to make a difference with us internationally. One month later, she signed up for our March Break Build to the Dominican Republic.

Now, it was time to start fundraising.

She found success early
For that first trip, her parents gave her a list of 30 emails. 

Armed with her fundraising page, some information on the cause, and the support of her parents, Jade sent individual messages to each of them. And to her surprise, she met her goal in just over a week. 

While it seems relatively straightforward, when reflecting on her fundraising success, Jade admits that to see success, there is a bit more to it than asking.

“If you’re just sending out a quick email like, “Hey, please donate.”, it’s not as impactful as you, sending pictures or talking to them face-to-face. Once people understand how passionate you are about it, they are more willing to help out and contribute.”

During her time on the Build, Jade was able to make strong connections and work alongside a family to build them a safe, new home. Together with other volunteers, she played a part in leaving lasting change in the community—and it left her wanting to return.

Go-back motivation
Seeing the difference that a home has on a family first hand made Jade want to return and do it all over again. But the second time fundraising proved to be a little more difficult.

“The first time is a lot easier, and then it progressively gets more and more difficult. Going back to the same people is really hard because they are more resistant.” 

Jade admits that she found herself feeling a little worried about hitting her goal and started pursuing other ways to raise money, including bake sales and raffles. She also expanded the circle of people she would ask for support to include teachers along with friends and their families.

Spoiler alert: Jade reached her goal and returned to the Dominican Republic.

Sharing advice for people getting into fundraising
With two successful fundraising campaigns under her belt, we asked her what encouragement she would share with peers wanting to make a difference but worried about fundraising.

“If I had tips for anybody looking to fundraise for their own Build, I think the biggest thing is being persistent. Because at first, you may not get the result that you want, and it may be harder than you really think… so just try not to be down. The more you radiate a positive energy towards what you are doing, and you talk about it, the more people are willing to listen and contribute.”

When coming up with fundraising ideas, she believes that everything should be on the table and encourages people to not look at the amount raised because every little bit helps. 

But in the end, to Jade, successful fundraising is all about relationships.

Conversations with Melanie

Melanie has been living in the Dominican Republic for a while before joining our team. As a Manager of Operations, she oversees all of the work that is happening across the island of Hispaniola.

We had the chance to ask her a few questions, and although she’s fluent in Spanish, she was kind enough to make sure to respond in English for all us non-fluent folks.

What drew you to working with LiveDifferent in your current role?
I was already living and working for another charity in the Dominican Republic before joining LiveDifferent. I had heard about the wonderful projects that this charity was working on and the fact that their head office is in Hamilton (my hometown) was an added bonus. When the role of Manager of Operations became available, I didn’t hesitate to apply and I am soooooo grateful that I did because I love being a part of the LiveDifferent family.

How do relationships and community play a part in your work?
It is the strong and long relationships that we have with our community leaders that allow us to do the wonderful work that we do. They are the true experts and we are simply here to lend a helping hand. Their insight in their respective communities is invaluable, as they guide us to focus our projects based on their needs and to support those who need it the most. We empower them to lead the way and what’s most important is that we listen to what they have to say. It’s a combined effort from beginning to end and we together take pride in our accomplishments.

In LiveDifferent, we have a very common saying that “life is about people”. What does that expression mean to you when it comes to your involvement with the volunteers and community members in the Dominican Republic?
We focus a lot on bridging connections between community members and volunteers. I can confidently say that in every Build, we accomplish this. By the end of each trip, everyone becomes one big family.

Conversations with Rose

Rose resides in Mexico with her family and has been staff at LiveDifferent for over 10 years now. At the moment, she oversees everything that happens with our Builds and Academy programs while also staying connected with the communities we work in. She’s an engaging and supportive superstar, and all of us know how lucky we are to have her.

We had the chance to ask her some questions about her work in general, and Mexico specifically. And as always, her positivity shines through.

What do you love about the people you’re surrounded by in Mexico?
The people of Mexico have shown me what it means to be generous with whatever I have, and how to welcome others into my ‘family’. I love how they love a good story and a good laugh.

In your words, what do we hope to accomplish in this area of Mexico?
We hope to give a hand up to families that are struggling to pay for the basics. Rent can take a large chunk of the weekly salary of a field worker. They are not eligible for financing to build a decent house, so many live in a cycle of never-ending rent payments, or put that money towards a piece of land but end up living in houses made of plastic and cardboard. We seek to help provide basic shelter to families that have worked hard to buy land so that their health will improve and so that rent money can be put towards other family needs such as education.

What is your favourite part of your job?
I like that there is a lot of variety, but my favourite part would have to be meeting so many different people. Amazing people that have found their way to the San Quintin valley. People that work hard all day long and then come home with a smile on their face and care for their family. Youth that work hard to raise money to come to Baja California so that they can help someone else. Young adults searching for how they can make a difference in the world. Parents that want to give their children the opportunity to travel and experience what life looks like when we stop focusing on ourselves and our things.

When you think volunteers that you meet, what do you hope they take away from the Build experience?
My hope is that after getting to know a Mexican family, that they would see the intrinsic value of each person that they meet. That they would be encouraged that there are others who also have big hearts and care about our world—that they are not alone. And that there would be a ripple effect [as they] return to their home communities inspired to make a difference.

We have a very common saying that “life is about people”. What does that expression mean to you when it comes to your involvement with the volunteers and community members?
LiveDifferent’s saying of “life is about people” matches Mexican culture. Whether it is building a house, partnering with another organization or talking to one of our cooks, I have learned that I need to develop our relationships first before rushing into the business side of things that motivated our conversation. All of my work responsibilities, from administrative tasks to hosting volunteers, come down to putting people first.

Welcoming the Garcia Vasquez Family Home, From a Distance

Every two years, Andrea and her students from Seycove Secondary School join us to work alongside a special community in the Dominican Republic. In 2018, they helped three families receive a fresh start and this March, they were going to be bringing three more families into safe, dry homes.

Students experience their ‘Day in the Life’
Bringing people together from different backgrounds has the power to change the world.

On a Build, everyone has the chance to experience something we call a “Day in the Life”—where volunteers and local families are able to cook, clean, and communicate together with the help of one of our translators. It’s a special time that allows for connections to be made that can leave a lasting impact.

The last time Seycove students were with us back in 2018, heavy rains had recently hit the community days before Andrea and a handful of her students had the chance to visit with the Garcia Vasquez family for their Day in the Life experience.

It was clear to everyone who walked through the front door how vulnerable this family of three was too flooding. Visible water damage could be seen across the walls, several feet above ground level, and when the dad spoke, he talked about how they would have to leave the house swimming to get to higher ground.

The mother had a sight condition, which made life difficult and their 11-year-old daughter had grown up in these unsafe living conditions for her whole life.

In talking to one of the students about their experience, Maria summed up her feelings by saying that it made her want to come back and build another home.

Breaking the news
We rely on members of the community to play a lead role in selecting who will receive a home. But when the Garcia Vasquez family popped up on the list, we were excited because in March, more student volunteers from Seycove Secondary School would be returning with Andrea.

We knew that pairing the two of them together was possible and would be extra significant to everyone involved.

 

Coronavirus cancellations
During the first half of March, things changed rapidly across Canada.

As society began limiting gatherings, restrictions were put on travel, and physical distancing rules were put into effect, the trip was cancelled.

The students were disappointed that they wouldn’t be able to physically put in the work, but each of them were excited to hear that we’d be doing everything we could so that the families would receive their new homes.

Welcome home
Thankfully before restrictions were put in place on the island, local contractors and community members were able to come together and work alongside the family to build their house and welcome them home.

Although it’s not how we wanted the story to end, we still find an incredible amount of inspiration in the fact that Andrea and her students were able to make a difference and help the Garcia Vasquez family begin a new chapter of their lives, even from a distance.