A Day in the Life of Boston Pizza Volunteer

Hey Mom, We Made it!

First off, our apologies to all of those concerned moms and dads back in Canada – we’re all here and safe! Today was our first day visiting the communities in which we will be helping. Meeting with the people of these communities reminded me of why we chose to come here- To help others who aren’t as fortunate to have access to the necessities for health and health care as we do. We are nursing students and are here in Sosua with 16 other students and professionals of a similar field or interest.

Reggie’s Blog – Changing and Improving (DR Intern 2012)

Going into a new experience you always wonder what to expect. That is how I felt going into a Hero Holiday this year, 2012, as an intern. Yes, I knew the outline of responsibilities, I read all of the emails, and I heard stories from previous interns, but I have never experienced it myself to bring it all to reality. Now that the experience has come to an end, I now know what it means to be an intern and it is amazing!!!

Boston Pizza’s LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Round #2

Well I am blessed to be on Boston Pizza’s LiveDifferent Hero Holiday round 2. On top of that, given the opportunity to write a blog on my first day returning to the communities I was able to bring a difference to a year ago was amazing. So this is my attempt at giving my feelings and emotions the justice they deserve.

It’s Not Enough Just to be Grateful…

A Lesson to Live By

As I write this, the date is Sunday, July 22. It feels like only a few hours ago that we landed in the DR and all of a sudden we have been here five days. Five days might not seem like a long time, but here, we’ve experienced so much that it feels impossible to have been such a short time.

Although we’ve already seen and done so much, one particular thing has repeatedly entered my mind and is already changing the way I think about things; the locals are here are unbelievably positive about every situation and scenario that crosses their path.  During our awareness tour on the first full day here, we stopped in a small community called La Union.  Instantly after getting off the bus, kids came running from everywhere, excited to meet and play with us. They all have so little in terms of a house, toys, clothing, or utilities, but that didn’t stop them one bit. Every single person we passed waved to us and greeted us with a cheerful “Hola!”. They were simply happy to see us and that struck me as incredible. They didn’t let their many worries, their harsh and unfair living conditions, or their daily struggles get in the way of simple happiness, and that is something I will continue to remind myself about.

Another example of their inspirational attitude hit me like a pound of bricks on the day we went and worked in the garbage dump. The young boy that I worked with, Ryan, was only 10 years old, and had been working there for quite a while to help support his family back in Haiti while he lives here in the DR with friends.  As we started to walk and search through what seemed to be never ending garbage, it became readily apparent how hard Ryan works. When we tried to get to know him by asking basic questions through the help of a translator, Ryan answered a few and then calmly said “no more,” as we were wasting valuable working time. In another instance, I was clearing away limbs of trees in hopes of finding recyclable materials underneath, when a branch caught Ryan’s pants, knocking him off balance and sending him sprawling into a pile of rotten food.  I quickly turned around worried that I’d find him hurt or upset, yet I was relieved to see him laughing away about what had happened, and I couldn’t help but to join in and laugh with him.

Ryan taught me something that day that I will keep with me for the rest of my life. He taught me that no matter how the large the obstacles to overcome are, you simply have to find a way be content and push through it. I find so much inspiration in that, because if a ten year old boy can do it on a daily basis, then we most certainly can too! No child should have to work as hard as Ryan does, or grow up in a childhood like his, however he truly inspired me and I can’t even begin to describe how grateful I am to have had that experience. We only have two more work days here in the DR, and I can’t wait to take in every moment of them, as unfortunately it will all be over in the blink of an eye. I wish everyone the best and I promise that we have lots to share when we all return home!

Kardy – LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Volunteer, Dominican Republic 2012

Eyes opened in a garbage dump…

On Saturday we went to the garbage dump where we got to work side-by-side with the people there. I did not know what I was expecting but it sure wasn’t what I saw felt or experienced. In North America, we have our safe homes, and if not that, at least we have homes that we can go home to. We have so many valuable yet unrecognizable treasures that we take for granted every day. I already know coming down on this trip is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me; it has opened my mind to poverty and i have finally seen the real life meaning of this word that we only know from books or TV. 

When my team headed down to the dump, I was extremely nervous. I was just expecting a disgusting smell and giant piles of garbage. I knew that there would be people there, but I was not sure who. When we arrived and got off the bus, yes it was smelly, and yes there was garbage everywhere, I was not surprised by any of that. What did surprised me was when this little 10 year old boy came up to me and Aidan, another LiveDifferent volunteer, and asked us to be his partners for the job. It surprised me by how happy and content he was, sifting through garbage, one hand bare, while the other was sporting one of Aidan’s work gloves. His name was Kravis, and he had on a pair of shoes that were three sizes too big for his feet as he walked through cow manure, mud, and of course garbage.

We were collecting plastic bottles so that he could earn money to help feed and shelter his two little siblings and his grandparents, as he did not have any parents. At the age of 10, Kravis works in a world of toxic waste, sweat, billions of flies, and skinny stray dogs. Needless to say it was a very emotional day for the whole team, having to see something so bizarre, and unfair. I am very glad that i did not have to experience this alone and I knew that there were more who were experiencing extreme emotions at the end of the day in our debriefing. I am very thankful to have such wonderful people to lean on, and so grateful for this opportunity to open my eyes to what poverty really is. 

Kristy – LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Volunteer, Dominican Republic 2012

The Real Heroes of Hero Holiday

We came on this trip wanting to see a different side of life. Wanting to make a difference, wanting to change lives. We came on this trip knowing we would see poverty and expecting to see things that would make us very sad. Although lots of what we expected is true, there is a whole other side that we did not anticipate.

Life in someone else’s shoes…

How would you feel if you did not exist? If you had no country to call home? If you had nothing but a mold infested shack to return to day after day. Praying for a better future, but recognized as nothing but an illegal immigrant, you could be removed from the land you have come to know as home at any moment. The very same land which was meant for four hundred, but is harboring nearly two thousand. Tell me, how would you feel if you were put in their shoes?

 

Across the border in the Dominican Republic, you now have nothing but the clothes on your back and the worn shoes on your feet. You have just committed a crime by illegally crossing the border and could be thrown back into Haiti at any time, but you trek on. Word spreads of factory work, perhaps some stable income, but when you find work, the factory closes down.

 

You live in a squatters’ village. You do not own this land, but you have no other place to live. The government has shut down the sugarcane factory, your only means of work, and you are forced to choose between prostitution and hard labour. You pick the latter. You spend six out of seven days a week picking through the garbage dump; piles of maggot infested garbage, rotting food, and all matter of ruined debris. The government does not like you, they do not want you in their country, but this is the only work you can find.

 

 

Your life has turned into a twisted treasure hunt, or so you believe, at least for your daughter’s sake. She is only eleven and she works beside you, searching for plastic bottles and bags. You can make between five and ten dollars a day, but the money does not make your situation easier. You pray for a better life for your daughter. For her to be educated and given a bed she can sleep soundlessly in without rats nibbling at her fingers and toes. You do this for her, yet 

she has been brought into this life with you and it weighs heavily on your shoulders.

 

You harden your persona because you have no other choice. You cannot survive easily with carefree notions when your survival is dependent on the trash others throw away. Bottle after bottle, bag after bag you collect but you wonder if it will ever be enough. The sunken garbage becomes old, and you wish your life was not so routine. You wish you had never gotten used to the life you have now.

 

 

You rise before the sun and trek through the heat and humidity for thirty-five minutes to the dump. You know you are close when the smell hits your nostrils and the gravel road inclines sharply. Discarded trash litters the roadside and surrounding foliage, but you do not stop, you know there is nothing useful there. The sun rises as you reach the top and see the rolling piles of garbage before your eyes. You keep your daughter close to your side because you never know what could happen to her if she disappears behind a pile that is too high for you to see behind. You remember she wears shoes when you wear sandals, yet you both pick garbage gloveless. You have long since questioned using your bare hands, perhaps you never even learnt the dangers and diseases you could endure; but, you have seen them on others and you pray your daughter will be spared. You have seen too many small cuts turn into infections, things you are not educated on how to treat. You do not know how to fix the unfortunate accidents others face so you pick on, hoping one more bottle will be enough to get your daughter and maybe even yourself out of there.

 

 

The sun rises higher and travels across the sky, you have taken little to no breaks and your back is throbbing with a pain you have come accustomed to over the years. Your daughter works tiredly beside you and you wish you could send her back to the shack you call home, but you know it is hardly better there. The tin roof is rusting, filled with countless holes, and only truly gives protection from the sun. The rain finds a way through despite your best efforts and floods the room, splashing water sometimes even up around your ankles. Mold has taken over the mattress you and your daughter share every night, and the wooden frame that makes up your home is rickety from bugs infesting the walls. In a couple more hours, you will return there and find a sanction even amongst all its defects. Some say home is where the heart is, but you know yours will always belong to Haiti.

 

 

Despite the endless sorrows weighing down your shoulders, you are strong. You have a strength in you unknown to most people because you are able to work seemingly effortlessly in the eyes of others. You do not work to a punch clock; no one counts the hard hours you work each day, instead you are paid by the bag of plastics you collect. You have no stability, but you work anyway when others may not. 

 

Even despite your hard exterior, you still have your morals intact. Your beauty, inside and out, rivals all things beautiful in the world, yet you know appearance is not everything. You know what you need and what you want, you know when to choose which is the best in any situation. You are courageous beyond measure for leaving everything you have known behind and traveling into uncertainty. Starting a new life out of hardly more than tin sheets and scrap wood is sheer bravery.

 

 

Above your courage and audacity, you are selfless even when others cannot see it. You work with your community, and put your daughter before yourself every chance you get. When your days get hard, it is her smile that lights up the sky as if she were a descendant of Apollo himself. Even amongst the piles of garbage and your worn home, she is the light that moves you forward. 

 

This is your life, as bleak as it may seem sometimes, you still have hopes and dreams to rise each day and work to the best of your ability. Regardless of what others believe, you do exist in this world and should be recognized as such. You are worthy, determined, and know what you hope to accomplish in this life. You are no different than others believe you to be, but merely born in a tough situation you work to overcome. So tell me, after all this time, how does it feel to be put in someone else’s shoes?

 

Haley – LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Intern, Dominican Republic 2012

Reggie’s Blog – “A Day to Act Your Age”

This morning we packed up the fun pack and headed to the village of La Union. We put together a baseball game with many of the young adults and kids aged 5 – 22. They loved it, but we may have enjoyed it a little more! Many people may think this was just a simple game of baseball, but it actually was so much more. Because we were there, we gave these children and young adults the opportunity to do things that people at their age would most commonly be doing. Most of these individuals on a daily basis walk about 45 minutes or more to the garbage dump to work for eight hours straight. They often have responsibilities around the house which are not typical of an individual their age. It is a great feeling to know we could be there for the morning.