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Category: Dominican Republic

Reggie’s Blog – “School, Worksite, Cabarete, and Games Night/Bonfire”

 

School, worksite, Cabarete, and games night/bonfire – this is what my day consisted of. The only thing is it was much more extensive than just a basic, scheduled day. This morning at the school we did a lot of colouring, playing tag, and playing with the parachute. The kids are just filled with energy; it is a workout trying to keep up with them. 
 
playing
 
Today I brought the framed picture of Francisco and I which I took last year. I brought it to his house, and gave it to him in front of his mother. Francisco was very shy when I gave the picture to him, but his very quiet “Gracias” meant a lot to me! He took a few minutes to decide that he wanted to put it on the living room shelf which can be seen as soon as you walk into the house. His mother thanked me also as she continued to recognize and say with a smile, “amigo!”
 
smoothcoating
 
Appreciation continues to shine in the community of Arroyo Seco; I love it. We have been making very good progress on the house since we have been working on it. Today we finished the smooth coat; this is not the easiest task. The day was hot, and the smooth coat occasionally—frequently for me— fell off of the wall and managed to get everywhere on our clothes and bodies. At the end of the day it was totally worth it; we are that much closer to finishing the house and we got a real good dirty picture!
 
house
 
I was able to have a short conversation with the mother, Gladis, of the family which we are building for. She is extremely shy, but did answer some of my questions. She said that she is very happy that we are here to build her a new home. Being here, we are giving her one of her dreams—a home which creates dry and secure safety for her family so, they can go to school and continue a healthy life. I am honored to be building for this family; they are a lot of fun.
 
poolparty
 
We left the worksite a little early today in order to be ready for our team dinner at Cabarete. We went to a restaurant on the beach, had dinner, debriefed, and took some awesome pictures for memories. I love the tight bond that our team has formed. It is making it much easier for everyone to grow as individuals because they do not need to worry about fitting in. On top of all of this, we also had a games/bonfire night here at Sousa by the Sea. The games went perfectly, but the bonfire not so much. Not everyone had made it to the bonfire before it began to rain really hard. The majority of the people got extremely wet and just jumped into the pull. Even though the bonfire did not work out, the mini, unexpected pool party allowed some people to mingle and interact. I love how most of the volunteers here are awesome sports; it makes the trip that much more fun. The trip is going amazing; I am excited for it to continue!
 
– Reggie, LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Intern, Dominican Republic 2012

Author: LiveDifferent

Date: July 10th, 2012

Straight-up Awesomeness

I am feeling grateful and I have been incredibly humbled by the volunteers I have stood side by side with on this trip. They are so young and already they have seen, heard and felt the need in communities. They have chosen the road less travelled and decided that they will be compassionate and loving. They are mixing cement, smooth coating and sweating. They are so eager to work and so excited to entertain the children. They are drinking in this experience with every ounce of their being.

conveyor

These are the youth that will be happy. It is this generation that has the resources to make a difference. They will change the world. They will spread the word, inspire others and continue to live with hope. They are passionate about learning new things and connecting with the people in the communities. These student volunteers see the beauty in people, from every level of income and from everywhere, and they just can’t get enough. The ripple effect of this experience is going to be enormous. So much so that it is hard for most of them to conceptualize the magnitude of what is happening here.

shovels

I get to work side by side with these youth on a daily basis here and back home in Canada. I keep telling them that they have so much power in their hands, that they inspire and humble me, that they hold the key to ending the suffering of those around them.

smoothcoating

If they weren’t so awesome, I wouldn’t get to do what I do. I wouldn’t get to lead and teach and inspire. I want to thank them. H. Jackson Brown said ‘Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you’. Seriously guys, when I think of fairness and integrity, I think of all the faces and names I have encountered on this trip.

Genevieve – LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Teacher Volunteer, Domincan Republic 2012

Author: LiveDifferent

Date: July 9th, 2012

Haley’s Blog – Tears of Complete Joy (DR Intern 2012)

The first day on the worksite was an excited relief to say the least. Going from a warped and twisted treasure hunt in the La Union garbage dump, picking recyclable trash to help a family’s income, to aiding in building a home for a deserving family was an unsuspecting switch. I faced equally hard working individuals, striving to better themselves and their family, merely living in different communities. 

cement
 
Marino, his wife Elizabeth, and the workers were already working by the time Team Four arrived in the morning. Marino was cutting and preparing a chicken for lunch, which had been alive a mere half an hour earlier, and the beans we already boiling over a fire. In an instant, the Team was immediately engrossed in work. The old flooring was being pick-axed and removed, sand was being sifted, and cement was being mixed. Via translator, Elizabeth expressed her happiness and how truly blessed she was for finally having a safe place to call home. 
 
arroyo seco
 
Having only known Team Four for a couple days, I was already so incredibly proud at their ability to jump right in and help out in any way possible. Fifteen minutes in, it felt like I was sweating buckets and everyone looked just drenched as I was, but we all had smiles across our faces and excited for what was to come next. We have the biggest house build for Week One and we couldn’t be happier to be a part of it. 
 
more cement
 
If I had to express my two highlights of the day, everyones’ willingness would definitely make the top two; however, finally reaching the Arroyo Seco school after being away for a year was my number one. My heart was pounding, waiting to see if I would see the kids and recognize them from last year. As we rolled up in front of the gate, there she was. Ana. She was standing amongst her sisters, and at twelve, she is always looking out for younger siblings. She was watching the Team file off the truck and as soon as I dropped to the ground, I feared she wouldn’t remember me. The long year I was gone, worrying about if she would be okay during the hurricane season, or if she was surviving a mere mosquito bite, would mean nothing. All that washed away as soon as I called her name and her eyes met mine. Her face lit up in the biggest smile I’ve ever seen cross her face and suddenly she was in my arms hugging me as hard as I was hugging her back. I’ve never cried tears of happiness, but having finally seen Ana after all this time, I was shedding tears of complete joy. 
 
basketball
 
Ana and I spent the afternoon together with four other members of the Team and numerous other children from the area. The girls started painting the Team’s nails, and Ana gave me a nice pink manicure. A Team member, Laura, and I played two-on-two basketball and got our butts kicked by two boys half our age and height. They may be younger, but they had an intense amount of skill that put mine to shame.  The day ended with us reuniting with Team Four at the worksite and hearing stories of their day on our way back to the resort. Covered in concrete, dirt, and dust, they were all smiling and ranting they couldn’t wait for tomorrow. We worked hard and we played hard, and it’s only been one day on the worksite. We still have three days ahead of us and I can hardly wait for the morning. For hard work, for helping build a house for a deserving family, for the Arroyo Seco kids, and lastly, for Ana.
 
Haley – LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Intern, Dominican Republic 2012
 

Author: LiveDifferent

Date: July 8th, 2012

Reggie’s Blog – “I Have a Dream”

 

Today was an extremely emotional day for teams five and six. I know that this may be one of the hardest blogs to write because expressing my feelings about today is nearly impossible. We visited the garbage dump for an “In Their Shoes” experience. Each of us was paired with a local to help them rummage through garbage to collect plastics. This is the only means of income for these people; they make, at the most, five dollars a day. Many of these people are stateless. This means that although I could look at them with my own eyes and see them standing right in front of me, they are non-existent to the law.
 
reggiedump
 
I do not know about you but this upsets me. I find it very overwhelming to try and comprehend all of the situations that these people are facing. Thankfully, I felt very welcomed into their place of work. Despite all of the situations, the majority of these individuals are content and very positive. They are positive because they have hope just like many of the people in the other villages LiveDifferent works in. This positivity brings out even more positivity in me; all of my reactions at the garbage dump this year compared to last year were complete opposites. Last year I would describe the smell as atrocious and unbearable; this year the smell made me smile with excitement. The growth of the individuals in our group is stunning! I feel that many of the people who wanted their eyes to be opened really achieved this today. The tears and stories can surely back me up on this one. I apologize if this blog seems to ramble, but I have so many thoughts and feelings going on in my mind tonight I cannot organize them into meaningful information right now.
 
partnersdump
 
Tonight at debriefing Cole referenced Martin Luther King Jr. in his, “I Have Dream” speech. He said that those very first three words of the speech can mean so much. Having a dream is the beginning of hope and change. It was the dream that each community leader had that was the catalyst for where we are today and where we will be tomorrow. I get goose bumps every time I listen to a story about the community leaders. My eyes fill with tears and my heart sinks each time I listen to the horrifying facts about billions of people in our world. But, on a positive note, it all proves to me that I need to remain strong and remain the individual who has the motivation to create change because there are people out there, like Sonya (who I worked beside at the dump) who rely on the assistance of those with the motivation to change to help lay the stepping stones to a much brighter future. I am looking forward to visiting the garbage dump again while I am here in the DR. I am also stoked to get back on the worksite tomorrow where I can get to know our family a little more while we go with full force at constructing our house.
 
Reggie – LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Intern, Dominican Republic 2012

Author: LiveDifferent

Date:

When You Change the Way You Look at Things…

 

I saw people. I saw young, hardworking men. I saw wonderful children, including a toddler proudly wearing her pink dress. I saw proud mothers and mothers-to-be. I saw kindness and community and positivity. I saw hope. That is what I chose to see on my second visit to the garbage dump today.
 
childdump
 
I’m not saying that it wasn’t difficult to watch at times, or that statelessness and poverty are acceptable. I’m not saying that it didn’t cross my mind that my own toddlers could have been born to this life. I feel strongly about taking action and making changes. I am adamant that love will change the world, and that it begins here, now and with me. But my reaction today puzzled me. My students were sad, angry and plowing through, picking recyclables and food out of the garbage trucks that kept on coming. They were paired up with a Haitian community member, amazing teams of two, from worlds apart, striving to fill those seethrough bags.
 
jessidump
 
Everyone is entitled to their reaction. It stems from their experiences and no judgment should ever be passed on someone’s feelings in a certain situation. I was trying so hard not to judge myself for my reaction. It was so different. I just saw something beautiful. I was not upset or sad or angry. If anything I felt compassion. Compassion for people who have very little, and choose to work together as a community. People who get up 5 or 6 days a week to work on empty stomachs, yet find it in them to be giving and loving and helpful and smiling. People.
 
dumpgroup
 
The people I met today, they are an inspiration. They are the reason I do what I do. They are the ones who allow me to be the best person I can be. They inspire me to make changes, to make things happen and to continue striving for social justice.
 
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change…”
 
Gen – LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Teacher Volunteer, Dominican Republic, 2012
 
 

Author: LiveDifferent

Date:

Reggie’s Blog – “Building and Grandma Cecelia”

WOW! Today was great! It was the first day on the worksite and at the school in Arroyo Seco. In the morning I was at the school with half of the team doing activities with the kids and then at the worksite constructing the home in the afternoon. It was clearly displayed that everyone felt the heat while we smooth coated walls, laid bricks, mixed cement, and assembled the metal rod supports for the house! Everyone was a sweaty, red mess by the end of the day; this is a sure sign of a hard day’s work. I am very proud of how hard everyone worked, and I am glad that everyone was impacted in some way throughout the day. I can sense the growth among each individual on our team, including myself. We are all getting to know the families we are building for, having some fun, and taking the time to understand and respect each other and the people we are working with.

 
cement mixing
 
The two main highlights of my day were reconnecting with a little boy named Francisco (who I met last year) and getting to see another side of the grandma of the family we are building for. I was extremely excited to get to the school today because I wanted to see Francisco. Although I was very excited, I was even more nervous. I was nervous that he would not remember me and honestly that would have crushed me. Fortunately, he did remember me and it put me on cloud nine for the rest of the day! I spent only 6 days with this young boy and he is surrounded by hundreds of people in the duration of a year, and I have not seen or communicated with him the entire year. Yet he still remembered my face and my name! We played the entire morning and even a little more in the afternoon. Francisco showed me what appreciation really feels like, and appreciation is a huge thing among EVERYONE in Arroyo Seco. This is something I value because it has become somewhat lost in the “Western World.” If people could just put down the technology and appreciate life in general there would be a lot of positive change.
 
kids helping
 
In addition to the appreciation, dedication and fun really stuck out to me. Not only was it displayed by the team but by the family. The really show that they appreciate us being there helping them get a new home. They show this by being there at the worksite all day helping us with every task. Let me tell you, I am not exaggerating this at all. Miguel, the boy whose family we are building for, and his sisters, aunts, mother, and close friends were ALL mixing cement, lugging buckets, lifting bricks, and sifting sand. It kept me highly motivated to be working there because of the family’s participation. It has become a very personal build already. The family maintains high levels of enthusiasm and fun while we work.
 
grandmother
 
The funniest story if the day involved Cecelia, Miguel’s grandmother. Cecelia is a visibly elderly lady who is very loving and kind, and she displays complete innocence. She surprised us all today. The workday was nearly over, and we were all cleaning up. A close friend of the family had been working with us all day, and was just leaving the work site, walking towards bottom of the hill. He was being a little silly (we all were) when Cecelia bent over, picked up a rock about the size of a softball and threw it about 20+ feet at the friend of the family. The rock hit him without hurting him much, but it stopped his sillyness right away! We were all shocked but laughing at how she was joining in on the fun. Immediatley after she hit him she kneeled with one knee to the ground and did the wrung up fist pump celebration that ice hockey players often used, as if to say ‘yeah, I got him!’ This was hilarious for us to see because we knew it was all for fun! She is an awesome person and I am grateful to be building for her family. I know the entire team is eager to keep going and lifting those buckets of sand up and down the hill! I am very proud of everyone! Tomorrow is garbage dump day, so I expect it to be very emotional, but an eye opening experience for everyone on the team.
 
Reggie – LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Intern, Dominican Republic 2012
 

Author: LiveDifferent

Date: July 7th, 2012

Reggie’s Blog – “The Next 23 Days”

 

You know when you just have a lot on your mind, and you are not sure how to express it? Well, that was me last year when I participated in a LiveDifferent Hero Holiday here in Dominican Republic. It was an amazing experience that threw a million situations, facts, and opportunities at me, and I just had no idea how to remember and express it all. That is why I am back here in the Dominican Republic writing my very first blog entry. I am promising myself that I will continue to write these blogs for the entire duration of the trip. It is great to be back in Dominican Republic. This is just the first of 23 days that I will spend as an intern for a LiveDifferent Hero Holiday.
 
awareness tour
 
This first day has been very tiring because of the lack of sleep I got last night, but I am still unbelievably excited and enthused to be here. Today we did an awareness tour in Agua Negra, Arroyo Seco, and La Union. Although I participated in a Hero Holiday last year, the experience was still shocking. To see the situation that many of these people live in and to hear about the history of each community was emotional, both positively and negatively. You walk through communities where houses are less than a foot apart, where the backyard of the community is entirely covered in waste, and where a house (with one bedroom) may be home to 7 people.
 
trip 1 kids
 
On the positive side, these communities, despite the situation, are still joyfully considered “home” to various families. These families consist of loving, caring, and happy people who hold tight to hope. These people welcome you into their home the same way they would welcome a family member. The individuals who are highly respected in each community touch me the most. Their stories and their belief that there is hope are amazing. Experiencing all of this can only be felt from a first person point of view. That is why I am beyond grateful to be part of such a wonderful team of individuals who want to grow, create positive change, and leave knowing they have made a difference. Our team was able to meet the family we will be building for today and we cannot wait to begin at the work site tomorrow. Again, I am ecstatic to be here and am looking forward to the next 23 days!
 
Reggie – LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Intern, Dominican Republic 2012

Author: LiveDifferent

Date:

Our staff are spending a night in Aguas Negras to help raise funds to build a home for a family this summer!

Cole Brown, LiveDifferent’s awesome Hero Holiday Co-ordinator in DR and Haiti is sleeping in one of the towns we work in tonight to bring awareness to the conditions of the homes that many amazing and hard-working families have no choice but to live in. Check out this video, and donate towards our fundraiser by clicking the link below to help provide a home for a family this summer!

http://www.indiegogo.com/lldhhhouse1

Check out some of Cole’s Instagram pictures from last night, where he documents the house and family that our staff stayed with!


Sleeping in the slums.


These guys stay up later than I do!


Morning view.


Long, loud, dirty uncomfortable, no sleep night for me.


Just another night for everyone else here.


Morning bano.


Morning coffee!

And then check out the videos they posted throughout the night!

Author: LiveDifferent

Date: July 2nd, 2012

Global Calgary News – Report on WestJet Hero Holiday!

Jenifer Van Meenen, Hero Holiday Participant – earlier this month Westjetters travelled to the Dominican to build homes for local families.

Author: LiveDifferent

Date: May 2nd, 2012

The best week of my life…

This week has honestly been the best week of my life. I am new comer to this group, and I did not know what to really expect. This experience has made me feel just  about every single emotion I have in my body. Between building our house for our family of eight, teaching an English lesson at the local school, working alongside the Haitian Refugees in a garbage dump, and working in the shoes of a mother for one day… this experience has most definitely been an eye opener on the importance of life.

Today my team was in charge of building in the morning and painting in the afternoon. When we first got to the house this morning, we were all very excited to get to work because earlier in the week we had to miss out on a day of building due to the heavy rain. Unfortunately there was a lot of mud that had formed, but we  just got right in there and started working hard. We always work in groups while building because it is much easier working together and everything gets done a lot quicker! At one point through building there was an assembly line with nine people passing buckets into the house. It was a very good system and it was fun! It started raining on and off, but it most definitely did not stop us. We just kept going.  These building experiences are really hard work but they are so worth it because our efforts are helping to change the lives of a family in need.  We are just about to start the painting and finishing touches on the house and I cannot wait for the house dedication on Sunday where we will give the family the keys to their new home! 

Later that afternoon, my team was in charge of painting the local school/church. We split up into smaller groups and painted away. After 20 minutes we were all getting tired, but we never stopped. The Gonzaga group always put our 110% effort in what we do in order to earn the gratitude that was given to us. The students at the school started to look up to us, they were amazed by what we were doing and started helping us. They are as grateful to have us, just as much as we are grateful to have them. Every person working today gave it their all, and it is really starting to show.  I am so proud of the Dominican group!

People often come to the Dominican on vacation, and all they do is sit on the beach and tan, eat and swim. To me, the Dominican is much, much more than all of that. I would come back here anytime and do this trip over again. Its once and a life time chance and I am so thankful that I have experienced it!

Author: LiveDifferent

Date: April 29th, 2012