Building Strong Bonds

Today was the last house building day of our trip in the Dominican Republic. It was really amazing to see everything come together, but it was sad to think that my time here is almost over. We’ve all worked so hard but had so much fun while doing it, not letting any language barrier stop us from building strong bonds with community members, other workers, and children.

All the kids got happier and happier to see us every day, jumping onto us when we got out of the bus and running after us when we left at the end of the day. It was heartwarming how everyone in the community welcomed us with open arms and appreciated what we were doing for them. Multiple times we were told that we were part of their family and a blessing from God, which really made me realize how much the homes we were building were going to change their lives.

The walls went up on the house almost as fast as the relationships we built grew. It seemed like the entire community was outside of their houses helping out in any way they could, or just dancing along to our music and being a part of the group. It seemed like the hotter it got the harder we worked and the more the determination and the teamwork was evident.

The main community leader and pastor of the church, Sandra, gave a speech to us about her role in the community’s development. Her mother cooked us an amazing meal at lunch for all 40 of us, with all sorts of great community traditional dishes. We all worked ridiculously hard that morning, so that was probably the most I have ever ate at a meal, so it’s a good thing it was delicious!

– Chloe, LiveDifferent Trip Volunteer, Dominican Republic, 2014