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.
After lunch a group of us went to Arroyo Seco to give personal gifts to specific families that we have established a relationship with. I brought a meal of chicken and rice for Francisco’s family. I also brought the three boys a mix of candies and chocolate. They were really happy about this! The mother of the boys repeated many times that she has nothing to give me to thank me! I assured her that all of this was a gift of thanks for welcoming me into their family and for being such great friends. This is going to be the last time I see the family for quite some time, and this really makes me sad. One day I hope I will be able to visit this family again!
We were also able to visit the three houses LiveDifferent volunteers built this past week in Arroyo Seco. It was amazing to see that the families have moved all of their furniture into the houses. They definitely look like homes. Our family has already put up the photos we gave them at the house dedication. It was the very first thing I saw when I entered the house and it gave me a awesome feeling inside. The family was very glad to see me and they all gave me hugs and kisses! It was just a reassurance of how grateful they are of their new home, and how much of an impact our group had on this family!
Reggie – LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Intern, Dominican Republic 2012
