My Trip so Far…

Okay… so this morning I was asked if i wanted to write a blog.. of course i will do that! well…it’s easier said than done! Our trip started on Sunday with the awareness tour, which was great! My team went first to the cemetery, and well… I probably would never go to a cemetery for ‘fun’, but we went and heard the story about a little girl Danica who died as a result of poverty. Her story really moved me because of the fact that there are so many children out here who are stateless, who don’t have parents, or cannot read, write and do simple math. Maybe if they were born in another country and had parents they would grow up to be a doctor or a teacher,  it just doesn’t make sense…After that we went to the village where a clinic built in Danica’s honour resides. This clinic is here to prevent other children like Danica, to die from such simple things that you or I can get help for without even a prescription.  As soon as we jumped of our truck and walked into the clinic, kids were all around us. It’s great the way these children greet you! They don’t even know you, but as soon as they see you, they run to you, want to hold your hand, and play with you. That, only THAT makes them smile already!!The first workday we (team 4) went to the orphanage. One half of the team went in the morning, other half in the afternoon. I was in the morning shift, and we had some fun stuff to do: play around with the kids, clean the beds and floors. We had to move bricks (huge cement blocks which I forget the word for in Spanish), weighing about 45lbs each, from one side of the building to the other side. This is so the contractors could build the wall around orphanage higher, so a little advernturous boy could not escape anymore…(he is hilarious, but a pain in the butt for the staff!) Our team had fun with this task seeing who could carry the most bricks at one time. Most of the team could only carry 1 brick at the time, a few carried 2 bricks, but I won being able to carry 3 bricks! It made be laugh because when the young guys who had come to help the pretty girls tried to carry 3 bricks like I had, they had a real hard time. Since that moment, my team decided to call me:  Gun show!Our second day was spent in the children’s ward at the hospital, painting. It was really fun too. We were painting the walls, but each other too. There were 2 rooms we had to sand and prime, before we could put the real colors on. It was kind of funny, because the site foreman expected us to take the entire day for this but because team 4 is full of fast hard workers,  we were done before lunch! While waiting for new paint to arrive, I had a chance to see the 2 babies in the intensive care room. One baby boy was born while his mom had only been pregnat with him for 26 weeks. He only weighed 2 pounds and was so tiny! I think this little guy is a miracle baby, especially since the hospital staff expected him to pass away last week. He is a real fighter so they have nicknamed him, “Little Tiger”and, good news, he has even doubled his weight since his birth.Our 3rd day was in was at a work site where Hero Holiday is putting a kitchen on the back of a community centre/school. In the morning, I went with half of my team to the village and played with the kids.. wow.. those kids are wild! When you give one of them a piggy back ride, they all want one. Before you know it, you have 5 children on your back and your legs want to give out. In the afternoon I went to the community centre to dig a hole behind the kitchen for the water drainage. This was a pretty small spot to work in, so Nate and I were kept shoveling for most of the afternoon. The rest of our team was painting or taking turns riding in the wheelbarrows. This day went fast, and we felt like we were really acomplishing something, and not to mention, we were sweating like crazy!Today we went to Agua Negro (Black Water). It was a great work site. We’re building a house for a grandma with her grandson, because every time when it rains the water from a river close by comes floods their house. It is very dangerous because if they don’t wake up at night, they can drown. For this reason, we’re building a house on higher and dryer ground. It is a great project, and I’m glad that I was a part of it.I’m really thankful that I am here and that I was able to raise enough money to come. I have learned that there are many things in my life that are wants and not needs but I am really grateful for the country I come from and the family I have.I’d like to encourage everyone to NEVER EVER give up on your dreams! Even when times are hard and the situation you’re in is difficult or there doesn’t seem to be a way out. Do NOT give up, you can make it!- Clarine, aka “Gun Show”,  participant Hero Holiday, Dominican Republic week 2