Charity begins at home is the old adage.
But sometimes the home you are helping to build through a charity is not your own -- and sometimes the home is not even in your home country.
That's what a group of students from Collège Louis-Riel discovered in January when they spent 15 days helping victims of hurricane Noel rebuild their homes in Dominican Republic.
In a project similar to what Habitat for Humanity does in Winnipeg and other communities across North America, nine students and several adult chaperones helped to begin building two houses for homeless families.
On Oct. 30, hurricane Noel swept through the Caribbean, leaving 85 dead, 48 missing, 79,730 people displaced, 1,879 homes destroyed and 18,053 others damaged.
Particularly hard hit was the south-central coast where Canadian missionaries have worked for decades.
In that region, 2,800 families were most affected by the hurricane, 597 homes have to be rebuilt, and repairs need to be made to 400 kilometres of road, 80 irrigation aqueducts, 35 water reservoirs and 25 greenhouses.
Through a partnership with a local church-based organization, the Association for the Development of San Jose de Ocoa, the Winnipeg students dug into the earth to lay the foundations of the homes and then started building the exterior and interior walls.
Grade 10 students Justin Poirier, 15, and Jérémie Pineau, 16, admitted this was no vacation in the sun.
"We were working from eight in the morning to three or four in the afternoon," Pineau said.
"We were bricklaying and digging a trench. We did go to the beach a couple of times, but the rest of the time it was mostly work."
Poirier said they were given picks and shovels and told to dig a trench 60 centimetres deep.
"It was hard work," he said.
"It took awhile because of the heat -- it was so hot. But we completed two foundations and put the walls up five to six feet."
Pineau said he wanted to go on the trip because "I just wanted to change people's lives and build them a house.
"I also thought it would be a great experience. I'd never done anything like this.
"It was a really life-changing experience for me."
Poirier said he wasn't sure if he wanted to go on the trip when it was first offered.
"I had mixed feelings, but my dad was nudging me. He thought it would be a great experience for me and he joined me on the trip.
"Not only don't I regret going, I am going for a second time."
The students held fundraising events to raise money for the trip and each contributed about $1,500.
Poirier and Pineau said there were other students who hesitated and decided not to go on the work program. That won't happen for next year's trip.
"A lot of them want to go for sure now," Pineau said.
"More people than last time want to go."
Pineau and Poirier said the families who will be getting the houses worked side-by-side with the students, who were given a chance to see the families' temporary accommodations.
"They were living in a shack. It was just put together with parts they could find," Pineau said.
"It was just like a cardboard house," Poirier said.
"Seven people were living in a little shack no bigger than a car. It's such a reality check of how lucky we have it here."
The school's vice-principal, Robert Stanners, said the building project "was an excellent experience for them."
"What surprised me was the teamwork part. It was like a family. Everyone even slept in the same room."
Stanners said while the students used school time to work in Dominican Republic, they won't receive any credit for it on their report cards, but that might change.
"We may be looking at offering a credit for the hours they put in," Stanners said.
"Some schools have mandatory volunteer credits. We have not gone that route because we would rather they do it for altruistic reasons.
"We underestimate youths' willingness and desire to serve. Often they don't because they don't have that venue.
"Here they did."
Poirier said he hopes his school continues to organize trips to help people in Dominican Republic long after he graduates.
"It just feels good to know you helped them down there."
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
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