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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-08-31, Page 88 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday,August 31, 2005 Heroes on holiday in the Dominican Republic By Pat Bolen TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF KIPPEN — "One boy with our group walked out in his boxer shorts. He gave them the clothes off his back." For a Kippen woman on a humanitarian mission to the Dominican Republic in July, seeing people living in a dump is something she will never forget. Trina McBride, 42, who said it "has always been a dream to help out," applied to the Absolute Development organiza- tion last April and was on the ground in the Dominican Republic by July 12 as part of a group of 60 students and 18 leaders. Although most of the leaders of Absolute are between 20 and 30 years of age, McBride was selected to be a group leader. "They wanted older, more experienced lead- ers. And they said because I was a mother of teenagers and because of working with the schoolboard I had experi- ence working with stu- dents." After a 1:30 a.m Toronto departure, the group arrived in the vil- lage of Sosua, not far from Porta Plata. Up early the next morn- ing, the group was loaded in jeeps and taken to the village of Ascension, about a half hour drive from Sosua. Ascension is the sixth village built by Absolute Development. Haitians can apply for one of the houses in exchange for giving up their voodoo religion and worshipping God. "I wasn't overwhelmed because I've gone on safaris and seen the poverty," said Mcbride who had visited the island three times before on vacation. "But a lot of the stu- dents who went into these villages were over- whelmed. "These people are just amazing in how happy they are. Even though they have nothing...these kids would just latch onto you when you to leave each day. You'd get emo- tional because of having to leave them in their poverty and we were going back to our resort. I said to them, (the stu- dents) 'look at them when you go back the next day and see how happy they are.' We as Canadians have to look at that and maybe change our lifestyle so we're happier with a little less. I think we take a lot of things for granted." One of the main pro- jects during the two weeks the group spent in the village was to dig a two-mile trench to bring water to the upper part of the village. The 18 - inch deep trench was dug with pickaxes and shov- els. Along with armies of mosquito's, the volun- teers faced a hurricane which passed not far from the island and forced them to take shel- ter as the island was pelt- ed with wind and rain. McBride said the volun- teers quickly adjusted to the situation. "The first day we kind of needed to be told what to do. Then the second and third day, we would get to the village and project leader Elio Madonia would tell us what to do and we would go and do it. "The little kids in the village who would latch onto you would want you to come home and meet their parents to see where they lived or they would want to play with you. And there was lots of time to do that." The mission was called `Absolute Hero Holiday.' "Everybody considers themselves a hero for what they're doing and then we're also having a holiday." Another job done by the volunteers was conduct- ing a census. "There was a language barrier with the Spanish. We had a list of Spanish phrases we could use, but still to p r o - nounce them and to get the Haitians to under - s t a n d what you were saying was kind of comical." McBride said the trip was different than going on vacation and she enjoyed it more since she was able to interact with the people more. "These people were so happy to see us every day...when the jeep would arrive in the vil- lage, the child who had become your friend would be waiting there for you." Although there were a few glitches, McBride said overall the trip "was excellent." One problem happened during the attempted donation of 70 hockey bags of toys, pencils and paper, which caused a riot when the volunteers arrived with the bags in one of the villages and the people were desper- ate to receive one of the gifts. "I've never seen adults behave that way. You know here, if a store here is giving away free MP3 players...that's what it reminded me of. We were told don't give the stuff to adults, because "Canadians have to look at that and maybe change our lifestyle so we're happier with a little less" TRINA MCBRIDE DEVELOPMENT VOLUNTEER they will take the stuff and pawn it off." McBride said while her and another girl were in a home passing out the material, "they were actually passing kids through the doorway to us... and throwing these little babies at us, just to get these bags." The visit to the dump was something McBride said she will always remember. "We got off the bus and the smell was just...and it's always on fire so you had to walk through smoke." After serving hot meals to the people who lived in the dump, the volunteers also donated articles of clothing, including the student who walked out wearing only his boxers. "I was so proud of that...it's one of the things that stand out," said McBride. But despite the experi- ence, McBride said the students enjoyed the overall experience. "When we talked after, they all said they were going to go home and change the way they do things." McBride admits in con- versations she has had with the students since coming back, when she asks if they have changed anything they say "well, no not really." But all the students said they would go again. One of the biggest prob- lems encountered for the volunteers was the lan- guage barrier with few of them able to speak the French, Spanish or Creole of the Haitians. McBride, who is plan- ning on returning to the island again next year is looking into taking Spanish lessons before she leaves. "It was a great experi- ence and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was every- thing I expected it to be. When I came home I was exhausted both physically and emotionally just from everything I had gone through." One change McBride would like to make would be to stay longer if she could. "I could have accom- plished more if I would have stayed longer." In the future McBride said she would like to become more involved in the leadership of the organization as well as working in Africa with children who have AIDS. She would also like to teach English in a third world country. McBride also wants to talk to area youth groups and churches to talk about her experiences and get more people interested in joining the trip next year. "I think it's great to get high school students involved in things like this. They can see anoth- er part of the world they might not have a chance to see. And they also get to bond with other high school students from across Canada." To contact McBride about speaking to a group, call 263-3227. Kippen resident Trina McBride above left with a Haitian refugee, spent two weeks in July in the Dominican Republic working with a development group. Below from left are group members Heidi Fifield from Nova Scotia, Betsy Morin from Nova Scotia, Dean Billings of Ontario, Ashley Lang from Nova Scotia ,Thy Nestor of Ontario, McBride, Ashton Shannon from Alberta, and Alicia Collett from Prince Edward Island. (photos/submitted) Zet UST LCA 1{ ME Were 011 still here, So drop on in to sees We Would love to see you' T SPECI4Ls Smoked BeefSaus, $3,19/Ib �IBeef Patties $2,39/ib. Stewing Beef $2,79/,b. All Beef Rg. Saus. $2.49/Ib. Lean GrBeef $1.79/ib. COME ON IN Custom killing of Beef, Lambs, Goats, Buffalo We also will process your Venison and Moose in the hunting season! 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