Blog

Hola amigos! Once again, I apologize for being a day behind. We had a full day yesterday and I didn’t have time to get to blogging. On top of it, I’m finding I need a little extra time to process everything that has happened on an emotional level.

After uploading my blog entry yesterday, I went back to my hotel room and heard that now-familiar rushing sound of another torrential down-pour. I really hate that sound. I had checked the weather forecast first thing in the morning and it was only calling for 30% chance of showers. It was however calling for 60% by noon – just in time for our house dedication ceremony. I assumed we were all going to get a little damp.

I waited around in my room for about an hour and it finally settled back to a sprinkle, so I headed back to the restaurant for breakfast. When I got to the lobby, I met Charles Roberts (Director of Programs for Hero Holidays). He had a bit of a stern look on his face. I smiled and joked that there was a 60% chance of us getting wet today. He corrected me and said we had a 100% chance of getting wet today. The beach in Auguas Negras, that we had worked so hard to clean up and where we were supposed host 300 people for the house dedication ceremony, was gone. The rains had been so heavy over night that the river had flooded and our beach was underwater. I felt deflated. Charles explained that they were investigating other options and we would have to be patient.

The word quickly spread amongst our members and everyone pretty well felt the same way; we all had our hopes up and now we were uncertain of how this adventure was going to end? The uncertainty lasted all morning as the Hero Holidays staff examined options and together we formulated a new plan. It was decided that the ceremony would be held at the end of a quiet street near our drop point in the community. In my mind it wasn’t ideal; trying to successfully negotiate a flood of 200 gringos into the small barrio became the next challenge. Once our plan was put in motion, it really only set the ceremony back a couple of hours. My excitement for the day returned.

When the trucks dropped us off, we were welcomed like heros with applause and shouts. Many of us felt that small tug on a finger as we walked along; a look downward rewarded you with the beaming happy face of a child who wanted to hold your hand and lead you down the now-familiar street.

Meeting with the families at their new houses was another emotional rollercoaster. On one hand, the sense of job-satisfaction made you feel intensely proud, yet on the other you knew the adventure was over. I for one recognized that there was going to be a big void left in the wake of this experience.

Many people were so intensely focussed on job completion that I expect their experience may not be quite so profound as mine. But for those of us that stopped to smell the roses, escape from the work for a few hours and experience the community and its people, we may be changed for some time to come. I could easily have fallen into the first group, but having to create this blog and video diary forced me to leave my comfort zone. As I watch back the videos I have taken during the process, I can see my own evolution.

Following team photos with each family and brief house tours, we herded everybody back down the crowded street to the location we had chosen for the house dedication ceremony. A small, high stage had been set up at one end of the street and by the time I got there, the crush of people was getting pretty intense. I looked up and saw a balcony serviced by a tiny circular staircase. The homeowner was sitting on his front porch so I asked him in broken Spanish if I could use his balcony for photographs. He smiled back at me and motioned for me to go up. The sight from my perch took my breath away! The sea of people in brightly colour team shirts intermingled with local children and curious onlookers brought a firm lump to my throat. The team captains know what I’m talking about because they had a similar vantage from the high stage. It was truly awesome. People cheering. People laughing. People crying. People dancing. The lump finally broke and welled up in my eyes when the keys were handed over to the new owner of the On-Tarions Building Dreams house; and she hugged Siloni (the team captain). Watch the video carefully for the before and after of the 6th house in the sequence and you will understand what a difference that team made for the future of this family.

So we come to the end of our adventure and have but only a couple of days to physically and emotionally recuperate before we head home to Canada. I want to thank you for following my ramblings, but also I want to recognize and thank some very special people before I sign off:

James and Melissa Bazely for inspiring and advocating for this project at OHBA
David Horton for believing we could do it (We did it David! I wish you could have lived to see it…)
Dale Hollingsworth from Lafarge Canada, for seeing the value of this project and agreeing to be our major corporate partner
My dear friend Christal Earle, co-founded of Live Different Hero Holidays for teaching me that it was okay to cry – and crying is good for business in her line of work
Charles Roberts, Director of Programs for Live Different Hero Holidays who worked with me for over a year to pull this off
Cole and Nettie Brown for their unending commitment to making things better for the people of Auguas Negras – one house at a time

…and to all the people we met along the way who touched our hearts.

Thank you.

~ Dave Henderson
Director, Industry Relations
Ontario Home Builders’ Association