Went, Saw and Did!

by Charlie Guy, National Director – ICC, Canada

… More than 50 participants were involved in an experience of a lifetime!

M.E.E.T. (Mission Education Encounter Team) excursions have not been possible into Haiti over the past year and a half, due to social and political upheaval, but they are alive and well for trips into the Dominican Republic. International Child Care (Canada) Inc. (ICC) has been privileged, under the direction of ICC Board member Judy Warrington, to host three trips since last March, one as recently as October 2005. ICC Canada, in partnership with Power Trips, Inc. has seen more than 50 participants involved in an experience of a lifetime!

I was a recent participant of one of these trips and it was AMAZING! At the conclusion of the trip, when fellow participants were asked to choose the words that would best describe the days and feelings they had…. and images they saw.

Here’s what they said… Magical; Heart-wrenching; Wonderful; Un-imaginable; Powerless and powerful; Inspiring; Overwhelmed by the generousity, hospitality and kindness of the local people; Empowered, because I learned that small things can make a huge difference; A roller-coaster of feelings; Humble; Friendship; Camaraderie; A Rush – amazing to watch a group of individuals become a team with a common goal, highs, lows, tired, adrenaline rushes…

The many images that won’t be forgotten! ...

The children of Cariballo, longing to be held, to sit on our laps, to hold our hands; The teachers of Conani actually cheering over some of our teaching ideas; The mother who was in tears as she described the progress her son was making because of the ICC worker’s visit to their home; Tiny hands reaching for mine, long lashes, tiny feet; and colours – green bananas, lush vegetation, white laundry, coal-covered ceilings, dirt floors, grey walls, grey streets, Canadian flags, a blue church in a field of hope.

M.E.E.T. participants truly had an opportunity to Go, See and Do! Not only did they have a sense of accomplishment through participation in community projects as they worked side by side with experienced compassionate leaders, but they learned about the Dominican culture and third-world development and service. Most importantly though, while learning about others, they learned much about themselves as they helped to empower children, families and communities! This was the sentiment of a student who wrote: The whole experience changed me as a person!

Participants had many opportunities to reflect and share their feelings. Another team member wrote: Trudy, Marisol, Jana, Bob, Elio, and Sandra, as well as so many others serving in the Dominican Rerpublic, have inspired me to keep on, keeping on! Their love, devotion and grace are examples to us all.

We invite you to join us to Go, See and Do!

Teams are travelling to the Domincan Republic March 8th-22nd and April 2nd-9th. Join us for trips being planned now for: August and October, 2006.

For more information.

• Contact our office at 905-821-6318 Ext.295; 1-888-722-4453 Ext.295; e-mail canada@intlchildcare.org or
• Contact Judy Warrington at 905-815-1152 Ext. 0; e-mail judy@powertripsinc.org

Ps. Following is a wonderful reflection written by Ellen Goldfinch on her trip to the Dominican Republic. Enjoy!


SHOULD I FEEL SOMETHING?
by Ellen Goldfinch

At four in the morning on March 13th, I stood in front of the counter at an airline terminal at Pearson International airport in Toronto. I was standing next to Leslie and Tia, two teachers whom I didn’t know but was about to get to know over the course of the next two weeks. We had hockey bag after hockey bag, packed to the seams with Spanish books, school supplies, clothes, toiletries, medical supplies all for orphans as well as poor children and their families in the Dominican Republic.

Behind the counter was a young woman who was pretty and tired looking and wore a large rhinestone crucifix. She was not going to let us get away with an ounce of extra luggage. As she began her calculations, I said, Any money that you don’t charge us goes straight to an orphanage. These are kids with no parents… She looked me straight in the eye and cut in with, Should I feel something?

The next two weeks was an answer to the question, Should I feel something? Walking through the streets of Tamboril just outside Santiago, we were made to feel special. Forty-eight Canadian and American high school students and seven chaperones had invaded the city to help create an orphanage out of a daycare centre run by the saintly Sister Josephina. We raked, picked up glass, put three coats of paint on the walls, ceiling and garden walls of the grounds. We installed playground equipment and brought in dirt for flower and vegetable beds. We constructed a chicken coop. Our dormitory quarters were four rooms: one each for male students, female students, male staff, and female staff. We left our linens behind so that these could be used for the street children that would occupy these rooms after us. We played with the children, read to them in Spanish and reequipped their kitchen and classroom. We gave them bathing suits and took them to a water park. The students who worked on this project gave their all and were amazed to see children playing in the playground that had been a dumping site the week before.

During the second week, we assisted Elio Madonia, a retired businessman from Canada now living near Puerto Plata who founded Fundacion El Samaritano which builds houses for Haitian immigrants who work the sugar cane fields in dangerous conditions for $3.00 US a day. Many of their children bear the mark of the protruded belly that is a stark sign of malnourishment. Twelve people may live in a house with a dirt floor, no running water or toilet facilities and in some cases, no electricity. Elio and his crew provide these families with a free home with electricity, a concrete floor and a toilet. Each house costs $2500 US – throw in an extra $500 and it is possible to buy basic furniture.

It didn’t look like much to me until we were given a tour of one of his villages completed five years ago. The cinder blocks were covered with plaster, some families had added on a second floor. There were shops and a thriving community. Most importantly, the children looked healthy.

Hold a hungry child whose eyes stare into space and ask yourself, Am I supposed to feel something? Watch a sixteen year old mother with her one year old baby on her hip waiting on line to receive a cup of milk and a bag containing a slice of salami and a hard boiled egg and ask yourself, Am I supposed to feel something? Feel the hug of a child as she throws her arms around you joyously and yells, Mi amiga! and ask yourself, Am I supposed to feel something?

Quite simply, the answer is yes. Any other answer is completely inhuman. Feel sad. Feel angry. Feel like something must be done and then, do something about it.