Shark Tooth

The moment I saw the “LiveDifferent” presentation at my school (Margret Twomey Public School) I realized that a goal of mine was to learn more about this organization, poverty and to someday travel on a “Hero Holiday.” Those three years that “LiveDifferent” had come to my school, gave me the motivation to travel and help people in need, when I was old enough to attend on my own.  When I realized that my family was supporting me to go on a “Hero Holiday” I was ecstatic. I was even happier that I was able to get the chance to experience this amazing adventure with my Mom.

The day I travelled to Dominican Republic to the village of Nuevo Renacer on our awareness tour, it was not what I was expecting to see. The homes I had seen were no larger than a small shack. Most homes were made out of scraps of wood, and tin, or anything that could be found. They had holes in the roofs and walls. Water was leaking from the roof and flooded on the streets on rainy days. The house I have been building with my team is for a single dad with three sons. The father has been raising the three boys on his own for the past fifteen years. I could not even imagine how hard that must be for him.

One of the highlights of my Hero Holiday is called “A Day in the Life.” I got to experience this amazing morning with my Mom. The family I had met was a Father, Mother, and two children (ages 15, and 11). The son was born premature, which has given him many physical and mental disabilities with upcoming surgeries to repair his vision. The father provided for his family, by fishing as his employment. Eight months ago, he had a terrible accident, and could not fish anymore. Today he picks and sells fruit, and he also has three rooms that he rents out for income. He also fixes electronics. When my Mom and I went into their home, the Father showed us a jaw of a shark that he had caught, and also a beak of a sword fish. This was the most amazing thing that I have ever seen, because he had so much pride in showing us that he had caught these.

Many people have running water, washing machines, dish washers, microwaves, but here in Dominican Republic they often have none of these things. All these appliances that many people take for granted this family that I had spent the day with only dreams of having. Washing clothes by hand in a tub with hauled water and hanging it on a string line is not the easiest thing to do, as I realized after spending time with this amazing family. After spending the day with this family, it made me realize how privileged I am living in Canada to get all the things that I have, and how much I take them for granted. Now that I am on this Hero Holiday, I realize what LiveDifferent is all about.

Grace ~ Hero Holiday Volunteer 2013 

The Act of Teaching

Lugging a suitcase around an airport with only thirty minutes of sleep the night before isn’t the ideal way to begin an enormous humanitarian trip in the Dominican Republic. With so little energy, I didn’t feel overly enthused about meeting forty-something new people, struggling through Spanish, and suffering through the extreme heat and intense humidity – not to mention the incredible workload I would be taking on in the following ten days. And now, here I am; I’m just wrapping up Day 4 on my Hero Holiday and I’ve already had a handful of incredible experiences.

One morning on the worksite, I was given a task that involved a shovel and a group of muscles that I never bothered to develop. When our translator asked who wanted to pull nails from boards, I immediately volunteered, thankful for being assigned an easy job. It wasn’t easy. “Nail removal” quickly became “yank on the nails, give up, put the board in another pile, wish for stronger deodorant, grab a new board, and repeat.” A local elderly woman watched this process for a while and then beckoned me over in Spanish. Although we didn’t speak the same language, she began to teach me the best way to remove the nails (put an extra board by the nail and use it as a booster for your hammer so you don’t have to pull as hard).

For the next little while, she guided me: she straightened out crooked nails, she loosened up tough ones, and she held down the boards to keep them steady. She would never do the job for me, but rather would demonstrate, hand me the hammer, and smile. It would have been less stressful for the entire worksite if this little old lady had just taken over the Nail Removal Site and let me take a siesta somewhere, but she took the time and care to teach me how to do it properly. By the end, we were celebrating each completed board with a cheer, a high five, and a quick exchange of Spanish and English that the other never understood. When we finished for the day, her and I even compared biceps (she acted impressed at my muscles, but hers were much bigger so I think she was just flattering me).

The next day on the worksite when it came time to remove the nails, I didn’t have to worry about nails with a mean curve or two boards being nailed together. The little old lady worked alongside me, smiling as wide as ever. This really ties into the whole “give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day; teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime” philosophy that I believe is at LiveDifferent’s core. We’re providing a house, yes, but we are also involved in creating a better community and helping the local economy by hiring contractors. I’ve experienced many awesome things – a waterfall hike, a pool party, and the cool relief of an ocean swim after a hard day’s work – but this woman’s act of patience and guidance is something that has been vital to my experience thus far. I can’t wait to see what the remaining days will bring. And I can’t wait to tell this story to my Dad, who I assure you will say, “You didn’t know how to take out nails?”

Shanae ~ Hero Holiday Volunteer 2013

Meeting amazing people

Today was the second day on the work site. The house is coming up a lot faster than I thought it would be. Everyone always had something to be doing. If it wasn’t sifting sand or mixing cement, then you would be playing games with the kids on the beach.

Everyone in the community was there to help.  Even the family the house was for was helping. You can’t really tell how grateful someone is until they receive something that they’ve worked for and deserved their whole lives and they are still there to help build, all day.

Everyone in the community is like a big family, they don’t care who’s blood you have, it’s just if you’re there then you’re loved and cared about the best you can. All these people give up so much of the little they have just to please everyone else. They always think of other people’s needs and wants before their own. It’s like they would rather do things for you than have you do something for them.

I was told about a boy that already lost their father to Diabetes, and who’s Mother and Brother have the same disease. That boy had to watch his mother bring his sister to an orphanage because there wasn’t enough food on the table for the four of them. People that live in such harsh conditions don’t deserve to be burdened with even more struggles. I think that if a few teenagers can build a house for a family to live in for the most part of their lives, then the amount of change that can be made with more and more people everyday is unimaginable.

Ben ~ Hero Holiday Volunteer 2013

Amy and Danica ~ Hero Holiday Volunteers 2013

Intern Week in Dominican Republic

Eager to grow, be used, and come back changed!

A day of celebration

My name is Beth and this was my very first LiveDifferent experience. Today I experienced something that not many people have the privilege of experiencing in their lifetime. I, along with 54 other inspirational people, handed over the keys to a brand new Medical Clinic and two homes for two very deserving families in Nuevo Renacer, Dominican Republic. At twenty one, I feel so blessed and honoured to have taken part in this journey. I am sad that I just recently discovered the work of LiveDifferent and got involved. However, I am glad that I can now say that is it something that I have accomplished and it is an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

The people of Dominican Republic are unbelievably admirable. They have the hope, happiness, relationships and dedication to their lives that some people search for forever. The hardships that they overcome each and every day are often more than anyone can experience in a lifetime. Medicare is now something that I know I previously took for granted. Until coming here, it was hard for me to understand the depth of their struggles. As medical practices are some of the largest expenses and the one of the greatest demands in this community, it was incredible to be a part of the construction of the Medical Clinic. Not only does it provide services to the community and to those who require the facilities, but it provides a new sense of hope for the longevity of life. It is hard to fathom that people die every day because they do not have the access or money to medical services. As the Medical Clinic is open to the entire community at large, I am incredibly excited and proud that so many people will be able to reap the benefits of this facility.

Earlier in the week, I had the honour to sit down and talk with a few of the family members of the first house that we were working on. Talking with Sonja, her two daughters and daughter-in-law was inspiring and eye opening. After discussing several areas of their lives from their hardships to their hopes, it gave me so much joy to watch them receive the keys to their homes. Sonja, Antonio, their two daughters along with their son and his wife were living in a house the size of my parent’s kitchen and dining room. They have faced numerous struggles throughout their lives. However, they continued to dream through the belief of greater powers. After hearing a bit of their story, it was incredible to see them receive the keys to their home, knowing that it would provide a glimpse of light to their lives. Hugging the family as I walked through their new home gave me a feeling that I will never forget. 

Our team worked with several different Dominican translators during our time here. Their stories alone make me wish that I had more time and money to commit to the incredible community of Nuevo Renacer.However, today was a day where time and money didn’t matter. Today we handed over the keys to the fiftieth house built in Nuevo Renacer to Bella and her family. Bella and Sara have been working with LiveDifferent for the past few years. Over the years, LiveDifferent heard about the struggles and hardships that they faced in their lives and in their previous home. Knowing this, LiveDifferent with some other sponsors, jumped through as many hoops as possible to provide Bella and her family with the home that they deserved. As Bella and her family are such special people and have provided LiveDifferent with so much help and their kind spirits over the years, we were determined that their house would be a surprise to them. As our team and several of the other translators knew this prior to the build and dedication, it made it that much more difficult to hold in our excitement during the build. The house is special in so many ways. It was such a surreal experience to hand over the keys to Bella, knowing that their lives would dramatically change forever. Their new home provides them the security and safety that they deserve. After today, Bella and her family no longer have to be concerned about not being able to pay rent. As a result, they do not have to be fearful of the struggles that they previously suffered in their old home. Knowing this provided me with emotions that I am unable to describe. Watching Bella accept the keys to her new home as she was supported by her daughter and son is something that will forever be engraved into my mind.

At the beginning of our trip, the interns and staff told all of us volunteers that we would not be the same individuals walking away from the Hero Holiday. After today, I now understand why. Prior to this experience, the hardships and lifestyles of the families that we worked with and met were only stories. After experiencing a “Day in the Life” and the emotions of providing a home to two deserving families and a Medical Clinic to a community, the stories turned into life experiences and memories. I feel so privileged to have worked alongside so many inspiring young people and volunteers over the last ten days. I hope that I can one day return to the Dominican Republic and sit down and talk with Sonja, Bella and their families. I would also love to see the next part of the Medical Clinic and hear all about the people that have benefited from the services from the centre.

Beth ~ Hero Holiday Volunteer 2013

Family bonding while mixing cement

Who our heroes are

At debriefing tonight we talked a lot about people’s wants and needs. You have your needs such as food, shelter and water, and you have your wants such as entertainment, special brands of clothes and richness. Today we spent our first half of the day with a family learning how they live and helping them out with daily challenges. The second half of our day was spent helping to build the new local medical clinic. Both of these tasks really helped us open our eyes and really understand the difference and separation between wants and needs.

The family we helped was a family of three children as well as the mother and father. The father was off working; he does not have a specific job but he goes out every day looking for any odd jobs he can do to make money to provide for his family.  On a good day the family makes $2.50, which does not cover the daily needs, so they often survive off one meal a day. We helped clean dishes, sweep the floor, clean clothes, fold laundry and cook a meal called “morro”. Their water was stored in a big bucket that was placed in the kitchen and used for multiple tasks. The house was very small and filled with children, which made the house really crowded and very hard to move around. They have so little but are the happiest family we have ever met, they are always smiling and full of energy. They struggle with daily needs that we take for granted at home, which leaves little room for wants. We are so grateful to have met and spent the day with such a wonderful and beautiful (bonita) family.

The medical center that is being built is something that is a need for the community and its people. We worked very hard and as a team with not only the LiveDifferent team but also with the people in the community. It felt so uplifting and great to be a part of such a wonderful experience. The people are so friendly and affectionate. You don’t need to speak their language to understand their gratitude because their hugs and smiles say it all.

It’s very hard to put all of our emotions onto one little piece of writing, because the emotions just keep building. We’ve only been here for three days and already feel so inspired and affected by everything that we are so fortunate to take part in. In school almost every year they ask us to write about who our hero is. If we had the chance to do that assignment now there is no doubt we would write it about all the wonderful and amazing people we’ve met so far.

Gracias for reading,

Hannah and Chelsea

Giving Back

My name is Lesley. I’m 16 years old and I’m from Musgravetown, Newfoundland. This is my first, but definietly not last, Hero Holiday with LiveDifferent! I first heard of this organization from a presentation at my school back in March. Listening to the speakers talking about children and families that have nothing really hit home for me.

Last July, my family home burned down. We lost everything we owned, including our family pets. I realized after the fire that I only owned the clothes on my back. Although this was tragic, everyone in our community was so supportive. People I didn’t even know were coming into my work place and handing me $50 bills! After hearing about Hero Holiday, I knew that this could be my way to give back. I have been amazed by the kindness of strangers, and I want to give others the same feeling. 

Today we did an awareness tour of some of the houses that LiveDifferent has built in the previous years. We got the chance to visit Nuevo Renacer. The first thing I noticed was that everyone was so friendly! People were waving to us as we were driving down the street, and we were all greeted with a smile. During our walk through the community, a little girl ran towards me and jumped into my arms. We instantly became best friends! She was so cute. She took my camera out of my hands and started taking pictures of anyone and anything. When it was time to go, she wouldn’t let me go. I attempted to tell her in Spanish that I would see her tomorrow. I’m so excited to spend the rest of the week with her and the rest of the children.

The next community that we went to was Arroyo Seco. We got to visit a school that had been built there and it was fun to try to read the Spanish words that were up on the walls. It’s great to know that the children there can get an education. A specific thing that caught my attention today was that although these people don’t have very much, they are very generous. The last house that we went to was on top of a huge hill. The family there was so kind to us. The boys picked some mangos and gave them to our team. They also gave out fruit that looked like mini limes. They were so good! The children and families in these communities warmed my heart and inspire me to be a better person. I’m looking forward to spend the rest of my trip working with them and my team.

Lesley ~ Hero Holiday Volunteer 2013

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