Special moments

Today my good friend Hilary and I got to experience a day in the life of a local Nuevo Renacer family. Jamie (23) the mother of the house welcomed us into her home with open arms and a huge smile on her face.  Although Jamie was extremely shy shewas absolutely honored to have us and was very open to sharing her story with us.

She is a mother of two extremely adorable kids who she had pulled from school for the morning so that we were able to meet them and really get a grasp on what her daily life is like. In the first five minutes of seeing this family’s home I began to see the strength and determination this family has had within themselves to just simply make it through a day. Imagining the worst possible living conditions I know and multiplying that by a few is what this family was so honored to welcome me into. I’m still trying to process what I have seen today and the fact that even though I have seen the conditions and done the daily chores I will never begin to understand what this family is actually going through.

Looking back on the experience one of the things that really impacted me was when we asked Jamie where her Mother and Father stood in her life. She explained how at a very young age they abandoned her and really wanted nothing to do with her. Even trying to process the loneliness that Jamie has experienced in her life breaks my heart.  Most people would dwell in loneliness, but being the amazing woman Jamie is, she took it as motivation to provide everything she didn’t have, to her young family. Explaining how she dropped out of school at the age of 10 to become a maid so that she could start putting money together for the family she dreamed of providing for. I find myself reflecting back to when I was 10 years old and it almost feels like a slap in the face as all the things I took for granted. Jamie would only be able to have these things in her wildest dreams and my worst nightmares were her reality.

Jamie is a woman with a strength that I will never understand and the craziest concept for me to grasp is she is only 4 years older than me. A lot of heavy emotions were shared over the duration of the morning but through it all we definitely shared moments of pure happiness. The authentic Dominican meal that Jamie was teaching us how to cook was nearly done and Jamie asked me to prepare the juice. When I had completed my task I glanced over to see her little boy Johanson (3) drinking from the pitcher I had stirred it in possessing the biggest smile I have ever seen on a child’s face. It is such a small thing but I was so overwhelmed to share such a joyful moment with Hilary and the family. I found myself instantly thinking about the special moments like that I share with my family. It’s profound that how we can be on two opposite sides of the world yet share so many of the same values in family, faith, and love.

Emily ~ Building Dreams Volunteer 2013

Life altering moments

Words are inadequate when it comes to describing life altering moments. The idea of your world, and the worlds of those around you being changed at one simultaneous moment, is too powerful for paper. But we’ll try….

This year, our Building Dreams Team of 35 people returned to Aguas Negras, but we ended up being welcomed by the community of Nuevo Renacer. Nuevo Renacer (meaning ‘New Re-birth’), has experienced so much change over the last few years that they thought it was also appropriate to give birth to a new name. From the Black Water community that it was once called, rose the rapidly changing and colourful Nuevo Renacer, where our group was honoured to be involved in the continuous growth and change that it is experiencing. 

For five days, we worked extremely hard to build three safe and dry houses for three beautiful families who were living in unbearable conditions. Throughout the week we built extremely strong relationships, met a lot of incredible people and ultimately, we became one with the people of Nuevo Renacer.

Getting off of the bus on this last day was a little bit different this time. We were still greeted by the usual swarm of kids, still being pulled in two directions, still being used as jungle gyms, but the kids were clean, had their hair done and of course, without fail had massive grins from ear to ear. The community was buzzing. New faces, familiar faces, old faces, and young faces, but all joyous faces. This day was going to be amazing and something to be cherished forever.

Today we had the honour of presenting the keys of the three houses to the incredible families that they now belong to. The presentation included thank you’s to the community representatives, the translators, and the contractors that we worked with. In addition to the speeches and presentation, there was a lot more that made this day as special as it was. We all joined together in singing one of Simon and Garfunkel’s most beautiful ballads, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, and performed an extremely high energy group dance to an upbeat Macklemore tune, to help express our gratitude towards all of the new friends and families for accepting us into their lives.

To think of your entire universe changing in one week is a crazy thought. People come from a foreign land just to build you a home. Gratitude was given, but in a variety of ways. Clarivel, sang songs for us through which her passion and gratefulness seeped through, Iris demonstrated her love through her eloquently worded speech to which the translator interpreted, and Calme, perhaps the most impactful, remained in almost perfect silence. She was saying thank you a lot, they all were, but that same idea of your world changing, the idea of being given hope and life, is so heavy that your words are crushed by the immense meaning of those keys. It was truly beautiful.

Today, we didn’t just give the families their keys to safe and dry homes, but rather we gave them keys that are very much symbolic of the new life, new hope and new opportunities that have been bestowed upon them.

Our group came to the Dominican Republic once again with the goal of changing the lives of three incredible families and furthermore creating a ripple effect throughout the community with our positive and euphoric energy, but what these families and what this community gave to us was far greater than we could ever have imagined. To be embraced by a group of citizens that are just a small portion of the warm-hearted, loving, kind, passionate, and giving collective of Nuevo Renacer, was something that we’ll never forget and will remain in our hearts forever.

Keiran and Sean ~ Building Dreams volunteers 2013

There’s No Place Like Home

It can be overwhelming to travel to a foreign country, to work with people you’ve never met, and see things you’ve never seen. However, after coming to Mexico as a volunteer two years ago I knew that I had to come back, and deciding to be an intern in Mexico this summer was one of the easiest choices I’ve ever made. Although the choice was easy, I cannot say that I did not have concerns about being here for a month. So many thoughts went through my head before leaving; would I make friends? Would it still be new and exciting? Would I get homesick? Not long after arriving though, all my questions were answered. Within five minutes of meeting my fellow interns, I knew it was going to be an amazing month.

Being an intern was different than volunteering, it gave me an opportunity to work on leadership skills, but it also allowed me to see the trip from a different perspective. Watching the volunteers grow, change, and appreciate life during their week in Mexico is such an awesome experience. It really brings me back to when I was seeing and experiencing all that hero holiday has to offer for the first time. Listening to all the open-minded conversations during the debriefings is such a rewarding experience, and something I love doing every night.

It is such an amazing feeling be able to wake up every morning knowing that you will be one step closer to changing the lives of the families who are receiving homes. I always find it interesting that in Canada doing labour that we do here is strenuous and something I would more than likely complain about, but when you are building a house for a family in need, it barely feels like work. Every day you experience feelings you’ve never felt, and every build is unique. Being able to hammer all day, while laughing hysterically with the family and team is such a humbling feeling. Watching the families open up throughout the week is always so wonderful to watch, and their smiles are what keep me going each day no matter how tired I am. Coming on this trip you expect to change the family’s life, and you have no idea how much they change yours in return.

The relationships that you build in Mexico are something that always stand out to me. It’s hard to believe that people you spend so little time with could become your best friends, and people you confide in once back in Canada. Although provinces may separate us, I am confident in saying that I could call up almost all of the volunteers at any given moment and have a friend to talk to. After being on a Hero Holiday, you are filled with so many emotions and dealing with them can be hard, especially at home with people who don’t always understand. But because of the tight bonds I’ve made down in Mexico, I always have someone to help me through hard days.

Summing up all the emotions I have about Mexico is fairly simple. Mexico is a place where I feel safe. It’s where I know I’m not judged. It’s where I find myself, and who I want to be as a person. Mexico is where I’ve made memories and friends that I’ll never forget. Mexico is my home, and like everyone knows; there’s no place like home. 

– Emily, LiveDifferent Intern 2013

No Love Like A Mother’s Love

Talks and Walks

LiveDifferent in the News: Prince Rupert’s Brianne Bartel’s Hero Holiday

A year later, Brianne’s Hero Holiday experience is still very meaningful, and we hope to have her volunteer again soon! 

Read more here: http://www.thenorthernview.com/community/220433021.html

Unexpected Lessons

A Day Worth Waiting For

• Intern week is dedicated to community projects and intern-community bonding. It’s a five day week that not many get to experience, and this year I was one of the 12 people who got to experience it in Mexico. We took part in projects such as painting the Las Aves community centre, checking in with previously built for LiveDifferent families, a community soccer game, and a community garbage pick up. Each day was different and life changing in its own way, and they were all able to teach us skills and lessons in life that no high school, university, or other schooling could teach us. We are just 12 people that were lucky enough to get this opportunity, and none of us will ever forget it.

   

  Las Aves is a community that all of us interns have had a chance to get close with this summer. When we were told that we were doing a community clean up, all of us were excited to get started, and get cleaning. Upon arriving we were told that there may be a few locals there, and that if we could pair up with someone if we wanted to. To our surprise, nearly all of the people from the side of community we were cleaning showed up. To see that many people taking time out of their lives, forgetting their problems for one morning, to join together with us, was genuinely touching and there was nothing to do other than smile.

   

  

  Right off the bat, I saw an elderly lady struggling to open her garbage bag. So I walked up and asked if if I could help her with it, and I opened the bag for her after she said ok. I then handed her one side of the bag and I held the other, and we started to walk and gather garbage. Although there was such a huge language barrier between us, we didn’t need to communicate through words, we were able to communicate through smiles and nods. For me it was such an uplifting experience, to help Marcella-Carmen clean her community. Although we moved slowly though the community because she had and injured foot, we still made our way around the whole community, and she even made sure I knew where her house was, because she was very proud of it.

  

  Although I do not speak Spanish, I am able to understand the jist of it, and know a few words to speak. One moment that I will never forget is when Marcella-Carmen and I had been working for about an hour. The sun was beaming down, and we were getting near the top of the highest hill in the community. When we finally got to the top and had a second to take a breather, we simply looked out, and from there we could see the whole community. I couldn’t let the moment pass without telling her that she lived in an amazing and beautiful community. So I said “Bonita ” (which means beautiful), while over looking the community, because as I said, my Spanish is very broken. She looked back at me with the biggest smile on her face, and agreed, “Si, gracias”. This moment topped it all, it was such a momorable moment in my day, and I will never forget it.

  

  At the end of this amazing day, we played soccer in the afternoon on the community soccer field built by LiveDifferent. All the little boys came out dressed in their soccer jerseys, and played against us, and some other kids, and even some parents from the community joined in on the game. It was a great time, with many laughs, smiles, and a little friendly teasing from both teams. Everyone worked as hard as they could to play against these kids who were superstars at the sport. In the end we all came together and shook hands, played around on the field for a little while, and then took some pictures all together. It shaped up to be one of the best, and most memorable days of the whole trip so far!

  – Jeremy, LiveDifferent Intern, Mexico 2013

The hardships of life in Nuevo Renacer

On our first morning we were so excited to be able to spend it in the home of one of the families in the village. Natalie and her husband have 3 children, unfortunately we did not get to meet him He is a motoconcho driver but is currently away in another province attending the funeral of his mother and visiting with family.

A day in the life is exactly what this is. We spent the morning going through the family’s daily routines. As she was excited to have special guests she wanted to hang new curtains and place her fancy lace table runner along the counter in her kitchen making us feel very welcomed into her home.

As we do in our homes she had her way of doing things and was a great teacher and willing to show us how Natalie liked things done. From the wringing of the mop to how the floors were washed Natalie assisted us in learning her techniques. Washing clothes was definitely a difficult task and something that took a while and a few lessons and practices to catch on, something we take for granted. A family of 5 washes their clothes by hand in a plastic basin by moving it back and forth between the wash and rinse and then into clean water before placing it on the line to dry.

On this particular day Natalie and her family did not have electricity which is a daily thing for them. We on the other hand were quite worried about this given we had brought fresh chicken to cook. Natalie seemed to take this in stride and confidently instructed us to help her make a Dominican rice and chicken dish. Using the one knife in the kitchen and the counter top we cut in half the chicken we had brought, one half to be cooked and the other half to be kept for another meal in the non running fridge. Natalie proceeded to take over in showing us her own recipe which smelt amazing as it began to cook.

The morning went way too fast, although we came to help them we realized very quickly how much we were being taken care of. One of the children was sent to get ice to ensure we had cold water to drink and Natalie brought out a towel for us to wipe the sweat from our bodies as it was cooler outside than inside the house. This morning is one that we will never forget and this family will always remain in our thoughts and prayers but we feel confident that Natalie’s strength, love and beliefs will guide her family through life.

A day in the life for us but memories we will have forever.   

Cheryl and Melissa ~ Hero Holiday Volunteers 2013

Lessons from the locals

This is Lyndon and Cara from Sydney, Nova Scotia and today was our first day of work on four new houses for four great families. It was HOT! We broke into groups and got right to work…let us just say that mixing cement by hand is harder than you can imagine. That, on top of the extreme heat, was something you can’t exactly prepare for.

We both spent the majority of our day mixing cement and carrying cinder blocks. We also played with the children, brushed up on our Spanish by interacting with the locals, and Cara helped build up the walls of a home, while Lyndon soon found out he was a ‘Stella Ella Hola’ champion. With everything that was going on, our time in Neuvo Renacer flew by. With only 10 minutes left of our day, it was amazing to see our team come together with members of the community to make a chain to move the rest of the cinder blocks to the site. As a group we carried 300 cinder blocks down from the street.

During the 40 minute drive back to our resort we had plenty of time to discuss everyone’s experiences throughout the day. The thing that came up repeatedly was how little they had but how happy they were all the time. This made us realize that LiveDifferent has, and is continuing to have, a huge impact on the lives of the people living in Neuvo Renacer.

Later in the evening our team met to debrief on our work day. We began by discussing what had impacted us the most and the feelings we had experienced, both positive and negative. After hearing everyone’s take on the day we quickly realized the difference between needs and wants. We learned that what we may perceive as needs back home in Canada are not in fact needs. They are just wants that we think we need. They are materialistic and we could easily survive without them. By seeing the way the people of Neuvo Renacer live, it has really opened our eyes and shown us the true difference between a need and a want. We have many needs that we take for granted and many wants that we don’t actually need. We have learnt so much from the people of this community already. We can’t wait to see what else we learn this week!

Lyndon and Cara ~ Hero Holiday Volunteers 2013