My Final Day

Yesterday was our last full day in Dominican Republic - A day that I have been dreading since we arrived here over three weeks ago. We woke up this morning and had finial debrief. Because I have sat though three final debriefs prior to yesterday Nettie took Genelle and I to the store to pick up a few last minute things for the community party. We picked up hundreds of cups, plates, napkins and forks. After we got back we sat though the rest of debrief and then we swam in the pool until it was time to go to the community party. We loaded up all the trucks and off we went to the village that it was being hosted in. To be honest I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of this community party because they have never had one. I wasn't sure if it was going to go smoothly, or if it was going to be chaos especially when it came time to hand out food and gift packs. We hung out for a while and played with kids until it was time for El Proko to be chopped up and served. I was in charge of dishing up the fruit to be handed out and even that was a bit chaotic. One of the women in the village started loading up plates full of fruit and handing it to children, even though we kept telling her that it was supposed to be one or two pieces of fruit per person. The handing out of the food went alright as well, it was over whelming because many people were worried that they wouldn't get food. We had three pigs and plenty of rice for everyone so no one went hungry. After we handed out all the food we had the impossible task of handing out gifts packs. We had handed out numbers to all the children and in order to get a gift pack they had to have a number. When we brought the gifts out people started to get all panicked. Mothers started yelling at each other saying that they stole their child’s number. There was a lot of screaming and yelling. We had to have three big men blocking the children from getting down the stairs and only letting them down one person at a time. It is crazy to see what desperation can cause decent people to do. This was all happening over a zip lock bag filled with school supplies and a toy. These people have next to nothing so something that we might consider as insignificant causes an up roar. In the other villages that we do community parties in handing out gifts is never this bad because they know that if they are patient they will get something. It was only like this because they have never had anything like this in their community. It was crazy because after all the gifts were handed out everything went back to the normal laid back Dominican way. Seeing a child's face light up when you hand them that gift bag is amazing. It is hard to describe how it feels, but I find many things that I've experienced down here hard to describe. The only thing better than seeing that child’s face light up is hearing the pride and happiness in their voice when they say thank you. Handing out gifts to these children was a very rewarding way to end all of my work days. On the way back home I was so concentrated on drinking everything in. I wanted to remember every single detail about this place. The buildings, the sounds, the sights and the smells.

After the community party Jessie, Joy and I decided that we wanted to go to a Dominican church service. Scotty took us there and it was a classic example of how everything down here runs on Dominican time. In Dominican Republic relationships are more important than being on time, so taking the time to make small talk with someone is more important than being on time. The service was supposed to start at 6:00 but when we got there at 6:30 the service still hadn't even begun. I found it so interesting to see the way that different cultures worship and how they run their services. Listening to the sermon was also really interesting. Everyone down here puts so much faith in God and it is so refreshing to see. After the church service we went back home and ate dinner. After that we had to begin to pack and it was really hard and took a really long time because none of us wanted to do it. Last night all the interns had decided that we were going to stay up all night because we had to leave early this morning. We decided that we would do warm fuzzies for each other and all the staff, and that took a really long time but it was also really fun. Around 2:30 AM we decided that we would go and make Kraft Dinner. We ended up having a lot of fun and crazy adventures together and it was a great way to spend out last night. We finally crawled into bed at 5:00 AM to catch a 30 minute cat nap before going to breakfast. We left the resort at 7:30 this morning after tearful and painful good-byes. We left behind great friends and members of our new found famillia. All the interns had their own bus and we sang all the way to the airport. We shouted good byes to the villages and to the places that we would go often. Needless to say the bus driver thought that we were crazy, but I'm okay with that. Currently I am sitting in JFK International Airport again, in the same place where I wrote my first blog. It is crazy to think about how much has changed over these 23 days and how much I have changed. Everything here seems so foreign and I feel a little bit out of place. The good news is that I still have my intern famillia here with me for support so I'm not alone. Being here is just giving me a taste of how hard it is actually going to be when I get home but I'm not scared to go home. It’s hard for me to believe that just 11 hours ago I was sitting at the resort in Dominican and even harder to believe that by this time tomorrow I am going to be sitting in my own house.

My Perfect Day Off

Today was excursion day for all the participants. After we got back from the awareness tour on Sunday all the interns decided that we didn't want that to be the last time we went out to our favourite little village. We all decided that we would take the money that we would have spent on our excursions and put it towards renting a truck for the day to take us out there. Today was a day that I have been looking forward to all week and with a few ups and with a few minor set backs we finally arrived out there this morning. As we drove by Francele's house I looked for him and when he saw me his face lit up! I jumped off the truck and he ran towards me and jumped into my arms. It was so cute. When Dario saw me he also ran up to me and gave me a hug. We had packed a couple bags full of things for the kids so we had toys for them to play with and hair things for the girls - they love it! One of the most fun things to do with the little boys is to play fight them. They all love Jackie Chan so most of us girls get really beat up but it is so much fun. We spent about an hour just being attacked by them and pulled to the ground and dog piled. After the boys were finished attacking us Francele grabbed my hand and started leading me towards his house. I got a few of the other interns to come with me as well. I got to meet his whole family as well as his cousins. They were all so kind and welcomed us into their home. As soon as we walked into the yard Francele's mom got up from her chair and offered it to me and then proceeded to get more out for the rest of us. When we left his house we went back to the school yard and hung out some more. I got a play dough manicure from one of the little girls along with a couple of the other interns. After that I played on the swings with Dario for a while and then chased him around the school yard. Right before we were about to get ready to leave we saw the ice cream man coming so we got him to stop and we bought all the kids in the village ice cream! They were all so anxious and happy; it’s hard to comprehend how something we would consider as so simple can put such a huge smile on someone's face. Once they finished their ice cream the time came for me to tell them though broken Spanish that I was going back to Canada tomorrow. I gave them all hugs good-bye and Dario and Francele gave me hugs and kissed me on the cheek. It was so hard to know that this actually would be the last time I would see them. As our truck pulled away they started to chase after us and then I watched them face into the distance. All the while they were smiling as we drove away.

We went back to the resort for lunch and then packed up the truck again to go out to the dump village. When we arrived there we all jumped off the truck and took a walk though the village. Joy and I went to her little friend’s house and we picked up all the kids who lived there. The one little boy just thrust his little sister into my arms and told me to take her. It still blows me away how trusting everyone in Dominican is, if this were Canada that wouldn't have happened. We took all the kids down to the baseball field and bought them Skim Ice. We set up a soccer game and just sat and played with kids. I saw Jessie and she hung out with me for a really long time. About half way though the afternoon Joy got all her little amigos to start attacking people. They would all gather around her and then she would point of one of us and shout "Mucho Grande GRINGO!" They would chase after who ever she pointed to and once the caught that person they would pull them down to the ground and dog pile them. It was funny to watch because all you can see it 1 gringo yelling at the top of their lungs and running as fast as they can, being chased by about 80 little Dominican kids. It is really funny to watch someone being chased but it is a completely different story when you are the one at the bottom of that pile. We played for a little while longer then it came time to take out little friends back to their house. Joy and I walked them all the way home then said our final good byes to them. It was really hard walking away from that village but I'm glad that I got to say that final good-bye with someone who I've gotten really close to over this whole trip. Once we got down to the base ball field again I said goodbye to Jessie. She kept on asking me when the next time I would be back was and it made me really sad because I didn't know what to say. As of right now I don't know what I'm going to be back there again. I said my final good byes and got on the truck.

When we got back to the resort everyone was telling us all about the amazing day that they had while doing their excursions and while I'm sure that they were awesome, I couldn't help but think in my head that mine was better. I got to spend a while day hanging out in two of my favourite villages with some of the most amazing children. I can't imagine spending my day off any other way.

Among The Garbage My Life Was Changed

Today has been a very overwhelming and emotional day for me. First off it was our last work day. It’s hard for me to believe that this week has gone bye so fast and that it is almost over. Secondly, it was my team’s day to go to the dump. For the past couple days all the leaders have been talking about the fact that my team probably wouldn't get in to the dump on the day we went. We were blessed today because we actually did get in, and we got in for longer than any of the other groups this week. Once I got in there my only mission was to fill as many bags with bottles as I could. I sifted though the piles of garbage for an hour and a half with Nathan and Kiana. In that hour and a half we filled 3 and a half bags for the lady that we were working with. It was so rewarding to know that we actually helped to double her income and to know the face of that person that we were helping. While working with her I noticed that her shoes were really old and worn. When it came time to leave I gave my work gloves to her and then asked her to walk towards the truck with me. Once I was near the truck, I began to slip my shoes off my feet. When she realized what I was doing a smile slowly spread across her face. I picked them up and handed them to her, she said thank you and then got back to work. As I stood in the middle of garbage dump gloveless and barefooted I had a life changing moment. I just stood there for a couple minutes and took everything in. In that moment as I stood shoeless among the piles of garbage and felt flies landing all over my skin I felt completely equal to every person who works in that dump. In that moment I could finally see how the only difference between myself and them is birthplace. I slowly started to walk back and got on the truck. As we pulled out of the dump all I could think to myself is there is no way that I can go back to normal life after this - no way at all. I cried all the way back to the resort and once we got there Jessie and I just sat on the floor and cried some more. We sat there for a really long time with out talking or saying anything, but I think that all we really needed was to just sit there and know that we weren't alone in this.

This afternoon we went out to the dump village and ran a sports camp. We played soccer for the first half and baseball for the second half. When I hopped off the truck my little girl in that village Jessie was standing there and when she saw me her eyes lit up. We walked thought the village gathering up kids and when they saw us they would run like cazy through the little alleys shouting "GRINGOS!!!" I played with kids and helped to hand out skim ice. Skim Ice is a kind of Dominican Freezie that tastes better than anything we have in Canada. This afternoon out in the village was so fun and it was such an awesome pick me up after the emotional morning that I had.

To date I have completed three Hero Holiday trips in Dominican Republic and today by far was the most impacting and inspiring day I’ve ever experienced. Today I realized that this is actually what I want to do with my life. As I stood in that dump shoeless today I gained a new respect and understanding for what these people do every day. One of the hardest things about being back at the resort was knowing that those same people are sill there and they are doing the same thing they were when I left. Although this is hard for me to deal with, it is also an inspiration for me to keep on working to make a difference in this world. Like I said before poverty has no place in our society today and it is now my responsibility to do something about it. Today was quite literally roller coaster of emotions. At points today I have been so heart broken and upset that I was brought to tears and then at others I have been so happy and laughing so hard that once again I was crying Today was amazing and reminded me why I do what I do, and why I work so hard to get here.

Today my team was at the house build in a village named Aguas Negras - which translated means black water. It is called this because the village was built on an old dump site. All of the houses are built below the waterline so whenever it rains the people's houses flood and they are up to their knees in black water. There are basically three types of water, fresh water, grey water - which is run off from a washing machine or a sink, and black water - which is quite literally just sewage. It is hard to fully describe this village to some one who has never been there because there is just so much to it, the sights, the smells, the sounds, but mostly the smell. There is this lingering smell of garbage all throughout the village. By building these houses we are giving two families so much more than a place to live, we are giving them piece of mind and security. Peace of mind that their house won't drip water though the roof when it rains, and security with the fact that they can sleep soundly at night knowing that the black water isn’t going to rise up and drown their children. For me this is one of the most rewarding things that I have done this summer. The progress on these houses from the beginning of the trip until now is mind blowing. Both houses will be finished by next week and then the families will finally have a safe, dry place to lay their heads at night. Most of today at the worksite was spent moving buckets of fill though the maze-like village to the houses so that we can raise the floors up above the water level. It was strenuous work, but also well worth it. All the little kids were just dying to help, and they even went as far as to bring their own little buckets from home so that they could help. It was BYOB (Bring Your Own Bucket) day at the worksite. I met a girl today named Yulay who was 17. It was really awesome to meet and talk with someone who is my own age. She told me that she first came up to me because she liked my piercing. She gave me her email address and I gave her mine. I know that once I get back to Canada I will try to email her, I don’t know if she will get it but I will try.

Right before we went on a break for lunch, Cole came and took some of us on a tour of the village. We walked down along the waterfront and I saw things that I won't soon be able to forget. First off, since the last time I was there the water has rises a good 5 or 6 feet up the river bank from all the rain that we have had. Second of all, near that same place, I could see places where houses used to stand but now all that is left are the front steps because the rest of the house has been washed away in the floods. The hardest thing that I saw today was when we were walking along the shore of the beach and I could physically see where the garage from the dump was, the ground that has been pack on top of it, and then right above that is a house. It was really a reality check because before it was easier to know that it was built on a dump, but also easy to shrug off not having seen it with my own eyes. Another thing that I struggled with was the fact that most of the children don't have shoes and that they have to walk though all the puddles of black water. I couldn't even imagine having to do that myself, let alone what my child do it.

In the afternoon we worked more moving buckets of fill. About half way though the afternoon my Amiga Marielle came and found me. It was so cute. I worked for the rest of the afternoon with her hanging off my back. It was so adorable. When it came time to say good-bye there was lots of hugs. For me, this is my last time going there and it was really sad to know that I wouldn't be back here again - for this year at least. I will try to make it back someday; I know that I have to. Many of the older girls that I became friends with today came up and told me that they would miss me and gave me a hug. It was such a great feeling.
Tonight during debrief we were talking about what we are going to do when we get back. Me, I know that I am going to make people more aware, and maybe even inspire some people to come on a Hero Holiday. But most importantly I know that I'm going to be working to come back here so that I can continue to make a difference. Someone once said that my generation will be known for two things. 1. The invention of the internet. And 2. We will be the generation to put an end to poverty. To me this seems like such a huge responsibility, and really it is. In our day and age poverty is unjust. There is no reason why a child should have to go to bed hungry at night, and there is no reason why a person should be stateless. All the power to make change is in our hands and the question is what we are - and what am I going to do with it. I can personally say that the one thing I want most in my life is to see poverty end and I will do everything within my power to see this come true. I believe that if one has the knowledge about something like I do, it is their duty, and it is my duty to so something about it. To just stand by and do nothing is an injustice. Last but certainly not least, tonight was the talent show and all the interns got together and did a skit that was making fun of all the staff. It was a great time and everyone really enjoyed it. I currently just got in from hanging out with my team and they really are a great group of people. I can feel us all growing closer and closer together and it's so amazing. They are so fun and I can't wait to see how much closer we all get before the week is out.

Party Like It's 1984!

Today we went to work on buliding the kitchen on the back of the school in one of the villages that we work it. Everytime I see this school it blows my mind, seriously it never ceases to amaze me how much work has been done over the past two years. It is really cool beucase my the leader on my team this week, Janine, was also on Hero Holiday the year that we began to build this school. We were talking today about how rewarding it is to see the school practically finished - and it really is so rewarding, its hard to describe the feeling. We worked hard all morning and then this afternoon we got to go into the village and play with the kids. Playing with the kids in honestly one of my favourite things to do. It requires so much energy, but it is competely worth it. We just played around in the village and I met a little boy named Leutafe. He was the cutest little boy and he was four years old. He would sit on my lap and anytime that another child would come near me he would start to yell at them today away from me beucase I was his 'gringo'. I also got to be his personal BoFlex machine, while he used me as a prop to do some ab workouts on. The look on his face was priceless as he did his workout. After that a couple little girls wanted to braid my hair in corn rows, so I let them. Let me tell you, that is the most painful thing that I have ever expirenced and my scalp aches just thinking about it. They started argueing over the fact that they thought the braids looked bad, and in the end they took them all out. It was quite disappointing.

Tonight we went to Cabarete for dinner and debrief on the beach. I love going to Cabarete so mcuh, its so beautiful there. In the activity tonight we had to prioritize what was most important in the situation. My group ended up putting our family on a feeding schedual beucase they had an outstanding debt, and for the time being, the debt was out top priority. Many of the other people in my group had a hard time understanding why we would do this. But the reality is that millions upon millions go to bed with an empty stomach while we as North Americans over endulge ourselves daily. I myself am guilty of it - in fact today, just we before we started debrief, Jessi-Lynn and I decided to order desert, even though we didn't really need it. Today was such an amazing day, and it has also been an awesome team building day. I'm starting to feel so much closer to my team and I love it! Tonight we also had the 80's dance party and it was awesome! All the interns leanred the Thriller dance, and we did it in front of all the participants. It was awesome!

Give Love, Bring Hope, See Change

Today was my team’s day to go to the hospital, and it was our first time that we were all together as a team. We have been split of most of the days due to various complications and it has kind of thrown off the process of getting to know each other. Today was my second time going to the hospital and I woke up with this morning with that same nervous feeling as last time. I have no idea what that feeling stems from, but for some reason subconsciously it lets me know how I’m feeling. We were painting two rooms in the children’s ward to make the hospital seem livelier for the patients. My team was in overdrive mode today because we sanded, primed and painted one full room, and then finished all but one wall in the second room. It was awesome to see them in action all together for once. While hanging out with the kids I spent some time with a seven year old girl named Jembri. Her little baby sister was admitted for a reason that I wasn’t able to find out. I coloured with her for a while and gave her a couple stickers. It was cute because every time I would give her something she would ask for a second one to give to her sister. She was so concerned with the fact that she wanted her little sister to have everything that she had. I also showed her how to use my camera and she went around and took pictures. I also spent time with another little boy who was admitted for pneumonia. One thing that I got to do today that I didn’t last time was go into the neonatal room. There were only two preemie babies in there – one was born at 8 months and was so beautiful and the other was a little boy born at 23 weeks old. That little boy truly is a miracle baby. He was born last week and he weighed 1.5lbs. There was a point last week where he wasn’t doing so well and they didn’t think that he was going to make it. This week he weighs 2lbs and he is doing a lot better. I think this is amazing because in Canada there is only a 50/50 chance that this baby would live, and down here - where they don’t even have all of the resources they need to take proper care of him – he has pulled though for almost a week and a half. The experience in the neonatal room really blew me away and tugged at my heart.

Giving love, Bringing hope, Seeing change – the title of my blog. I see change everyday, on every worksite that I go to, and in every thing we do. Today I also realized that we are not only seeing change, but we are also making change. I don’t just mean making change in the lives of the people who we are building projects for, but also in the lives of the people that we work along side. Tonight we went out for dinner with all the interns and Christal and while we ate we went around and told people what we admire about them and things that they excel at. It was a really great bonding experience. We have all impacted each other so much while being on this trip. We have all grown so close and I don’t know what I’m going to do when I can’t see them everyday. Over these past few weeks we have seen our teams grow as people, we have watched each other grow and best of all we have grow together. This group of interns has become my little family. They are the first faces I see when I open my eyes in the morning and the last ones I see when I close them at night. We do everything together and it is clean to everyone who sees us that we are all so close. Every single one of them has a special place in my heart and I know that they will always stay there. We have changed each other and my heart aches at the thought of having to go our separate ways soon. I will never forget any of them.

Behind Those Beautiful Eyes

Today we went to the Mustard Seed Orphanage and it was an all around cool day! This was my first time at this orphanage. I have been to another orphanage in Santiago before, but I still wasn’t sure what to expect out of this one which made me very nervous. We got there and this week it is also a worksite, so we had to move cement and mix it and then start to put together a wall so that the children can't escape from the property. We moved cinder blocks and had a lot of fun while doing it. After that we got time to just hang around and chill with the kids. There are three kids that stick out in my mind. Jeffery - the little trouble maker, Marciel and Maria. Jeffery is the one that is the boss man, he was telling us what to do the whole time, and he is so precious. Marciel is a girl who I sat with for a long time, she is one of the more disabled children and she can't walk, so all she does it lie on her back. From sitting with Marciel I can see just how much these children crave physical touch. As soon as I touched her hand, her face lit up and she was more alert. This encouraged me to sit closer to her, and when I did the smile on her face become even greater.

Maria, where to start with Maria? To say the least she had the greatest impact on me today. From the moment I laid eyes on her I knew that she was special. She reminded me very much of a little girl named Rosie that I always sat with when I went to the orphanage in Santiago. Like Marciel, Maria is one of the more disabled children. Her view for her whole day is the ceiling and the four walls that surround her. I lay beside her for the longest time, and while I was lying there she gazed into my eyes for the longest time, and I couldn't help but wonder, what is going on behind those beautiful eyes. What is this little girl thinking? Although I know there is no way to ever find that out I can't help but yearn for the answer. I walk away from her for a while but when I came back and she saw my face her eyes immediately lit up. When I see a child recognize me anywhere is it the most amazing feeling, but today with Maria is was so much more. Today’s experience makes me sad that I didn't get to go to the orphanage last week, but at the same time I'm so grateful that I got to go!