Last week I had the honour and privilege of participating in a Humanitarian Build in Dominican Republic. As a member of Builders for Change, a non profit organization located in Barrie, Ontario, we constructed the first floor of a community centre which will house a Boys and Girls Club operated by Dove Mission, a non profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of Dominican and Haitian Children in an impoverished area just outside of Puerto Plata. Dove Missions’ main goal is to implement “youth development outreach programs primarily aimed at serving abandoned, abused, and orphaned kids”.
I am very proud to be a member of the team that assisted a local team of builders for 6 days by carrying buckets of cement, moving cement blocks, sifting sand, we pointed cement block walls and many other tasks that I never would have imagined I could do. We also had many skilled Canadian builders with us that contributed immensely to the construction.
The best activity of the trip for me was the time I spent playing and interacting with the kids and Dominican people. I truly believe that not only did they receive the beginnings of a great community centre, we touched the hearts of each other in many ways. The construction week was topped off by a wonderful concert performance put on by the Dominican children at our resort, just for us! The neatest thing that happened is that one of the older Domincan boys was recruited by the resort to join their evening entertainment program. A paid position!
This was one of the most challenging and rewarding things I’ve ever done. As expected, we were only able to build the first floor, however, I plan to keep in touch with my new friends down south to watch the project grow to completion. You can visit http://dovemissions.org/ for more info on the great work that Dove Mission is doing for the people of Dominican Republic. Perhaps even sponsor a kid in need! For more info on Builders for Change visit http://www.buildersforchange.com/
For more info and pictures, please visit my Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/BarrieMortgageLocators?ref=hl
