Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Starting the year giving back

This month I traveled to the beautiful city of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua for Habitat for Humanity Global Village trip. Adelle Yeaton, a long time Habitat OC supporter, and Richard Martinez, Habitat OC site supervisor, joined me on this trip as we kicked off the New Year helping and empowering two families to achieve their dreams.

We built two homes in five days with the help of a great team of overachievers during 16hr work days.

The structures of the homes were made up of 1,200 bricks that weighed 32 lbs. each. We unloaded and loaded them and moved them to the structure location, and used different tools like a machete to cut and carve the bricks.

Then we decided to split our team in half and work on two home additions.

The dedication ceremony was touching and inspiring and since Nicaraguans love to celebrate, it was no surprise to end it with games, a piƱata, and the joy and laughter of families and friends.

But the work is not done yet. They are currently planning the installation of a water system for fresh, clean water to homes and are testing a new toilet system that is much healthier than what they have now. Our team is motivated to go back and help them with the water project installation.

Towards the end of our week we were able to visit the Masaya Market, a volcano, and take a boat trip around Lake Managua Island.

I continue to be impressed with what Habitat is doing around the world and hope I can continue to support them. I'm looking forward to continuing to help other Habitat for Humanity affiliates throughout the world.

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