Shack Day # 2

Today was day 2 of the School of Leadership shack experience, where the students had the opportunity to work a common local job, rock picking. Have you ever been to public places and noticed the perfectly smooth black rocks that are often found in planters and in other for other landscaping purposes? There is a good chance that those rocks have come from this part of the world.The students woke up this morning, made some eggs and tortillas over an open fire, then met me at the highway at 7:00 am. We drove down to the beach and met up with about fifteen other workers to pick rocks for the next 8 hours. They had to dig through the rocks, find all the similar rocks of the same size, same color and with few blemishes. They loaded 20 bags of black rocks throughout the day. Each bag is worth about 80 cents, so therefore they would have earned a total of $16 for the whole day. Not a great daily wage divided by five people. Talking with one of the workers that was on site, he normally fills about 25 bags per day, which is still not a great wage. By the end of the day the students were exhaust, with worn out finger tips. Most of the students found that the hardest part of the job was staying focused and motivated on the task. They found a great respect for the workers that do this for a living day in and day out.

Of Flat Land and Epic Battles

Hey everybody!

Just for those who are wondering (because I get asked about 200 times daily) my name is actually Hammer and I do indeed have two of the best parents ever. DJ thought I was insane (inside joke – see The Whole Nine Yards) when I told him how excited I was to come to Manitoba. Ever since we first heard we were going there I couldn’t wait to see flat land. Being from Newfoundland, finding any sort of land that isn’t riddled with rocks and hills is a pretty hard thing to come by. Lucky for me there’s plenty of it. When we’re on the road, as some of you may or may not know, Christian, DJ, Bryan and I like to be really cool and mature by playing with toy swords that we made ourselves while in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. But one day while battling in Wanipigow, Manitoba two of the girls, Laura and Nicole decided to join in. They battled each other using mine and Christian’s long swords and it was the most epic and hilarious battle ever. Laura took on the form of Xena warrior princess, horrifying high pitched screaming and all. But it was no match for Nicole who took on the form of a shark mixed with a t-rex…I know, scary right?

I cant believe this half of the tour is already half way done, it feels like we just started! Where have these past two and a half weeks gone? Must have been having too much fun battling, enjoying the scenery, playing shows for all you and even getting to meet some of you!

Thanks Manitoba, you’ve been amazing and will for sure be missed, you’ve made this tour an unforgettable experience!

Hammer

School of Leadership 2010 – Shack Day # 1

Today was the first day of The Shack Experience. This is where the School of Leadership students try to simulate a first hand physical and emotional experience of living in poverty.  For seven days they live in a shack that they built themselves out of cardboard, sticks and other scrap that they have found on the streets. The wake up early in the mornings, start a fire, make breakfast, make a lunch and head off to work for they day. They walk to where a bus would normally pick up workers, and that is where I meet them and take them to their jobs. Each day the students have a different job that is typical for the local Mexican people.  All jobs are hard labor and offer very little satisfaction upon completion.  They will be spending a day working in the fields picking strawberries, a day sorting through river rocks and packaging the nice ones, a day clam digging in the ocean and also a day cleaning out a bean field.Today was their first day, they woke up at 5:00am, prepared for the week and were at their shacks by 6:00am. They walked 3kms to drop of their pretend children at school and then met me at the highway. I took them down to the beach and they spent the first few hours loading the truck full of rocks so they could later place them in different areas around the yard. After a few loads of that, they were able to have a lunch break and then right back to work. A few of them swept our large drive way, others sorted through nails, others dug a trench. At 4:00 pm, I drove them back to the highway, gave them their pay and off to the grocery store they went to buy food for supper, breakfast and lunch. After all of their pay deductions for the day, like rent, school supplies, and water bills, they were only left with approximately $15 for food for all five of them. They ate a bit of spaghetti for supper and then got ready for bead. They said they were pretty worn out from the day. Partially due to the heat but mostly they were not used to the work. I think they are looking forward to the challenge that is ahead of them. They seem pretty excited about the days to come.

Haiti Update – Day 4

Today was another productive day on our project sites.  At the boys home we were laying block, hanging doors, prepping the roof to be replaced and being entertained by the boys singing and dancing (LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute)ly hilarious).  At the girls home the painting and sanding continued, and today was a really special day because Nettie (aka Beyonce) showed up to put on a show!  Apparently her singing and dancing was ‘off the charts’ and they all bonded over laughs and good times together.  Everyone is long asleep now and I am heading that way too.  A sign of everyone working hard = early to bed!  To view more pictures click here.

UBCO Trip Off to a Great Start

Kyle Dyck, a participant with the UBCO private charter group, writes:

We finally made it to Mexico! The trip here was full of both excitement and nervous anticipation, but we also had a lot of fun. On the plane a few of us even managed to get bumped up to first class! The early Sunday morning might have been a bit more difficult for some than others, but we pulled through and enjoyed the sights on the trip from San Diego to Mexico. Since we’ve arrived in Vicente Guerrero, there have already been a few challenges. Whether returning or here for the first time, it’s always difficult to see the extent of the poverty and difficulty the people here face each day. It’s definitely tough to even come close to understanding how hard it would really be. However, it opened our hearts and prepared us to meet the amazing family that we are building the house for. Each member of the family was extremely welcoming and worked alongside us all day long. Some of the kids have already stolen our hearts, and we can imagine it will only become harder and harder to leave as the week goes on. The father, Randy, is truly inspiring both in his attitude and perseverance. It was a shorter work day than expected, but we all worked hard and we managed to get some good work done, and we can’t wait to get started again today! The friends we have with us have truly been a blessing, and we can’t wait to see how God will work in each one of us this week.

Greetings from Haiti!

Hello Everyone,Our first Hero Holiday has begun as of May 1st. Seventeen eager Canadians departed out of Buffalo with excitement and a desire to make a difference in the lives of the children of the orphanage we are helping: Kay Papa Nau. We arrived into Port-au-Prince mid morning, dropped of our bags off at our hotel, and made a quick drive to the girl’s home a few blocks away. There we were greeted by smiles and hugs from our new found friend. The girls sang to us and they thought it would be a good idea to do our hair (ouch!!!) When we left the home we were full of braids. At the boys home 20 minutes away, there was the same warm welcome. Instead of hair braiding they decided to play some soccer.The next day was our awareness tour of Port-au-Prince. This truly was an eye opener! Looking at all the destruction and devastation that has left Haiti in a crippled state broke my heart. It was so intense that I almost imagined that it was not real. More like I was on the set of a movie. It is sad to see families sharing tents or knowing that the tents for some were nicer than the shack that they left. Tents can be cramped but more than that they are heat boxes and trust me it is HOT here!Today we started our building project. Most of the team is at the boy’s home building a kitchen. When we are finished, they will no longer have to cook their meals in the alley way but in a brand new building. Later in the week we will put a new roof on their school (right now it is a roof of ripped tarps). The other part of the team were at the girl’s home giving it much needed coat of paint and seeing what life is like for them daily. When we are done there, we will have their home a bright sunshine yellow house and clean fresh walls inside. Many homes, including this one, do not have running water or electricity. The children must get water from the well for all their cleaning and cooking needs. At night, they light candles or when they can afford the gas, start up the generator for light.Tomorrow we will continue with our projects and getting to know the children and life in Haiti much more.

Haiti Update – Day 3

Update from Hero Holiday HaitiThe awareness tour was an amazing eye opener, and hardly describable! The amount of destruction and need will definitely leave the group with a changed perspective. Everyone was excited to start on the projects today. First on the list was painting in the girls orphanage, and starting to build the kitchen in the boys orphanage. An excellent way for them to spend new found motivation after the awareness tour.**note** It looks like staff will be able to get online tonight, so you might see some pictures on our facebook page.

Water Balloons and Muddy Feet

When her back was against the wall, Alice in Wonderland reminded herself of what her father told her: “I try to believe in six impossible things before breakfast.” In Haiti, trying to believe in six impossible things is not that hard; in fact, the options are quite limitless, as there is so much that needs to change and so much in the way of that change, sometimes simple hope and laughter can count as near impossibilities.Port Au Prince has become a city of tents: estimates have been as high as 1.3 million people that have been sleeping in tents, with nowhere to go. Tents fill every park, spill onto sidewalks, even line the medians in the battered city streets. Not only are people homeless, they are without water, medical care, and virtually without hope. One more little cluster of tents doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to people. And although numbers represent individual lives, it is really hard to separate the two, until you experience the difference for yourself.Down a long, dusty road just outside the city lies a little haven that you would miss unless you knew what you were looking for. It is called Rêve Timoun, which in Créole means “Children’s Dream”, and for the 34 young lives that currently call it home it is exactly that. It may not look like much to you: a barren, square chunk of land with a central makeshift tarp shelter with rough wooden benches that is surrounded by little Coleman tents clinging to the ground as they defy the endless wind, sun, and inevitable rain. This past week when our Hero Holiday team pulled up to the Rêve Timoun property, they thought they were ready for whatever they encountered: pain, loss, extreme poverty. But instead, they experienced the unexpected: passionate singing, intense laughter, heartfelt affection, and warm memories.The Hero Holiday group had come to this property prepared for fun with soccer balls, skipping ropes, various gifts for each child, and best of all, balloons. But not just any balloons – these were balloons that were ready to be filled with water and wreak havoc and induce violent fits of laughter. After their introduction of singing and hugs and struggling to fill the balloons with water in a place that had no running water to begin with, the team lined up the kids to face each other. Armed only with a water balloon, they began their battle, testing each other’s skills of focus and pure energy. As the war broke out, the screams of sheer joy and excitement filled the air. One of the little girls, probably about 4 years old, was so overwhelmed with excitement and incapacitated with laughter that she was unable to focus long enough to even throw the balloon. Finally after a three or four minute struggle and with some help from a teammate she threw the balloon and squealed with delight as her opponent retaliated. This was the most excitement they had ever had on this property and they wanted to the experience to last forever.At the end of the day, everyone who stood on that sun scorched property were able to believe in more than six impossible things, because they were surrounded by 34 impossible hopes. Each child represented incredible impossibilities: having already survived the deadliest natural catastrophe in global history, they made it to this safe place.  Despite near starvation and exploitation before they arrived here, they now faced life without parents or family. Each one of these young lives had been in the clutches of death and now here they stood, embracing all that life had for them that day.Rêve Timoun cannot offer the children much in terms of material comforts – they currently live in tents, sleep on donated yoga mats, and eat and have school under a tattered tarp – but as cliché as it may sound, they truly do have incredible depths of love and support. The staff of volunteers who live and sleep on the same property provide them with love, protection and the ability to continue to believe in the impossible: a life with a good future. And together with our Hero Holiday participants and all of our supporters, LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) is privileged to believe with them for that future…because they are worth it.To find out more about our Hero Holiday trips to Haiti, check out www.heroholiday.com. You can help us to help them by donating to our Hero Holiday projects at www.livedifferent.com/donate. Together we can believe in the impossible!

Hero Holiday Haiti

The first Hero Holiday in Haiti is underway! Everyone arrived and was excited to visit the girls and boys homes, where a few had their hair braided. Tonight they will be back at the hotel for supper and orientation, and tomorrow the group will be on an awareness tour of Port-au-Prince.

As much as you are all looking forward to seeing pictures, the internet is not working where they are staying. Unless the group is able to find stable internet, they will be limited in terms of facebook updates and pictures. But rest assured, we will post daily updates such as this one that we receive via phone if they are unable to find internet access, as we know you where looking forward to following their experiences!

LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) staff