Day 1: Awareness Tour
Well the time has come and our 26 participants and 4 interpreters and 4 Hero Holiday leaders boarded the open air trucks and began our 1st annual BPF Hero Holiday.
This afternoon would introduce us to to three families and some other projects that Hero Holiday has worked with in the past. Our first stop, with excited anticipation, was a town that had previously been called Augas Negras, also know as “Black Water”. The town’s name reflects the awful reality of what happens when the rains come and the river floods leaving the community and its inhabitants in six inches of septic water. This community has recently been renamed Nuevo Renacir, which means “rebirth”, and we are so excited to be able to be a part of the transformation in the lives of the families living there. Our three house builds will include raised foundations, providing a safe home for these families we now call friends.
The anxiety of our participants was quickly relieved as children and families welcomed us with open arms. On our quick walk through the town it was not long before every participant was holding the small hand of an excited child or arm and arm with smiling teenagers. As one participant said so eloquently, “we felt as welcomed in this new place as a family member would be welcomed back at home.” In this town we also met Marie, (the mother of one of these three families), and when asked if she had anything to say to the group the only words she could get out were “thank you for making my dreams come true.” As tears were shed we boarded the buses and headed off to destination number two, the community of La Union.
La Union is community made up of Dominican and Hatian individuals who work predominantly in the garbage dump, a one hour walk from their homes. As this is a town that the Hero Holiday teams regularly partner with, the noise of the trucks brought out all the children, excited to meet the new “Gringos” (foreigners). As we exited the back of the trucks each participant was met with open arms, warm smiles, tight embraces, and hands to hold. Young men and women eagerly piggy backed, tossed in the air, and cuddled each and every child that came their way. It was very clear just on day one that this experience would change our lives forever. Shortly after our tour of the village we met the “Mayor” Beto, who welcomed us so graciously and thanked us, even thought we didn’t bring anything but ourselves! This stop also was all too short and soon it was time for us to get on the truck and depart to the next destination. As our truck drove away tears streamed down participants faces as they wrestled with the harsh reality of what they had seen.
Our third and final stop was Arroyo Seco, a town built and proudly led by a saint called Pastor Garica. Arroyo Seco has been the recipient of help and support from Hero Holiday for a number of years and the people of this community reflect a feeling of hope. Arroyo Seco is made up of over 800 people who live in just over 250 dwellings. Pastor Garcia is the ambassador of hope and change and now most in the community are able to read and write and enjoy many opportunities that have been made possible by the love and support of this very giving man. During our short time at the church and community centre, playing on the newly built basketball court, the laughter and the smiles of all the children who had now gathered truly reflects that the community that has strong ties. We played basketball, jumped rope, threw frisbees, inflated beach balls, pushed children on the swings, and we just held hands. All too soon it was again time to leave and as we lined up the children to receive our last small gift of a candy, many familiar with the children exclaimed, they have never seen them sit so well!
It was a very special day and we look forward to many more on this journey!
Emotionally exhausted but happily content, we could tell that this trip was going to be so much more than anyone anticipated and as one participant said, “we have been doing this only one day and it is already more than I had ever thought it would be!”
Cheryl and Michelle
