Teamwork. This is the first word that comes to mind when asked to describe the teams of volunteers and the Fuller Center. We were able to efficiently complete our team goals and personal goals in a way that went above and beyond our expectations. We would not have been able to do so without the large amount of planning that the Fuller Center did before our arrival.

Check out this NC State article too!

The experiences that our team members went through on the worksite were physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. Nevertheless, it was through these experiences that we learned more about ourselves and about how much we are capable of. Every person on our trip came out of El Salvador with a new respect for ourselves, our team members, and the Salvadorian people and culture.

Throughout the week, our team did a lot of shoveling sand and gravel to form the foundation of the house we were working on. The most difficult day of our build was halfway through the week. We moved over 10,000 lbs of cement and lifted bucket after bucket of concrete up 12 ft. The buckets were then poured into metal structures so that it could dry and create the walls of the house. In order to do this amount of work in one day we had to form an assembly line.

The teamwork involved in the assembly line was phenomenal. Not one person had to be told what to do or where to go. Everyone just went to the position that they would be of the most help and stayed there until the job was done. In addition to doing our own jobs, every team member kept an eye out for other team members who needed a break and they would step in and cover his/her spot until they came back hydrated and feeling well.

Sarah Smith, a member of our team, recalls the time when she was most surprised at how organized we were. “I have been on similar service trips before, but I had never seen a team come together and accomplish so much work in such a short time. Everyone on my trip got along so well and it really showed on the worksite. We were able to complete the walls in a four-room house in less than seven hours. We were told that our team set the record for doing so. We felt really proud of ourselves after that day.”

During our time at the work site, we had the chance to get to know some of the people who lived in the community. These people were some of the most hardworking, caring, and selfless individuals that we had been exposed to. A few of the members of the community helped us during our construction of the house. Not once did they complain about the heat or the amount of work. While we were taking water breaks, they continued to work. In addition to their work, they made sure that we were drinking enough water and were feeling good. Caring about another person’s health above their own is something that our team witnessed often in El Salvador. We were exposed to good attitudes and great personalities all week.

This trip was more than we could have ever asked or hoped for. We have never been so proud of ourselves both personally and as a group. This experience taught us a lot about ourselves. We recognized and surpassed our limits for hard work and continuously encouraged other members of our group. Even though we only spent one week in El Salvador, our group came home with memories that will last a lifetime.

-Cassandra Miller, North Carolina State

Serve Beyond Cincinnati Alternative Spring Break – Haiti 2011

Cincinnati team in Haiti

In March, a group of ten University of Cincinnati students took part in an Alternative Spring Break service trip to Haiti. A first for all of us, this trip was organized through an on campus organization that provides alternative winter and spring break trips, Serve Beyond Cincinnati (SBC).

Our group arrived in Port-au-Prince on Saturday March 19th and got settled in for our stay at a secured compound in the city ran by the Jesuit ministry Foi et Joie, translated as “Faith and Joy”. After having dinner, the team spent the evening getting to know more about the country and the upcoming presidential election.

We rode in the “tap tap” everywhere each day and that was an adventure in itself! On Sunday, election day, we went to a beach called Paradise Island; afterwards, we drove through the city and saw the devastation the 2010 January earthquake caused the city, including the collapsed Presidential palace. It was clear to all of us already that there was a great amount of uncertainty in the country and we had to be flexible throughout the trip.

Getting to Work

On Monday, we started the work in a village east of the capital called Balan. This area, along a lake called Etang Saumatre, is home to over 25,000 people. Most of them live in mud and thatch roof houses which are not permanent. We were starting the project in the community to build safe and permanent homes for the families, some who moved from the city after the earthquake.

Starting the foundation for the first home in Balan

As we drove in, we were all so glad to see that there was a primary school and high school for the children and many of them were out playing on a morning break. There was a volunteer center on site for future teams that was not quite finished so we went to work right away cleaning out the building and getting it ready for upcoming volunteers. Some team members began digging a footer for a home, the first to be built in Balan!

As the day went on and the temperature rose, we found ourselves taking breaks to play with the children and talk with some families living nearby. Our team was the first in Balan and it was our job to be embassadors to the people and get them excited about the work our team and future teams would be doing there.

On Tuesday we continued the work on the footer and cleaned the land around the volunteer center. We even found some time to play “duck duck goose” with the school children. The next day our group dug a latrine for the family that will one day live in the home that we were starting. We then used the dirt to level off the land inside the footer of the home. We finished up this work on Thursday along with a few other small jobs. That afternoon we stopped by a UNICEF clinic and a hardware store.

Making friends with the local children

Friday was a little different than the other days because we spent part of the morning organizing the donations we all brought and the early afternoon distributing them to the people of Balan. This was an overwhelming task, but it was great to give items like soap, clothes, shoes, pencils and toys to so many people in Balan.

Our team spent our evenings in the compound playing card games, hide-and-seek, building camp fires, and reflecting on the experience in Haiti. The SBC team spent a lot of the work week with the people, especially the children. This trip certainly taught us all about the need in Haiti and the vast number of ways we could help out. The work in Balan was tough and also rewarding. We look forward to sending another team of students to Balan in December to continue working towards the goal of providing permanent housing for all families.

Story by Lindsay Long, University of Cincinnati

You can read more details by checking out Lane Hart’s blog from the trip.